skaifey

Hi All

Please forgive me if this is in the wrong location, but here seemed as good as any.

Yetserday my EML came on, on my 2002 1.6 VTEC Honda Civic

First thing I checked was my engine oil and low and behold it, the engine was empty.

So I put some Engine Oil in and left for an hour, started the engine and EML was still on.

I disconnected the battery and reconnected and EML off.

Took the car for a spin up to a considerable speed, got home and EML still off. One thing I did notice was the Rad Fans not spinnings.

Im unsure of when these should actually kick in? Could these fans not spinning cause the EML light?

Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Also there was no logic on me topping up oil, disconnecting battery etc, just fiddling really

Thanks and looking forward to your help.

ezone

Low oil level can cause fault codes, usually related to VTEC malfunction (code P1259 in the US OBD2 cars).
Low oil is the leading cause of that particular code.

Disconnecting the battery can clear the fault code from the computer memory on most of these cars.

You need to keep a better eye on your oil and maintenance, else you could cause serious damage to the engine if oil level gets too low. Check oil and other fluids at every gas fill up.



The radiator fans do not operate all the time, they only run when needed.
High cooling system temperature makes the fans run, and AC (if equipped) compressor operation will make the fans run.

HTH

skaifey

Ok so what you are saying is that the low oil level could well have been the reason for the EML?

I only recently purchased this 2nd hand car and stupidly didnt check this prior to buying. Stupid considering the car has 180k on it as well!!

But i will keep an eye on her and see how she goes and report back if the problem reoccurs

many thanks for your response

ezone

Could have. Without knowing what the fault code was, that's only an educated guess.

drhawkinz

Happens to my 02 EX and the check engine light comes on. If you top it off with a quart of oil the light will go off after you drive it a few miles rather than having to disconnect and reconnect the battery.

skaifey

Ok so the eml came back on

Im not 100% sure 2L of engine oil has been enough as im sure i read somehwere that the car takes 3.2L

Im gunna let the car cool, then check it again and if needed get some more.

Thanks for your reply too

skaifey

So i just checked the oil and its actually just under the full marker.

So any ideas on what to check now?

Thanks
Jason

ezone

Figure out what the actual fault code is.

skaifey

Just got the car scanned

Its a fault with the CAT not being efficient...

Fault has been cleared and some CATA Clean put in the fuel tank.

No big deal, car will be fine if the light comes on again