A friend of mine is looking to buy a '96 Cab from a dealer. The car looks perfect and drives fine under normal conditions. However, when the car is pushed hard, he notices a definate lack of power, describing it like a lot of tiny hesitiations as the car accelerates. The car seems to drive fine unless it is pushed hard and is probably only noticible to someone who has driven one that runs correctly recently. On another probably related note, the general warning light (!) is on when started and doesn't turn off until manually triggered. I know that this can mean a malfunctioning warning light. We were guessing a possible O2 sensor (which my guess would trigger the Check Engine Light, which might not be working). Any thoughts or ideas on what this could be and how serious it is? Thanks

 

I am not sure what may be wrong with the performance, but the ! warning light usually comes on in conjunction with one of the other warning lights, I think you are correct in saying that it is possible that the check engine light bulb has been removed, or something similar.

 

I'd definitely ask the dealer to read the OBD. Could be as simple as bad O2 sensors (of which you have 4!!), or even be completely coincidental. The light could, for example, be the dreaded CE light due to clogged secondary air ports ...an expensive nuissance but doesn't affect the driveability at all. And the real problem may not even be a "monitored" system... possibilities I'm thinking of are a clogged fuel filter, old plugs, worn cap/rotor, cracked sparkplug wires. If this is a dealer car, I'd be concerned about service records (just as you would if it were a private party) or even how well they've looked at the car. Maybe they'd deal with an extended warranty?

Edward

 

When you turn the key to the on position, all of the warning lights should come on. You can see if the CEL lights up. If not, it is either disconnected or burned out.