Car is a 1997 Buick Regal GS with 160,000 miles. Yesterday the Anti Lock & Service Engine Soon lights came on. There are two Service Engine Soon lights, this is the one next to the Anti Lock light. I turned car off, restarted and lights went out. This happened several times, but each time I restarted the car the lights went out and when I turned it off for the night the light had not come back on. Additionally the Trac Off light was on with the lights but went out with the restarting. Today the lights are back on and won’t go out. And even though the Trac Off light is on the traction control seems to be engaged. And the Low Tire light which had been on and came back on after each reset is now out. Brake fluid level was a bit low, I refilled. Checked for codes with a scan tool but no codes showing. Any help figuring this out would be appreciated.
Chuck
Your Trac light (traction control) system and the ABS (anti-lock brake system) work together and that is why both lights come on.
Turning the ignition key off then back on only temporarily resets the systems warning lights.
A check of both systems needs to be done to find the fault.
It’s possible there may just be a poor connection at one of the wheel sensors.
Trust me. you’re not going to get the right trouble codes out of a device you bought yourself. I’ve tried it and they don’t work. The device will give you several different codes which could mean anything from an actual problem with your car to whatever code is retained to whatever happens to be wrong with the device. In the long run you will be further ahead just takeing the car to a reputable shop and have them run a diagnoses ONLY. Then you decided what you want to replace and when. Afterall, the car is running, right? But, you, yourself, can tell if the car is cranking more slowly then usual. If your battery is on the older side you might be just in between the time when the battery won’t crank the car but you have enough power to crank slow, triger the idiot lights to come on but not cancel out, and start.
You probably need an engine control module, the computer. It’s about a $500 dealer-only fix. But have it scanned first and then decide if you want to put money in the car. The scan will run about $70, and most shops can do it.