# CEL at cold start

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/cel-at-cold-start/59751>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** audi, s4, lights, engines\
**Created:** [January 9, 2011, 1:53pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/cel-at-cold-start/59751 "2011-01-09T13:53:20Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![mike221](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@mike221](https://community.cartalk.com/u/mike221)\
**Post date:** [January 9, 2011, 1:53pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/cel-at-cold-start/59751/1 "2011-01-09T13:53:20Z")

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I have a (bad) habot of stepping on the gas when I start the car. In the winter, when I do this it has started giving me a check engine light, which goes out after a while. The codes say vsacuum leak or (once only) catalytic converter fault bank one. I replaced some vacuum lines but it still happened. Other than the light, the car runs & starts fine. Is this something to be concerned about. The catalytivc converter code obviously concerns me, but it only came up once, & wouldnt thw light stay illuminated. The car has 100,000 miles; it has been doing this intermittently for the past 2 winters, never in warm weather. thanks

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**Author:** ![mcparadise](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mcparadise/32/32_2.png) [@mcparadise](https://community.cartalk.com/u/mcparadise)\
**Post date:** [January 9, 2011, 2:41pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/cel-at-cold-start/59751/2 "2011-01-09T14:41:11Z")

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Break your bad habit. Stop pressing the gas pedal while starting the engine.

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**Author:** ![keith](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/keith/32/5518_2.png) [@keith](https://community.cartalk.com/u/keith)\
**Post date:** [January 9, 2011, 3:15pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/cel-at-cold-start/59751/3 "2011-01-09T15:15:15Z")

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What was the exact code? A lot of codes say a lot of things, depending on who’s doing the interpretation.

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**Author:** ![cigroller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c68b51/32.png) [@cigroller](https://community.cartalk.com/u/cigroller)\
**Post date:** [January 9, 2011, 3:15pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/cel-at-cold-start/59751/4 "2011-01-09T15:15:28Z")

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The check engine light may or may not have anything to do with you and the gas pedal - but you should stop doing it anyway.

There are no codes that tell you that you have a vacuum leak. Nor are there any that can tell you that your cat is bad. Post the actual codes rather than what you or someone else thinks that they mean.

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**Author:** ![Joseph\_E\_Meehan](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/joseph_e_meehan/32/21_2.png) [@Joseph\_E\_Meehan](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Joseph_E_Meehan)\
**Post date:** [January 9, 2011, 5:22pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/cel-at-cold-start/59751/5 "2011-01-09T17:22:16Z")

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Note: The code you need should be in the format: P1234

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**Author:** ![Caddyman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/caddyman/32/23_2.png) [@Caddyman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Caddyman)\
**Post date:** [January 9, 2011, 5:27pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/cel-at-cold-start/59751/6 "2011-01-09T17:27:25Z")

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Sounds like the heater element on the downstream oxygen sensor on bank one…Solution: Replace the downstream sensors…The LAST thing you want to mess with is the converter…