sears says my emmision won’t pass because my check engine light will not come on when starting engine but it does go on when you only turn to the on position
Do NOT GO TO Sears. Most circuits are turned off while the key switch moves to start. If the light then goes off with the engine running you are fine. A CEL while running will be an automatic fail. By the way please say what year the car is. Some years/ models have quirks that the minimum wage guys at sears may not know about.
I think that guy needs retraining. What that light should do is usually written in the owner’s manual. If you can find it, and it may be easy if it’s in the “how to start the engine section”, you will know if you were dealing with an idiot or just a jerk. If what he said was true, he’s just a jerk. If he is wrong, I would call him an idiot.