I am re-posting here, as this particular forum seems more appropriate.
Actually I have two mysteries that might be related, but I don’t think they are. Perhaps Car Talkers can clarify. 2009 Hyundai Accent, purchased in October, a shade over 4800 miles.
Mystery #1: In the middle of the night a car horn went off in my parking lot. Naturally I went to check if it was mine. I was thinking there might be something wrong with the alarm system or it was tripped, even though no lights were blinking. I de-armed and re-armed the system twice, once after turning the engine on and letting it run for about 5 seconds. The horn noise continued and the car turned on and ran normally. It eventually stopped, and I don’t think it was my car, but I am not certain.
Mystery #2: About 6 hours after the above incident I went down to leave, turning on my car, and it was a bit shaky at turn over and while it ran. The instrument lights that are supposed to come on when the ignition is turned on all came on. After a few seconds I noticed that the MIL light blinked about three or four times and then went off. I turned the engine off, waited a few seconds, engaged it again and it was fine. No shaking, no MIL. The subsequent starts, and drives, after finishing at my destinations were also normal. No shaking, no MIL.
Here are my queestions: are these two incidents (well, one is a possible incident) related? If it indeed was my horn wouldn’t my battery/charging system light have come on on start up? And what is going on with my MIL? Should I be worried about the emission system or engine?
I guess the real test will be tomorrow morning when I leave for work.
Thanks for any answers you can provide.
Are you saying you started you car while a “horn noise” was sounding and you don’t know whether or not the noise was coming from your car?
How is that even possible?
If you started your Accent’s engine for five second and then shut it off you probably caused the MIL to come on, and the engine to idle unsteadily the next time you started it.
If you’re not going to drive the car, don’t start the engine, and NEVER start an engine for a few seconds and shut it off. If you start it, let it run for at least a minute.
I doubt the horn was from your car, but if you can’t tell, how the heck should I be able to tell?
The battery will not be drained by a horn beeping for a short time, and no warning lights should come on afterward, even if it was your horn.
In any event, the car is BRAND NEW. It’s a 2009. If you have any problems whatsoever take it to the Hyundai dealer. This is why new cars come with a warranty.
PLEASE find the owner’s manual and read it. It will explain how the alarm system works, along with a few dozen other things you should know.
What is an MIL Light?
Malfunction Indicator Light.
I suppose calling it an MIL light is redundant.
What Malfunctions does it report on?
The MIL is the check engine light. Both are ok akas.
(What does akas mean? It means: also known as (by another name].
Waterboy, it just blinked three or four times once earlier today, and has driven fine since. I have not had the codes read or anything, due to the fact that it operated fine.
Mcparadise,
“If you started your Accent’s engine for five second and then shut it off you probably caused the MIL to come on, and the engine to idle unsteadily the next time you started it.”
Thank you. That explanation makes sense, and is along the lines of what I was thinking, as it did drive and start fine after that.
“PLEASE find the owner’s manual and read it. It will explain how the alarm system works, along with a few dozen other things you should know.”
I have read my owners manual. Okay, admittedly I have only briefly glanced at the “do it yourself maintenance” section, as it isn’t even 6 months old yet. And of course checking it was the first thing I did when the issue arose to see if I could figure something out. I figured I’d turn to y’all, the experts, to ease my worries and possibly provide me with an answer.
I have AAA and my trusted auto shop, along with the warranty, just incase there is something I should be worried about, but from what y’all have said it doesn’t seem like there will be.
Thanks for the help.
Nope, nothin to worry about. All starts and drives were fine.
Thanks again.