Check engine light

[69L46]

My "check engine" light came on yesterday and is on yet today.  I am 600 miles out of warranty coverage, wouldn't you know it.  Any ideas where the problem may lie?  Is there any easy way for me to get the trouble code?

[02Blue]

There is an easy way to get the trouble code, but it would cost approx 150 bucks or so for an OBDII scanner. Even then, you probably wouldn't know the exact problem, just the area in which the problem lies. You would still need a good understanding of how the various sensors, assemblies and the CPU interact in order to fix the problem.

 

When in a similar situation, I stop and think about what was last done to the truck. Could some maintenance or inspection just prior to the fault have caused it? Check all cable/wire connections in the areas where maintenance or inspections were most recently performed. Maybe something got knocked loose accidentally.

 

Also, along with the check engine light, how has driveability been affected? Does it idle rough, hesitate, miss on acceleration, have a dead spot at certain rpm's, a smoke cloud from the exhaust, notice a peculiar odor, transmission shift funny, etc...etc? When did the light come on; soon as the truck started up, going down the road at a steady speed, accelerating, slowing down, etc...etc?

[Shaners]

Call the dealer right away...  he can right back the miles for you and will probably take care of it for you if you treat him nice.

[Smitty00Z71]

As 02Blue stated, check all the cables, something could be loose. This just happened to me last week after installing the R&D headlight kit. I went driving in my truck afterwards and the "service 4x4" light came on and everything in the four wheel drive went to hell. Turn out that I accidently loosen a connector when installing the kit. I recliped it now everything is peachy again.