How to disable check engine light permanently? (Solved)

Is your check engine light still on even after resolving the issue? This can be an annoying problem to come across. I have been in that same situation where the engine light won’t just go off. So, I had to permanently disable the check engine light to get rid of this annoying problem.

Don’t know how to disable check engine light permanently? Well, then I am here to help you with that. It’s not complicated; all you have to do is follow few easy steps. So, let’s get on with it then.

You can try out 4 different methods for disabling the check engine light permanently. I have listed them in an order that will be the most helpful way for you. As some of them don’t even require too much work or tools.

Drive your car enough to disable the light

Something as simple as driving your car can help you out disabling the check engine light. It’s the first method I am sharing because it doesn’t require you to do anything extra. So, you can just drive for a certain duration, and the check engine light should go off on its own after a while.

Now, if you are wondering how that works, here’s the process behind it. When you drive your car regularly, the mainframe of the car will retune. This will resolve any kind of issue that turned on the check engine light in the first place. That’s how you can disable the light without even doing anything to it directly.

You should check if the light is still on after 3 days of driving. If you see the lights haven’t gone off, you can move on to the next method.

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Turning off your automobile 3 times in a row

This might be tricky to understand, but I will keep it as simple as possible. So, what you will be doing here is turn your car on for a second and then turn it off for a second. You will repeat this thing two more times.

All you will do here is put the key in the ignition and turn it on and off 3 times consecutively in succession. What this does is, resets any kind of trouble codes your car might have. It’s like restarting your car a couple of times to solve any software issues.

If this solution doesn’t work, that means there is nothing wrong with the trouble codes or your software. Also, this works only on cars that can automatically reset trouble codes. So, it may not work for you if your car doesn’t have an automatic reset on trouble codes.

Reconnecting the battery

No matter what car you have, this solution should work if the problem is on a surface level. This method works for newer and older cars. Here’s how you do it.

First of all, you will need a wrench to open the hood of your car. After opening it, you will need to locate the battery. On the battery, there should be a positive power cable. You will have to separate that power cable using the wrench.

After removing the cable, keep the battery in that disconnected state for around 20 minutes. Then, after 20 minutes, you have to turn your ignition on three times in succession. Doing this will wipe out all the bad records from memory.

Finally, you can connect the positive cable back to the battery terminal. Then, wait a minute and check up on the check engine light. This should resolve your issue.

Using a code reader

If disconnecting and reconnecting the battery doesn’t work, you will have to go for the OBD code reader. You can use these code readers to scan for error codes in your engine. They can also help you clear engine codes to resolve several issues.

First of all, you have to attach the OBD reader to the port that is usually under your car’s dashboard. You may need to remove the fuse box door to do this thing.

After connecting the reader, you have to press enter. This should start checking up on your engine for any kind of error code.

The reader will show all the error codes on display. Once see all the codes, if you have to wipe them out. Remove any fault code you see to fix the check engine light issue.

This method will work if your car has OBD ports and supports code deletion using the code reader.

Now, these are the common and official ways to disable your check engine light permanently. However, if you see the problem still occurring, then you can try out some other stuff. Let’s check out what you can do when these above four methods don’t work.

Related: https://curateview.com/service-engine-soon-light/

Remove check engine light fuse and permanently delete engine codes

So, what you can do is either you can remove the check engine light fuse of your car. Or you can try to delete the engine codes. Here, we will go through both of them. But keep in mind these are the last resorts for you. Don’t jump into these solutions before you try out the rest I shared.

Removing the check engine light fuse

For removing the check engine light fuse, you have to use a code scanner. If you have a car that was manufactured before 1996, then it might not have an OBD port. In that case, unplugging the battery also works.

  • First of all, connect the OBD code reader to your car. Then, put the key on and turn on the ignition. Make sure you are not starting your car.
  • Then, turn off any frills your car may have; only keep the check engine light on. Now, you will see a knob on your scanner that says read. Press that, and it will examine the codes for check engine lights.
  • Next up, find the error codes using the symbols you see. Then clear the codes using the knob on your scanner. Then, turn off the ignition and remove the scanner from your car.
  • It’s not over yet. You have to reset your car by taking off the negative cable of the battery. It will take away all the energy that is left in the car capacitor.
  • Keep it disconnected for about 15 minutes and then reconnect the battery. Once you connect the battery, it will reset all the electrical systems of your car. This eventually disables the check engine light permanently.

If your car doesn’t have OBD or any kind of port for scanners, then you can just follow the reset method by removing the battery.

Permanently deleting the engine codes.

Before I take you ahead on this, let me warn you that it can be a bit risky. Permanently deleting engine codes may not be the best solution. You can keep it as a last resort to solve this issue.

So, try the previous methods I shared first, and then if they don’t work, you can try this. However, I still suggest going to a mechanic rather than doing this on your own. Anyway, here’s how you can delete the engine codes permanently.

  • To do this, you will need an OBD scanner. They can pinpoint any kind of issues and give you the codes.
  • The first thing to do is parking your car on level ground. Then you have to keep the parking brake engaged.
  • Now, open your car hood and remove the negative cable from your car battery. You can use a wrench to do that with ease. Then, you have to remove the positive cable of your battery the same way and make sure these two cables never touch each other.
  • This may seem weird, but you have to keep switching between on and off five times in your ignition. Then push on the horn knob you have on your steering wheel and keep holding it for 30 seconds.
  • Connect the positive cable on the battery first. And then connect the negative one. Make sure to tighten them properly.
  • Lastly, start up your car and wait for the engine to heat up. Once it’s done, you should see the check engine light isn’t on anymore.

That’s how you can permanently delete engine codes to disable the check engine light for good. It’s risky, and you shouldn’t go for it right away. Try every other possible method, then come to this.

Final words

All in all, knowing how to disable check engine lights permanently can be pretty handy. You don’t have to see that annoying light all the time on your dashboard and freak out. And as you saw, there are several ways to solve the issues.

Some of them are a bit advanced, and some of them are quite easy. My suggestion would be to stick with the easy ones. If that doesn’t solve the problem, then get professional help from any mechanic. However, if you know what you are doing, you can try any of the methods I shared.

2 thoughts on “How to disable check engine light permanently? (Solved)”

  1. Hello James, my 1999 Honda CR-V got a code of PO744 torque converter. Clutch solenoid open circuit. I changed the solenoid and the engine light didn’t go out. Two mechanics told me I need a new transmission b/c of the po744 code but when I drive the car it works fine, the shifting is smooth and the gas consumption is normal. Can u help? Thanks barbara

    Reply
  2. if ya know how to solder, remove check engine light bulb (yes,can be done it is tiny though)then solder a small wire from any other light (abs, etc.) to the check engine light bulb. It will come on and go off same time as other light. This will not fix the cause of the problem and possibly illegal, do at your own risk, not responsible just handing out information

    Reply

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