Hi,

I'm a college student who own a dark green '97 EX that's been in the family for +8 years now. Last week I was driving over muddy, nearly unpaved road (at a roadwork site) with lots of jagged, bumpy, half-covered potholes and the bottom of the car hit something.

The gas stopped working, so I put my hazard lights on and turned the car off for a few seconds. When I started the car again, the gas worked fine and i drove off, but my 'check engine' light has turned on.

Since this whole halloween-snow-power-outage debacle has hit western MA pretty badly, I haven't had the opportunity to get it checked out. My car seems to be running fine, except the light is still on.

I'm looking up trustworthy mechanics in the Amherst, MA area, but could anyone here give me a diagnostic comment? What's the most vulnerable thing under my car? What is a decent price for getting my car checked out? I called the guys at a local auto place and they said it cost $60 for a diagnostic, but do some mechanics do that for free?

There's no leaking or smoking or strange smells or any other symptoms I could find (nothing sounds different, driving feels completely normal).

Thanks in advance for any advice!

-Gabe Brown

 

Stop by a parts store like autozone. Have them scan for codes. Your connector is behind the ash tray.

Post the code on here. They start with the letter P and have 4 numbers, like P1234.

 

While your there at the AutoZone...look for one of the guys who have the ASE button on their collars..they usually have the most knowledge of the parts they are selling...

 

I visited autozone and the scanner said

"P1361: Intermittent interruption in TDC 1 sensor circuit
Probable Cause:
1--Open or short circuit condition
2--Poor electrical connection
3--Failed TDC sensor"

I wondering which one of these probable causes might result from the "bump" I hit last week.

 

It could be any of them. The TDC sensor is under the lower timing belt cover. You should see a wire with a 4-pin electrical connectorcoming out from the timing belt cover on the driver's/windshield side of the engine block. You should be able to access the electrical connector.