*EDIT* 1989 Chev G20 van, 305.

Does anybody know what this means? I do service at regular intervals, though maybe I'm missing something.

I just wish I knew if the warning light had any actual computer brains behind it, such as some sort of trouble code stored somewhere. Not sure what the state of the art was in '89. A Google search was disappointing, oddly enough.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

Not a clue what it means other than the ECM has noted that a sensor was outside the parameters. Even with the C4 Vettes after 85, IIRC, you can plug it into a scanner and see not only code but data stream. I know my 91 can do it.

So, what you are saying is essentially "Something is wrong". What, why, when, etc, etc, is hard to say. It might trigger a code to say something is FUBAR or that it noted something was not right when a certain set of conditions is met. Without more knowledge, it is going to be very hard to say. We can throw money and parts at it if you have more money than brains but I wouldn't think you would.

Why don't you start with the first step. Go to Autozone and have them scan it for you?

http://www.e38.org/e32/bmw%20code%20defaut.pdf

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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

Scan code first and clear it and see if it comes back. In the meantime, go look up what the code really means and not what the scanner said. The scanner points you in a direction. Doesn't mean it is absolutely right but look that way.

My 99 C280 said the BOTH sides had lean O2 sensor readings. Was it correct? In a sense. BOTH sides were lean because the MAF said there was less air than there was and the ECM cut the injector pulse width and thus the O2 sensors reported that BOTH banks were lean. BOTH sensors going out at the same time is highly unlikely as opposed to 1 MAF.

Also your injectors, if you are like most people, have never been removed for cleaning and testing. I do that every 100K for daily drivers and every 3 years for the Vette, ATVs and Jetskis.

__________________
01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

I think "Service Engine Soon" = "Check Engine".

What car is it? The cars in your sig don't match the year.

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"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

X2. Could mean anything based on manufacturer.

1989 vehicle id call a check engine light cost of doing business. Will say it might go away if you fix tons of drivability concerns over time. If the vehicle is exhibiting no noticiable driving problems id ignore it. I have a service engine soon lightin my 99 van now that i treat as an old trusted friend i can depend on to join me.

The light went out in my 1989 van after i replaced a lot of emissions controls, AND after i had a small engine fire.

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This post brought to you by Carl's Jr.

Oh jeez. I had originally put the brand and model in the title line but had to start over and forgot that. It's a Chev G20 van, '89, 305.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

I'm pretty sure you are correct. When I was in mechanic school they taught us about gasoline EFI with OBDII. On an OBDII system the light is required to go on when something emission related has gone out of set limits. I believe manufacturers are also allowed to have it go off in the even of other things related to out of limit engine performance. On a pre OBDII system, who knows? They didn't really cover that in school. I do know that OBDII standardized certain codes (but unfortunately not all, hence proprietary diagnostic software) and the method of extracting them. Things were more varied before OBDII.

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

I'd say that scanner would help determine what the issue is. If it is emissions, decide for yourself. With EFI it adjusts itself so SOTP isn't reliable.

__________________
01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

Agreed. Pulling codes tends to be one of my first pieces of advice for anything from which codes can be pulled, or as an electrical engineer friend from college used to say, "Ask it where it hurts."

__________________
Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

89 is OBDI I think. You should be able to jump a couple of the terminals on the connector and get the code from the number of flashes from the Service Engine light.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

89 no scanner, should be obd1.

My 89 chevy the service light turned out to be the egr valve was plugged, but that was a 4.3 throttle body injection. You probably have a similar setup

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This post brought to you by Carl's Jr.

My 91 is OBD1 too. We can jump the terminal to get the code. With scanner you get more data for diagnosis though. He'd need to find the ALDL which is probably under the driver side dash.

__________________
01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

On a BMW and some others SES = Check Engine.

However, my 1992 Dodge has a check engine, and a service soon light. The service soon light comes on at random markers in the ECU that are triggered by OBD1s very rough guesstimate of mileage. There is a list of definitions somewhere, I think the major service points were listed in my owners manual. The 120,000 mile service (light came on at like 133,000 on my truck) was something like "change ignition components, clean EGR tube, clean throttle plate" and then I used my friends snap-on Modus with OBD1 software to reset the light.

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68 280SL - 70 280SL - 70 300SEL 3.5 - 72 350SL - 72 280SEL 4.5 - 72 220 - 72 220D - 73 450SL - 84 230GE - 87 200TD - 90 190E 2.0 - 03 G500

Nissan GTR - Nissan Skyline GTS25T - Toyota GTFour - Rover Mini - Toyota Land Cruiser HJ60 - Cadillac Eldorado - BMW E30 - BMW 135i

It's a Chevy G20 van, MY 1989 so I am THINKING it is similar the slightly older F body cars with TBI. Only CMAC can tell me if it is TBI. If it is there might be hope to do diagnostics.

http://www.ih8mud.com/tech/tbi/wireTBI-1990b.gif

If it uses a 1227747 ECM which is capable of being tuned, you might be able to really get some serious data off it. TunerPro and TunerPro RT - Professional Automobile Tuning Software

__________________
01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

GM has had what amounts to OBDI since the early '80's. While a typical OBDII scan tool will not connect to it, there are plenty that will. In '89, depending on GVWR and state of initial sale, the van could be either carbureted or injected I believe. Either would be computer controlled (unless there were some really primitive carb'd units that I never saw being in CA).

In either case, as mentioned, the best be is to "ask it where it hurts", and this is done by reading the code(s). Once you have an idea what isn't right, you can start looking for what is wrong.

MV