1999 C280 CEL& gas light....codes added
 

Hello everyone. I'm a newbie here and looking for some help please. My check engine light has been going on and off recently usually staying on for an hour or so but going off once the car is turned off for a few minutes. It was on last week when I went out of town and was still on when I returned. This is the first time it has stayed on like this. Also, the low fuel indicator came on while the car still has 3/4 tank of gas. It also went away when I turned the car off and restarted it. It has done this to me twice in the past two days and before I drop it off to have the mechanic chase the problem down I was hoping for a little help from the members here who might have experience with this sort of thing. Thank you very much for your time and any help would be greatly appreciated.

do a search on this site under `CEL` or `check engine light`.
Also do you have Autozone stores on your area, because if your do, for no charge they will pull codes from your OBD II plug, and with those codes you can come back here and ask or search for their meanings.

also - do a search under ` fuel level sender unit `

Thank you Ethan...I'll go by Autozone later and post the outcome...

there are 3 codes... po173 fuel stream malfunction (bank 2) po170 fuel trim malfunction (bank 1) and po455 emmission control leak (large) ....someone please tell me this isn't as bad as it sounds...thanks for the help....


BTW...while searching the older threads I do get the general idea that the po170 and po173 codes should get cleared up by replacing the mass air flow sensor but I couldn't find anything about the po455 which specifically addresses the 280 engine....thanks again...

just a tip on diagnosing the situation.

Check the basics first, and describe any driveability issues

the first thing I would do after seeing the
po455 code ( mind you I have no experience with the code or your engine) is check the gas filler cap for tighness and visually check cap mating surfaces.

WIth a flashlight you can check fuel hoses under car near axle and in ( next to shock ) rear passenger side wheel-well.

Then I would check the air intake connections from air filter on back, make sure all the connections are attached and no crack or holes.

Then i would check fuses and relays involving fuel and related.

The low fuel light and check engine light are related. The blinking low fuel light is a seperate warning about the evaporative emission fault. This is often caused be a loose or missing fuel cap, or the seal could be bad, but there are other things that can cause this fault, including a bad fuel level senser (pressure sensor is built into one of the sender units.

The first two codes are possibly related to a bad mass airflow sensor, this is quite common. I'd concentrate on the evap system first I think.

Gilly