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Jim Grant's Tech Tips
‘98 Ford Crown Vic, Emission Light Reset
Q: A small hose came off that’s under the gas tank in a black plastic box on my ’98 Ford Crown Victoria. I plugged it. This has to do with emissions and caused the engine light to come on at the dash. Where is the reset on the computer?
- Fred Pohl
A:
When you say you plugged the hose, did you plug it back into something or did you just plug the end of the hose? The black box you’re likely referring to is called an evaporative canister. This canister has a vacuum/vapor hose, but it also has a vent hose. If the vacuum or vapor hose falls off it will cause the check engine light to turn on. The vent is what it is; a vent to allow for needed air movement. Plugging the vent hose could create problems. As for the other hoses, just reconnecting them to the correct fitting should be the fix. Each day you drive your vehicle the computer runs a test on the emission controls. If you correctly repaired the problem, the computer would confirm the repair and turn the check engine light off in a day or 2 of driving. If it doesn’t turn off, the repair was not effective or there is another system problem. If you need to rush the check engine light, just disconnect the battery. This will clear the computer and every other darn computer memory, radio etc., and turn the light off. But, if a problem remains the check engine light will soon return.
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