The wife's 2007 Lincoln MKX has an engine light on. I guess it is time to buy one of those code readers. Innova, Equus, Actron are some of the brands. Walmart online has an Innova for about $140 I think. I may as well buy one. I have a 2011, and both my daughters and son in laws have 2004 models and up.

I may not be able to fix the problem, but I don't trust the dealer. They will for sure find a bad camshaft phaser or sensor etc. to the tune of $2K and up.

What do y'all think? Which brand name of code scanner is best?

the one at autozone is best IMO.... its free. (they will read your codes for you )

Thanks! I have heard that they will do this. Are they fairly accurate?

As accurate as any other. Be sure to write down whatever code or codes show up. You'll need to look 'em up online to see what they mean. Just google "lincoln trouble codes".

Thanks for the info. As it turns out, my wife called from work this morning and said the check engine light is not lit anymore. The first day it came on a few days ago, I read where the gas cap can be at fault. So, I went out and reseated it a few times. Then after a few cycles it apparently went back out.

I think I will go buy a replacement gas cap today for it, just to make sure. The seal may have a fine crack or something.

Get the code from Autozone & perform the diagnosis yourself. If you don't trust the dealer, I wouldn't trust Autozone. They'll tell you that you need stuff that's not any way related to the code for the repair.

Remember, a code does not mean that item listed is the problem. It means there is a fault in that particular system.

The Innova scan tools are a great unit for the price.

THanks, I think I'll get one to have around in case the light comes back.

You need your own so you can reset the light after you fix the problem. Autozone will tell you the code and even give you a printout detailing the code, but won't reset it.

you can unhook the battery for a couple hours to reset it

Unhooking the battery worked in older vehicles but can cause problems in newer ones. It can default all the adaptive learn systems and mess up security systems.

really? i wonder how all the dealerships get away with it then.. the first step in any engine/electrical repair is to unhoook the negative ground cable.....

The biggest nuisance with un-hooking the battery is having to re-set your dash clock and possibly radio station pre-sets and/or radio security feature.

Different make and model year vehicles all seem to have their own little battery disconnect quirks.

Our old Toyota Previa would sound the car alarm immediately after you re-installed a new battery, which was annoying as hell as the battery and car horn were only inches apart and only three feet from your head(ears)!

They keep power to the computer. You can buy an adapter that plugs into the cigarette lighter and uses a 9volt battery. The ALDL is on the same circuit as the cigarette lighter so it back feeds to the computer.

Not for hours. About 20 minutes. Best way is to buy an Innova 3140. Use it to find and clear codes.

Just because the CEL is off now it still has a code locked into the PCM. You still need to read it to make sure it's not something else. Most code scanners have a reset function to clear the codes. Pulling the negative cable will accomplish the same thing with the exception of it also clears the Keep Alive Memory in the PCM and it will have to re-learn all of it's operational strategies. Normally takes a couple hundred miles of driving also will display a P1000 code (without turning on the CEL) indicating PCM not ready and it will not pass state inspection until that goes away. My 97 F150 throws a P0442 once about every six months and I have been from one end to another and the only conclusion I have come up with is the purge valve sticks every so often I just reset it and go on. I have a tuner on it and can read any codes on the fly as well as reset them without resetting the KAM. However if I change tunes like to tow it will reset the PCM and KAM. My security systems on both the 97 and 06 will sound the alarm when the battery has been disconnected/replaced as a sign the vehicle has been tampered with.

you ever seen an airbag deploy?? LOL!

LOL. NOPE. It's only supplying memory power. That's it.

The ACU is not connected to the vehicle computer and it has it's own energy reserve if the battery is disconnected on purpose or during a collision that might disable the cars battery.

I've got a cheap Actron and it works good enough. It reads the codes and then I find the code on the internet.
It will erase codes too. A good tool for most vehicles since '95.

I bought a new gas cap and installed it and ordered the Equus Innova 3130 from Walmart on online at $147. The difference between it and the 3140 is that the 3140 does OBD1 and OBD2 and the 3130 does OBD2. It can reset most codes except ABS and Restraint system. I'm ok with that.

My family only has OBD2 cars so I think it will be good to go.

Can't wait to try it out and see exactly what it was that caused the light. I think the history data is stored.

just buy the cheapest you can find, they will all read the code and clear it
they have some for under $50 at harbor freight

Just thought I would give an update to complete the story. I got an Equus Innova 3130 and plugged it in and read the code 2 weeks ago. Even after the MIL check engine light had went back out by itself after I replaced the gas cap. The code was P0022 Intake Camshaft Position Timing Over-retarded bank 2. What? So an online search gave me an education on Variable Cam Timing VTC and phasers. The car is a DOHC 24 V system. Two camshafts per head, one intake and one exhaust. Anyway the code is referring to some timing glitch that occurred. Could be oil viscosity or level (oil pressure via the VTC solnoid), or the VCT. So I reset the Code.

A few days ago, the MIL light came back on. Same code P0022, two hits this time. So I took the car to the dealer.

They called and said that Ford has a Service Bulletin about "Cam Phasers" made before 2008. Said that a newer improved cam phaser should be used. The VTC controls oil pressure which moves the cam phaser which advances or retards the timing. So they are going to replace the cam phasers.

The good news is that there is a 5 year 60K mile warranty. The car is not quite 5 years and 37K miles. So it will be a warranty fix. Just thought some might be interested in this.

I bought one off of Amazon for $35 including shipping. It works great and you get software with it to interpret the codes.

Well, it ain't over yet unfortunately. It took a week and a day to get the car back from the dealer. Cam shaft phasers changed. Seems a tensioner for the timing chain got cracked in the process, had to order a new one and the wrong one came in. So we lost two days for that alone.

So, we pick it up today and it drove great. Untillllll....27 miles and guess what? The Check Engine light came on again. THis time code P0016 Crankshaft Position-Camshaft Position correlation Bank 1 Sensor A. So, Monday back to the dealers.

So far it has had P0022, P0018, and now P0016. Sumpins messed up.

Been there done that in a ford. Had same codes and last yer replaced cam phasers and timing chain. Good thing your under warranty mine ended up being about 2grand