Check Engine Light ..Squeaky bonnet

[moon buggy]

Haven't been here for a while but 2 recent ocurrences have happened and been sorted
1. Check engine - wife driving home in rain the other day calls me from the freeway saying "Check Engine Light" has come on...I immediately thought the worst..asked if the VX was running fine, check temp gauge, no excessive engine noise...nope all fine just the light had come on and wouldn't go off. Told her drive straight home reverse in to garage...got home checked engine oil plenty on the stick [sigh of relief] kicked her over ran fine no lumpy idle, all belts in place, took her for a spin, light still on but running fine...called a mate who said .."how's your battery"..Ok a bit slow to crank but no problem..he said that'll be causing your 'check engine light' ..the battery was recently run down twice..flat due to being in storage..and the 2nd time due to alarm being fitted and terminals being loose...SO got battery checked checked ..sure enough was low in charge, replaced with a newy, cranks nicely and No engine check light. Pleased !

2. Squeaky bonnet - its been drivin me nuts [for months !!!]..used nearly half a can of silicon spray in anywhere that looked or sounded suspicious, every other day !!..but to no avail..then one day had the bonnet up and noticed to the 2 "adjustable' bonnet bump stops...yep thats right!!!...they've been sitting there the whole friggin time !!!, one was set lower than the other..a couple of quick turns and tweaking both ...the bonnet now meets flush with the 2 guards and no squeaking..oh yeah ...happy now !!

I know these 2 faults to some would seem probably obvious and simple, but hey..I thought I should post my wins in case others have been pulling out their hair or whats left of it, expecting the worst, only to find that there are still some simple fixes for the beloved VX..

....VX-mania !!!...Hey you should have seen the look on all the fellas faces when I drive her in..have ya got a battery for one of these !!!....WTF !!!, all the Aussie bangers [cars needing attention] were left hanging whilst there was a quick 'meet' of all the techs round the VX... a 1997 model.... you're ****tin me right WTF ... no way... !! just looks like a new model Isuzu..!!

A battery fitted with extra TLC ...gotta be happy with that !!

[Tone]

Disconnecting the battery is what reset the light - low bat will not cause that.

Solution to the squeaky hood has been posted several times - use search "squeak" or hood noise

[climbcovey]

My check engine light came on frequently for a while with no discernable cause after a little research i found out it was the gas cap not being tightened (or not sealing well) apparently isuzu and some other foreign autos have had ongoing issues with this. so before you spend much time or money try tightning or replaceing the gas cap the reset your check engine light (although if that is the problem it should go out by itself ) i just had to make sure to give the gas cap a few extra clicks and my light hasn't come back on. I hope its the same for you. good luck!!!

[moon buggy]

Hey thanks for coming back with feedback..
Fuel cap - I did replace mine about 6 mths back, with an 'equivalent' after mkt job, as I was getting a lot of fuel odour after stopping..particularly when full..and I actually found that fuel had expanded in the tank and was seeping [sp?] from around the filler...so i replaced it with new as above for to suit an Isuzu rodeo ute here in Oz...I still get a little odour when she sits in the garage after a run but much improved and seems to pretty much have fixed that problem.
Battery - was checked and replaced [3 days ago] as it was showing low voltage..apparently battery when car is running should show voltage of 9.5 to 10 [amps] or higher, the old one was hovering around low 8s...and as I said in the thread was 'lazy' when cranking to start..this same engine is/was used extensively [the 3.2L] in the Holden/Isuzu work ute here in Oz, and when i queried a local tuning shop that services 'heaps' of them..he said to me thats the first thing he'd check..

So so far with the new battery on board no 'light' and a nice positive crank to start..
regards