Why would CEL appear then go away???

[rbt]

My '98 through a CEL at me Friday night; first time ever. Since I didn't have a VAG and nearest dealer was closed for the weekend, I decided to park the car for the weekend. On Sat., I tried starting the car and the CEL was still on. By this morning (Monday), the light was gone.

What condition could have caused a CEL that would also be capable of 'going away'?

Also, are CELs reported in 'real time'? i.e., is there any memory involved....if the car were to be VAGed right now w/out the CEL on.

TIA

[SEXICÄN]

Did you fill up gas at all? Cuase, just an idea, you might not have screwed your gas cap all the way and that would have your CEL appear.

[cbass]

Yeah, the gas cap will do it.

Also, if you've put lower grade gasoline in your car, your engine will throw a fault code (running lean) and the CEL will sometimes come on. Many times this will go off also if you put better gas in. The fault code will still be in the ECU's memory however, and that should be cleared when you get a chance.

[MR VTEC]

KICK HIS a$$ SEABASS!
Sorry just had to say that.

[SF944]

I've had the same thing happen to me on my '00.

A week after installing the GIAC chip, I got a CEL. I had read that this is not a rare, and it may go away. After 5 run cycles (5 times of starting and stopping the engine) the CEL went out.

Now, a week later, it's back!
I guess this is one of those "soft codes" that the car will tolerate, but I wonder how this will affect my emissions testing?

Anybody with experience in the new Massachusetts emissions testing (probably Cali and NY too) out there? Will this "soft code" prevent me from getting a sticker next year?

Anybody in SE Mass or RI with a VAG-COM that can read the code for me?

[cbass]

I'm glad you did Mr. VTEC!!! Wine 'em, Dine 'em, $ixty-nine 'em!

[DDQ]

Originally posted by cbass
I'm glad you did Mr. VTEC!!! Wine 'em, Dine 'em, $ixty-nine 'em!

Lloyd Christmas: I'm talkin about a place where the beer flows like wine, where the women instinctively flock like the salmon of Capistrano. I'm talkin about Aspen.

Harry: I don't know Lloyd, the French are assholes.

[dukez]

Misfires.

[I am armed]

Check to see if you have a hole in your air box to MAF hose. Or if maybe one of the clamps is off. This happened in my MKIV golf(which is now in the shop for a possible bent rod). The clamp on the MAF side of the hose was missing and it wasn't sealed tightly. Thus letting too much air into the MAF, triggering my O2 sensors and giving me a CEL. As soon as I got a clamp on that bitch, no more CEL.

[JMG]

I had a bad Throttle Body do that to me for two days.

[markc]

It could be a faulty MAF meter, I had a CEL light on and after some brilliant advice from this very forum, I bought a new one, installed it and then no more CEL. Wonderful!!!