Emissions Issues

It was when the engine light came on that I rushed to the dealer, and they wanted to do exploratory surgery on my car, a 2005 Caravan.  I have had so many repairs on that car, I decided, let me see what other options there are.
"Can I still drive it, or will the engine melt?"
"Yes, you can drive it, but there may be more serious problems in the future."
"Can I wait with the repairs for another time?  I do not have the money right now."
"You can wait, but without a diagnosis we don't really know what's wrong."


PO 441 is the engine light trouble shooting printout AutoZone gave me.  Then the technician checked my gas cap.
"Did you just get a fill up?"
"Yes."
"Could just be that your gas cap was not on right.  Let it run for a while with it like this."

Emissions issues could be something else...something expensive.  It mostly is....expensive on an older car.

On an older person, emissions are always an issue.  Or shall I say, that sitting watching comedy, and you laugh, sneeze or cough, and it's off to the bathroom.

Once in the bathroom,  a problem that I have is it's not always possible to "go" when you want, and you end up waiting for a while...wondering why there is no entertainment in the bath... and waiting.
Now a brainstorm has hit me: take a preemptive strike.
First  run to the bathroom.  Cough violently.  Sneeze and laugh.   You will be able to go.
Then out to the show, the living room, wherever, to enjoy comedy, company and laughs without fear of a blowout.  Problem solved.


 I called a friend, also a car expert,  who suggested, "Take off the gas cap, put it back on, see what the car does in a while.  Either it will fix itself, or we go check it again."

So, two out of three opinions suggest to take a conservative approach, and wait and see if the engine light goes off by itself.

And yes, I do drink lots of cranberry juice, just as my car loves to use lots of gas.