simple question for you car gods out there

[DSMeclipseGST]

I searched the forums with no luck, this may be a simple question.. I've owned my 98 Eclipse GST for 5 days now.. I havent been racing it at all yet, yes I hot rodded around a bit, but nothing to extreme. So heres the question, Im driving a long, minding my own business when the check engine light pops on.. Hmm, not cool. So I think back to when I put oil in the engine, i put 1 qt of normal oil into the engine which was using all synthetic, and someone told me that was a bad idea, but too late.. so Im driving home and the light comes on. Just wondering wheres the best place to go to get it checked, free would be nice, . I don't have an Autozone close by so was wondering the next best thing. My dad has a lot of experience with mechanics being an engineer, maybe we could figure it out here at home? Also, I have to change oil tomorrow because its overfilled, but basically jsut trying to get some advice on what to do.. Im just worried because I JUST got this car and Im not very happy, ha.. Any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks

 

[Defiant]

The CEL trips when one of the sensors it monitors gives an out-of-range signal to the ECU.

It has no idea if you're running synthetic or syrup. It's not from the oil.

Modern synthetics should be 100% compatible with conventional oils, and vice-versa.

You need to have the CEL decoded before going further.

 

[power=dsm]

pull the check engine light yourself, go get a chilton or hanes manuel and see how to do it. and match the code you get with the book and you'll see whats up

 

[blackGSX2g]

2g turbos can't do the blinking CEL code thing. You need to find someone with a code reader or a datalogger in your area to pull it. You can get a cheap OBD II meter and logger for like $95, but it only takes 3 samples/sec for logging. Great for pulling codes, not that great for tuning.

 

[blktalon93]

I believe AutoZone has a check engine light code reader and it is free of charge. If your car is 96 or up, they should be able to tell you why your CEL is triggered. Hope that helps.

 

[blktalon93]

Forget my post. Overlooked the part where you said you don't have an autozone close by.