I have a 97, and my check engine light was comming on, and I think its something with the emissions, but I would like to be sure.. I was reading about on the older ones but mine is the OBD II connector and it says instead of connecting the jumper and the ground, I have to use a scan tool.. Is this the only option I have or is there another way to do it? I can bring it somewhere to get it checked out, but I figured I would check here first.

 

Scan tools are pretty much the way to go. Autozone and Murray's auto discount rent them so it pretty much doesn't cost you anything. Some quick service places will also have the tool and charge you less. You can get a cheap reader $45 that is just the pocket version.

 

do you know how much it might cost to rent one from Autozone? just curious..

 

go to autozone and they will reed the codes for free right then and their... but you can also rent the tool for 99 dollars, but you get that all back when you bring the OBD2 scanner back... just talk to some one at auto zone and they should help you out

 

In their tool rental program, pretty much you pay for it in full (like a fully refundable deposit) and when you're done you give it back and they'll refund all your money. So in the end, you really don't pay anything.

 

Autozone will check your codes for free at the shop, but their tool only does 1996 and newer...

For previous year cars, you need a tool like this model:

Actron Super AutoScanner CP9150 Kit