A bit of a dumb move - gas cap

[Tim Purtell]

I was driving to work in my 04 the other day and the yellow 'engine malfunction light' came on steady. I pulled over and read the manual and it mentioned a potential gas cap problem among other things. I popped out to check the cap and sure enough, it was gone - I must have left my gas cap at the last station I filled up at (Hence the dumb move). I stopped at AutoZone and got a new cap, and it seems to fit well. Any ideas when the light will go out? Autozone suggested anywhere between 10 and 100 miles after the 'air gets out of the system'.

Thouughts? Thanks

 

[slysnake]

lol. happened to my 17 year old daughter several times now. She just can't remember to put the gas cap back on her mini after a fill up. Always thinks she has something wrong with her car after the light goes on. She's blonde too.

 

[Ratical2]

Don't feel to bad, I lost mine during the first fill up. I got a call and was distracted when the pump went off. Took the pump out and closed the lid, got in and took off. Afterwards I noticed a gas smell after turning left. Figured it all out after I stopped for gas the next time.

My other car was a dumb move too. The wife calls and says the check engine light is on(I didn't ask but she got gas on the way home). So I stop at Kragens on the way home from work and buy a Scanner to find out why. Run the scan and look up the code, loose gas cap. I go back out to the truck tighten the gas cap and reset the code. And no more problem.

 

[dave6666]

OK. I'll take the bait.

You stupid %$#* @$%#&* *&#^&@ poor excuse of a &$%*& $%@# !^&@%.

If you ever do that again I'll say something rude and mean.

 

[murci]

Yep...happened to me a couple of times. Lights goes out after a couple of drives. Not sure of the exact mileage, but it wasn't too long. The light scared the hell out of me until I found out what it meant. You'll be fine.

 

[dave6666]

The gas only leaks out if you're upside down.

 

[Ratical2]

The gas only leaks out if you're upside down.

Or if you do High G turns...

 

[PacificSEASnake]

Autozone suggested anywhere between 10 and 100 miles after the 'air gets out of the system'.

Let the cashier stick to selling air fresheners and flame stickers. There's always air in the system - unlesss you have the optional tank that collapses as fuel is consumed.

Seriously though, mileage has nothing to do with it. The warning light will go off after the computer is cycled through (i.e. car is started and ran normally) a few times. You can get this same fault code even with the cap installed if it wasn't turned far enough to 'click' when installing.

As for losing the cap - what happened to the tether that keeps it attached to the car?

 

[Ratical2]

As for losing the cap - what happened to the tether that keeps it attached to the car?[/quote]

Tether not installed on my car('96). Must have been added in later model years.

 

[ViperDude]

No tether on my 2006. Looks like 10 years later they still couldn't think that one up.

 

[Malu59RT]

Not in the 08's either, but the owner's manual sure made it seem like it had the option to hang on the fuel door somewhere (I can't figure it out).

 

[TAXIMAN1]

Thats not too bad.... Now driving away with the nozzle still in the car?? THATS STUPID!!

Believe it or not, This happens more than you think it would.... Of course we are full service here in Joisey. However, I always beat the attendant to the pump, with the Viper.. Nothing like watching habib try and slam my $400 MGW gas cap shut, on my GTS.. Thanks, I'll get it..

 

[Steve-Indy]

You can go back to AutoZone and ask them to clear the code (and check to be sure that no OTHER code was set).

 

[Roadrunner]

The quickest way? Disconnect the Black Connector at the engine controller... wait about 10 seconds and plug it back in. Do that with the key off of course... when you power back up the code will be flushed. No autozone, etc...

The Black connector contains the power feeds for the PCM. Disconnection flushes stored codes. The light will stay out as long as there are no other issues with your car.

 

[Sellshomesdrivesviper]

I've never left my gas cap off on the Viper.
BUT several years ago, I was filling up my daily driver with gas, took a cell phone call, and not realizing it, got back into my car and drove off with the hose still in my gas tank. OOPS!!!

 

[2002_Viper_GTS_ACR]

Dad's 05 has a tether, my old ACR (Gen2) and my 06 Coupe (gen 3) does not.

Maybe just the convertibles have it?

Jon

 

[Steve-Indy]

If you plan to unplug the PCM, you may wish to follow the appropriate protocol.

 

[fastmd]

My 06 vert has a tether.

 

[V10SpeedLuvr]

Unrelated, but somewhat related...I suggest all Viper owners get a locking gas cap. I'm not sure if stealing fuel is a big problem anywhere (at $3.40/gal for premium, I may start stealing some myself ) but its too easy for some jealous punk to dump something into our gas tanks and us not know it until its too late. I've heard some people say locking gas caps make the "check engine" light come on b/c they don't seal properly. I got my cap from Bumper 2 Bumper ($15) almost 3 years ago and its never caused the check engine light to come on.

And to keep with the thread...my 96' RT/10 doesn't have a tether for the gas cap, but I did order one of the pad things that attaches around the gas fill hole to keep the gas nozzle from touching the side of the car when fueling up from Dodge (~$10)

 

[Tim Purtell]

Thanks everyone for the constructive comments (except you Dave - dont worry everyone, I know Dave and he speaks in explatives the same way he writes them - but he actually is very nice person!!)

That said, the light went out by itself yesterday as a few people mentioned it might - but it happened after my 5th or 6th drive of about 10 minutes or so each - so problem solved - unless you figure my stupidity which is a problem I fear will get worse as I get older!!!!

 

[Steve-Indy]

THANKS for the followup!

 

[qtr_mile]

My '03 Viper has tethered gas cap. Seems strange that someone (above) reported that their '06 Viper did not have it.

 

[FrankBarba]

If you owned a Ford GT you will never loose your gas cap....

 

[Black Moon]

The filler has an anti-siphon check valve as it goes into the tank. Siphoning is pretty impossible on our cars. FYI

Unrelated, but somewhat related...I suggest all Viper owners get a locking gas cap. I'm not sure if stealing fuel is a big problem anywhere (at $3.40/gal for premium, I may start stealing some myself ) but its too easy for some jealous punk to dump something into our gas tanks and us not know it until its too late. I've heard some people say locking gas caps make the "check engine" light come on b/c they don't seal properly. I got my cap from Bumper 2 Bumper ($15) almost 3 years ago and its never caused the check engine light to come on.

And to keep with the thread...my 96' RT/10 doesn't have a tether for the gas cap, but I did order one of the pad things that attaches around the gas fill hole to keep the gas nozzle from touching the side of the car when fueling up from Dodge (~$10)

 

[Fast1]

I think only the vert Gen III have a tether because you have body color sheet metal gas doors. My '06 Coupe with the polished latching cap does not have a tether, or a place to hold the cap. I have also left the cap once and had to run to Autozone for another. It was right before the Viper vs. Viper at Luke AFB. I had to get it replaced and had only 10 min. before the inspections prior to entering the base. I do not understand why they didn't make the cap spring loaded against the gas door like a 1969 Mach I pop-open cap.

 

[Racer Robbie]

You can also reset the light by disconnecting the + cable under the hood on the fuse box and pumping the brake pedal a few times to remove any excess voltage in the system. Hook it back up and use your key to unlock the door and start the car. On another note gas caps are notorious for going bad and popping a trouble code. I always replace with a new factory OEM gas cap. Aftermarket caps are not all the same as OEM and OEM caps cost less than $15.00.

 

[xjrguy]

For what it's worth, my 2005 Roadster has a tethered gas cap too.

It's nice to know that people can't siphon gas out of this tank.

I had this problem on my 2004 Mustang Cobra, and needed to get a locking gas cap for that car.