Check engine light after using fuel injection cleaner?

Question

Ok, I am a student so I bought a Used Toyota Corolla the 98-02 series LE model, and it has 90k miles on it. It was running like a top, and I had the bright idea that I should clean the fuel injectors for better gas milage. Well, I put it in two days ago, and the more I drive it, the worse it drives. I can't even start the engine without pumping the gas, and it stalls when breaking and dies. I used a 75k mile gumout formula, and followed the instructions to a 't'. near empty gas tank, put it in the gas tank, then fill with gas. Well Now the check engine light is on, and the car isn't moving well. So i went to the pump to try and dilute the injection cleaning solution by adding 2 gallons of 91 octane gasoline. With little to no effect, except 8 dollars gone. Do you think it is a conicidence,should I siphen out the gas, drive it until i can put a lot of gas in it? Please help, thank you.

What can I do to fix the problem/ what is the problem?

Answer 1

You might have glazed your plugs. Most fuel injector cleaners use mostly diesel as the main ingredient. Try using Berrymans B-12 Chemtool. It's one of only about 4 on the market that won't glaze your plugs. B-12 is one of the two that actually clean your plugs. You might have broken loose some junk from the inside of the tank and sucked it up into the fuel system. Try changing your fuel filter. Changing it will help if this is the case. You might have also inadvertently gotten some water in your fuel when you filled up. Any station can get water in their tanks at anytime. With humidity, cool of the night, and warmth of the day, condensation is going to happen. This is pretty much normal, and gas stations really do not have any control over it happening. Try getting a product called "heet" in the red bottle and adding it to your tank. One treatment is all you will need, if this is the case. You might have even had a vacuum hose come loose in the engine. That would also cause all the problems you are describing.

Answer 2

Gumout Fuel System Cleaner

Answer 3

That must have been some powerful injector cleaner! LOL.I,m betting that maybe what has happened is that your O2 or oxygen sensor is what is causing the 'Check Engine' light to come on. These sensors can be sensitive and it might very well be that this is what is causing your light to be on.I would try unhooking the battery which will reset the engine computer,s parameter,s and then take the car out for a good road trip to get the O2 sensor good and hot and perhaps burn off any residue that might have accumulated on the sensor and see if that help out. It might not but it certainly can,t hurt anything.Good luck.

Answer 4

1) Probably the fuel filter.
2) The car is fuel injected, pumping the gas pedal has no effect when the engine is not running.
3) the problem was probably caused by running the tank close to empty and getting all the junk that had accumulated over the years to be picked up by the fuel pump.

4) Just to make sure...when you say you "Filled with gas" did you Fill it full? or just put a few gallons in the tank?
That stuff is meant to be diluted with about 10-14 gallons of fuel, if it wasn't then you need to add more gasoline and take it for a 20-30 mile road trip to clear the O2 sensor.

Remove the Negative battery cable for a few minutes after you get the fuel in the car then drive it.

Change the fuel filter, leave the gas in the tank.

my $0.02
Yours: Grumpy

Answer 5

Your car gas tank build up junk was loosen up by the cleaner you put it in.
1) Intake manifold Gasket gets loose after some time, but because of dirt build up around it sometimes your car works ok, as soon as you put some stuff to clear, all that dirt build up around the Gasket is cleared and more oxygen starts getting into the engine. mostly Code 171 will come up, because of that problem.
Or
2) Junk from Gas tank was cleared, and got stuck ,,, Air fuel sensors should be checked, Mas Air flow sensor should be checked.

but if you are planning to change that stuff and spend some money,, keep on putting that fuel injector cleaner stuff in your car and add octane gas again, any way you will have to replace that part,, so why not clean it all for once and replace it.. so next time you don t have to worry about it.
It s like ... because of all the toxic in your body ,, you kidneys gave up,, so before getting a new kidney, you go for dialyses, your body should be cleaned, or the new kidney will get damage too.

Answer 6

I agree with Jpattonfamily. Over the counter fuel injection cleaners are a good maintenence but very rarely (99.9% of the time) clean a plugged fuel injector. A shop (with the correct equiptment) would disable fuel pump and run on separate tank (with its own fuel pump) with high concentration cleaner/fuel or remove fuel injectors and have flow tested and ultrasonically cleaned.

Answer 7

1st do not use Gumout anything.
What has probably happened is this.....
You should put in F.I. cleaner every 30 days. If you do not, the junk gas that we use now a days builds up all over. Your gas tank, your intake, your injectors. So then you put a cleaner in and it breaks this stuff loose. Well you had 90k worth of stuff. A large piece probably got stuck in a injector. Ironic...... I know.
Put premium gas in it as soon as possible. Put in STP, JB, or 3m cleaner in. Do it again and agian. If it does not go away..... you may have to take it to the shop and have it checked out. It might cost you a few injectors. If it does.... Use a good F.I. Cleaner monthly and buy good gas.
By the way, premium gas gives you better gas milage and helps your car to not have these problems... so in the end, the extra $3 dollars per tank is worth it. good luck!

Answer 8

More than likely you've clogged your fuel filter and or injectors with all the gunk that is now being broken up by the cleaner.

Answer 9

We've had a lot of probelms with the check engine light in our truck. Take it somewhere and ask... could be an electrical short (Ford's have this common problem)... sometimes the light on itself isn't a worry- until inspection time. Our truck runs rough too... might just be the milage and the car.

Answer 10

Remove the battery connection for a while. Fix back and try starting it without accelerating the pedal.Let the system learn by itself by idling for 10 mins.