I have a 1996 plylmouth breeze, and lately the check engine light been coming on?

my question i own the car and i dont want to sell it, thats money i dont have, just what do i do to make sure theres a way to fix it before the car stops on me again, it didnt do it till like a month ago, and i had it a year, and last time i had to take in they had to fix some wires in the car that burned the starter, well it got fixed, and i got a new starter, i went to houston, tx which is 2 hours away, and on the way back it started starting and stopping on me, i took it to the shop again for something dealing with the power, how do i know to fix the problem before it stops?
I have a 1996 plylmouth breeze, and lately the check engine light been coming on?
Take it to the dealer
I have a 1996 plylmouth breeze, and lately the check engine light been coming on?
Some auto parts stores will scan it for you for free.. find out what code is in the computer, thats making the check engine light come on, then, come back on here %26amp; re-post your question... or email me directly with the code they get when they scan it, %26amp; I'll tell you whats wrong with it..
Reply:You ask "how do i know to fix the problem before it stops"





From your post, it seems that you are not a DYI mechanic. There's not much from your description that we can say - or you can take - to help you. Your description is very vague (ex: "something dealing with the power...").





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Having said all that, there are few thing you can do in general to keep your car in decent shape. You have to know that the most important fluids in your car are





(1) engine oil - change every 3K to 5k miles. 5K miles if you mostly do HWY driving


(2) tranny oil - change every 30K miles


(3) coolant - change every 3 years


(4) timing belt - change every 60K miles.





If you did just the above, you can avert all major engine and tranny damage. The rest you fix as you they break (brakes, failed sensors, vacuum leaks, etc.)





That is not to say that your car will be completely problem free. You will still need minor repairs. So find a reputable mechanic and don't let small problems become big problems.





Also set aside a small budget every month for maintenance and repairs. It will still be cheaper than buying a newer car.








Good Luck...
Reply:...without looking at the car I don't realy know but it might be something "crap'd" up in the catalytic-system... if the re-circ lines get crap'd up or the filters get clogged it could cause the car to run lousy... but again, you need to take it to someone "you trust" and knows what they are doing... it's such an easy "scam" when "that" light comes on...
Reply:I agree with other person. You need to get the codes read. You car is operated by computer which receives signals from various sensors. 1996 vehicles used OBD II which if you have an Auto Zone near you has a device that can read the code and give you an idea what's going on. The code doesn't necessarily mean that a specific part has gone bad but that a fault in the system has been detected and it usually takes a good mechanic to sort out what is triggering the engine trouble code. Other than this you really haven't described the problem specific enough for anyone to help you.