Originally Posted by
Bovice
I will for sure update the thread with any findings I may come up with.
Bovice - You've done a couple things that make sense. Maybe more. I'm sure you've done things you haven't mentioned on here. But here's my takeaway on the situation.
You're odb-II connector thingie. I've got 2 of these myself. Something like ELM 327. One that I have never causes an issue with my car even when I just leave it in there all the time. The other will cause some weird lights on the dash, trac control maybe if I leave it in. But here's the thing. I wouldn't resist plugging it in and using it for checking and clearing codes. Just pull it back out when you're done. You mentioned taking back out the LEDs. Sounds like you were talking about LEDs in the front because you said you can't see good at night. But maybe it was on the inside. Either way, any bulbs you've replaced with bulbs of a different type, for whatever reason, tends to make the car start having gremlins. Mainly lights on the dash and weird codes. Other guys can explain this much better. But if you've "upgraded" brake lights for example, downgrade them back to the original type of bulb.
So I think 3 things: 1. Replace all "upgraded" bulbs, interior and exterior with original type. 2. Clear your codes, remove your gadget. 3. Use your car and see what codes might come back.
The exhaust pipe popping thing is a bit weird, but when a car cranks up cold, I'm sure it's running some kind of programmed choke cycle. And when doing that, the AFR will be rich. And the result is, some raw fuel will be pushed into the exhaust. Once that raw fuel just happens to start mixing with just the right amount of air, if there's a hot spot in the vicinity, why yes, it will burn. So I'm not so worried about that popping. Follow the 1, 2 and 3 above, and I think you're being just a touch overly concerned about your car. They're tougher than you think.
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View my fuel log 2020 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 42.4 mpg (US) ... 18.0 km/L ... 5.5 L/100 km ... 51.0 mpg (Imp)