My SES light came on again and the code was :

P1416 secondry Air

What is this and how bad is it? the service tech was very vague and said it would take an hour of diagnostics. what god is the codes if it still takes an hour to diagnose?

 

P1416 is usually a bad passenger side air check valve. It's not expensive and you can replace it yourself.

 

thanks, I hope so cause I am kind of uptight having this SES light on as nothing bad has happened with this Z28. what does this air check do anyway and will it hurt to drive it till I can get this unit?

 

where exactly is this air pump valve located at and what does it look like?

1998 Z28 A4

 

yeah, although unlikley, the check valves do go. The fact it set the secondary air code, pretty much eliminates diagnosis of the pump, relay, and it's wiring. I dunno why the tech told you an hour of diagnosis. If he's working flat rate he's gonna stave this week. The check vlaves are located on the side of the engine on top, right on the sides of the intake manifold. it has two, one on each side, and they are on those thin pipes that u see running on top of the engine, into the exhaust manifolds. An easy way to check them: take one off and blow through it, if you can't then suck. They only alow flow in on direction, if you can blow or suck through them, through the same end, the valve is bad. they look like small accorns, mounted on skinny pipes, they really stand out and u can't miss them. One thing to keep in mind, if you change them and the light persists, don't freak, it may take a while for the light to go away, since the A.I.R system works very sparingly, it may take the ECM a while to recognize the system is fuctioning properly. Even if the tech clears the code with the scanner, it may return, just keep that in mind. then again he is a certified tech, making 15+ an hour, so he should know this and tell you

 

Yea, they look like spindle tops (like a top you'd spin on a table). Just replace it and then reset your pcm to quickly make sure you've fixed it or not. To reset the pcm, turn your ignition to the ON position, (not start) and then pull your pcm ign and pcm batt fuses (under the hood) and leave 'em out for about 5 minutes. Then turn the ignition back to OFF and replace them.