CEL Caused by low battery?

[MikeTheApeman]

Here's the short story:
Tahoe has been running just fine, no issues at all.
Went to pick the mrs up from the train station the other night, was sitting for a little bit with the engine off, radio on.
Started the truck back up, CEL was on out of nowhere.
Went out 2 days later to go somewhere, which was the first time i started the truck since then...click, click - battery dead.
Replaced the battery, CEL was gone.

I know disconnecting the battery is a way to clear codes, so I'm not convinced that was the issue. I'm just trying to figure out if I need to keep my eyes and ears open for a possible issue, or if a low battery can trigger a CEL?

 

[MikeTheApeman]

Would it help if I clarified that CEL = Check Engine Light?
(geez, kid can't turn his fog lights on and gets a dozen replies. I have a legit question....bubkiss! )

 

[Eagle]

Well, I don't remember getting a CEL when I barely started on a bad battery, but then I wouldn't have paid any attention to it either.

Out of sight, out of mind. I wouldn't be concerned about it unless it shows up again.

 

[yukondoit]

Would it help if I clarified that CEL = Check Engine Light?
(geez, kid can't turn his fog lights on and gets a dozen replies. I have a legit question....bubkiss! )

I cant really help you but has it come back on? I would run the code and see if its some other problem.

 

[borohoe]

It all depends on what the code was. A low battery can reek havoc on the OBD II emissions monitors, but I doubt much else. It is very likely that the problem corrected itself, but the code is probably still stored in memory. I would have the codes pulled at a major autoparts store and see what you come up with.

 

[jomulk56]

Mine has thrown a CEL ad went into safety mode or whatever it's called on a bad battery.

 

[MikeTheApeman]

Okay, so the light came back today...but then I got a DIC message that my fuel cap was loose. I plan on going to get the codes read tomorrow, but another dumb question - could a loose cap cause the light?

 

[gtbigup01]

Okay, so the light came back today...but then I got a DIC message that my fuel cap was loose. I plan on going to get the codes read tomorrow, but another dumb question - could a loose cap cause the light?

Yes, and your owners manual probably says it too. Don't know about the battery causing it though it's possible i guess. But the loose cap, definitely

 

[yargnits]

Okay, so the light came back today...but then I got a DIC message that my fuel cap was loose. I plan on going to get the codes read tomorrow, but another dumb question - could a loose cap cause the light?

It use to all the time on my wife's 99 Jimmy.

 

[MikeTheApeman]

Okay, guessing it was the gas cap. Code thrown was P0455, was showing twice - once as a pending code. Looking around on Google seems to point to the gas cap as the primary culprit. Thinking that maybe I should just buy a replacement, as the cap doesn't seem to be "clicking" like it used to when closing.

Now, I didn't clear the code with the scanner. Should I clear the code manually, or will the code go away after a few cycles?