Engine light not working!!

[Azaveo5]

I have a 2008 Aveo5 LS Hatchback AT trans. My Problem is a weird one my engine light does not work properly. When i first start it up early in the morning to go to work the engine light comes on then shuts off after the self check like normal, but then never comes on anytime after that in any key position. I took apart the dash to see if maybe the connection was bad, but when i took it apart to look at it everything looked fine i also checked the bulb while i had it opened and it appeared to be fine as well and i figured that cause it does work sometimes. i checked all the fuses in the cab and under the hood and they are all fine. Could it be the ECU is bad and not sending the information to light? In AZ this is a must in order to pass emissions so any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Daox]

So you're going to fail emissions because your check engine light doesn't come on??? I'm confused.

[Azaveo5]

Yes in az if your engine light doesn't come on for the self check to show that the light is working properly you will fail..

[tacomafitch]

But if it comes on when you 1st start the car like it should I dont see what the problem is. If you shut if off and start it again does it come on ?

[Azaveo5]

No it doesn't it only comes on when i first start it up in the morning the rest of the time it doesn't.

[gothstone]

Does your stereo turn off when you turn off the car? It almost sounds like its stuck in ACC mode all the time until its been on long enough to kick the battery saver stuff. If so its gona be a pain to fix. Don't know how forgiving your inspection guys are, but I would try yanking the battery cable in the parking lot, then asking them to "inspect" the check engine light when they first start the car to pull it in. Otherwise I think you may have to replace the lock cylinder or switch.

[Azaveo5]

My stereo turns off like normal when you turn the car off. Would that be a deciding factor? Or could the lock cylinder/switch be the problem?

[gothstone]

No if the stereo turns off that pretty much kills that idea. Sorry, no clue whats up. Just for giggles Try pulling the battery cable for 10 min. Probably won't do anything useful, but there might be a glitch in the ECU that a full reset might clear. Beyond that you probably have a short somewhere or a bad ECU. Neither is good news.

[Azaveo5]

I tried that when i first noticed the problem and that had no affect. I'm thinking its the ECU that went bad and it's just not sending the info for the light to go on... Thanks anyway though.. anyone else have any input as to what it might be???

[petrified.rabbit]

so if you go to out to the car right now and put the key in and only turn it to the key on position, there would be no CEL illuminated? except for in the morning? once the car starts the light is out immediately, unless there is a problem.