Maybe you need a new person that calls himself a mechanic. Stop in the new member area and introduce yourself. Would be a good idea to add a first name, location, and yr/model to your signature right after you complete your profile

 

Thanks for the advice about the forum, sw2cam. My mechanic was good enough to do a scan for free. Looking over his shoulder I did see some text on the scanner relating to o2 sensor.

 

This is a problem where having the correct information is going to have to be found and utilized. Looking over some ones shoulder is not a valid approach either. Asking your mechanic what he thinks might be a problem could have been a good step. An 02 sensor functionally has no bearing on the symptom as you described it as far as I know either. Something read and utilized out of context has very little value. Either turn the job over to your mechanic who may have some knowledge he can apply or purchase a service manual for your car and read the definition of the error code AS IT APPLIES TO YOUR CAR.
Why do that?
Well for the most part it is going to be cheaper than buying an O2 sensor which probably you don't need and discovering with basic tools which might be all that is available, changing it might be beyond your capabilities.

 

Thanks uncljohn, I do think that a service manual is a wise investment going forward. As far as looking over his shoulder goes I know that what I glanced at out of context was not valid from a diagnostic context. The reason that I mentioned that was that I realized that simply stating that an O2 sensor was a possibility based on that code made my mechanic look bad based on a comment by another poster. The fact is that I stopped by his shop to see when he could look at it and he spent 20 minutes reading codes and testing all the fuses and relays, all with no charge. If I end up needing to leave it to him I have confidence, based on previous experience, that he will come up with the correct solution when he has the time to do so.
I always like to go into something like this with as much information as possible and hoped that someone on this forum had the same experience and remembered what was the problem.

 

Very very painfully and carefully. Don't attempt that unless you know exactly what you're doing and what you'll be met with when you open up your dash.

 

Well, not exactly the answer I hoped for which would have been the removal and replacement of an inexpensive and easy to get to part. Is the mil circuit a part or are we talking of a bunch of wires and connections to be tested?

 

Sadly, I suspect you are looking at the tedious task of checking and testing the various connections and wires leading to and coming from that portion of the dash/console. Hopefully, its just a loose connector, or maybe a "pushed" pin in the connector, or at worse, a broken wire. I personally own an '02 L200, so in that respect, I'm highly attuned to your issue/problem.

My major concern is that after all this effort, there's a possibility that the BCM may need to be replaced (hope not). Good luck on your troubleshooting, and keep us informed

 

It doesn't sound like a fun way to spend a day of my vacation next week that I'm taking with hopes of building a new chicken coop, tilling the garden, and brewing a couple batches of beer. I think I'll probably check for any loose connections, broken wires etc. and if I don't find anything bring it to the mechanic. Hope its not the bcm too!

 

Here's an interesting development. We had to go to a good store to get provisions for a dinner we are hosting this weekend. Unfortunately for us that means a ride of almost exactly 40 miles. About a 1/4 mile before our destination the service light turns off and everything that didn't work did. I figured that was a sign of loose wiring or such. Now check this out: when I started the car to drive home the light came back on and the same things were not working. Then we drove home the exact same route and 1/4 mile before home, so pretty much exactly the same milage driven, the light went out and everything stopped working again. I'm not sure if its a coincidence or if the fact the problem went away after driving the exact same distance means anything.