Check engine light came on last week. Went through the self-diagnostic routine (turn a knob on the ECM, and it'll blink the code to you) and it turns out that it's an error with the neutral position switch (and also something with the knock sensor, but the knock sensor error doesn't trigger the check engine light).
Now, in some cars, the neutral position switch is used to inhibit starting when the transmission isn't in neutral. But that's not the case with this car: the starter inhibit is tied to the clutch. In fact, this switch doesn't seem to do anything (besides triggering the check engine light).
When I probed the switch, it turned out that it works pretty consistently when shifting into neutral from 3rd, and sometimes 5th. Strange. Maybe it's loose, and shifting from 3rd produces the right amount of overtravel to trigger it, or something.
Anyways, I reset the check engine light and now, as a bit of a voodoo ritual, I shift between 3rd and neutral a few times after starting the car, just to convince the ECM that the switch is still functional, so that it won't activate the check engine light.
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