164LS -- CHECK ENGINE warning light on

[cuadra@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Three months ago I purchased a 1995 164LS, 5-speed, with 24.5K miles on the
odometer. Since my previous cars were a '67 Ford Fairlane GT, '68 Chevy
Nomad station wagon, '72 Dodge Dart, and several VW Bugs ('63, '66, '71),
this Alfa has completely changed my perceptions about driving. The 164 is
hella fast and, despite body roll, handles great. It has every luxury
feature available (almost too many). And Black Flag sounds great on the
sound system.

Wanting to get off to a good start, I changed the oil and filter right away.
The glitches thus far have been minor: The seat heater stopped working but
that's not a big deal in Northern California. The left side-view mirror no
longer retracts. Again no biggy. 

I think I finally got the climate control figured out...

This morning the "check engine" warning light came on and stayed on. All the
vital signs are normal (oil pressure etc) and it's running exactly the same.
The owners manual says that the warning light means a fault was detected in
the electronic injection and ignition system. I called the dealer and they
said they'd have to hook the car up to their diagnostic mainframe to
decipher the computer code from the control unit.

Has anyone had a similar experience? Perhaps it's just a malfunctioning
oxygen sensor. Or maybe something worse.

Paul Cuadra -- San Francisco
cuadra@domain.elided
1997 Moto Guzzi Sport
1987 Yamaha FZ700

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