Hi Everybody,

Here's my story. Awhile back I was driving home from work and my gear position sensor acted up and the up arrow started flashing and the check engine light came on. So I did a "ratchet cleaning" and moved the gear back and forth rapidly to try and get rid of any build-up that may be making it hard for the sensor to do its job.

After doing this a couple dozen times the sensor seemed to be doing fine (the up arrow light went off) but the check engine light remained on. I figured that it was just still on from the car thinking the pnp switch needed to get replaced so I didn't think anything of it because my car was working fine. But I disconnected the battery overnight to clear the computer and check engine light but when I re-connected the battery the check engine light came back on (the light comes on about 5 seconds after the car starts, not right away). My car seems to be running perfectly- mostly I don't drive that much or that fast (I live on a relatively small island) but if I do ever jump on the highway and go over 50 or 55 for a couple minutes there will be a weird smell, my roommate thought it smelled like it does after setting off fireworks. I never smell anything weird when I'm driving around town. ALso important to note (maybe??) that it's always kind of hot here, mid-80s. Everything else seems absolutely fine- the car seems to be running smoothly and there's no overheating or high rpms or anything.

Does anybody have an idea of what it may be (and how much it is to fix, or if it's something relatively easy that maybe I could do?). I'm used to my dad fixing my car and I don't want to get taken advantage of by a mechanic!

Thanks for your help!
Catherine