ecu question

I have a 2004 sprinter with 250000 miles with the ecu light on. here's my story: the place I fuel everyday developed a problem with water in their fuel. They put treatment in my tank and cleaned out theirs, this was about 6 weeks ago. Today I decided to pump out my tank just to see if any water was in it. Fortunately it was free of water. I put the fuel back into the tank and started back to the terminal. 4 miles down the road the ecu light came on. I think it came on because I pumped the fuel out but I am not for sure. Anyone have any ideas or suggestions. I also wonder if the light will go off on its own or do I need to have it reset by a dealer. Outside of normal maintenance this is the first time I have had any hint of a problem with this van. The van starts and runs just like it always has.
Thanks
Rich

Have you scanned for codes? There are many things that can turn on the ECU light (aka MIL Maintenance Indicator Light/CEL Check Engine Light). It may or may not be related to you draining fuel, or fuel issues at all. Right now you have no information. Even a scan with a generic OBDII scanner from your local parts store may give you some direction. The light can be reset by a generic scan tool. Hope this does some good. AP/vic

I had the computer scanned at Autozone yesterday and it said there was a misfire in cylinder number 1. Over the past year the van started using oil, it now uses a half quart every 4000 miles and the fuel mileage has been decreasing over the same time period. I didn't think too much about it until the engine light came on. Any suggestions??
Thanks,
Rich

1/2 quart every 4000 miles, 250,000 miles. Am I correct in assuming this is a diesel?

This not specific to diesel or gas. If you lose compression on a cylinder the rings don't seat and oil consumption will often increase.

Before you go any further I think it would be good to get it scanned with a DRBIII dealer type scan tool and looked into by a good mechanic. If the OBDII scan tool indicated a glow plug failure or something basic along those lines I would suggest exploring further just based upon that scan. In this case a scan by a DRBIII scan tool may yield more specific information related to your problem.

Sorry I can't be more help. If you're lucky one of our Sprinter technician forum members may give you better direction. AP/vic