Hi, ya' all!! I may have made a problem bigger today. I was loosening what I thought was a bracket that attached a metal hose to the side wall of my engine compartment and found it actually released a pressurized gas. I thought the hose was under pressure but mistook the bolt that released the pressure for a support bolt. This metal hose goes into my firewall on one end and its connected to my alternator on the other end. Now my car is running rough and I just got a 'check engine' light come on. I'm driving a 1996 Acura TL 3.2. Can anyone tell what I screwed up, and possibly what I may have to do to fix it. I would so appreciate your help. Thanks.

 

Just an update---It appears the rough idle I spoke of in the above post was unrelated to the bolt I undid that released a gaseous substance. I had forgot to hook up another hose connected to my valve cover. Now it runs normally, but I still have the 'check engine' light on. I'm hoping the 'check engine' light will go off in a day or so, which would confirm to me it only about that hose and not what I believe is an air conditioning hose. Does this make sense to all you backyard mechanics?

 

I did the same thing when I was changing my starter. It sounds exactly like what happened to me and was an AC hose.
I took it to a guy who works on my Acura and he recharged it easily.