Does the service engine light soon come on just before a recommended service? Our light came on and we are just shy of 50,000

this old car is what is called OBD1 technologist, (custom to each maker)
the operators manual says what, "Get it serviced now"
SES, soon,,,,,,
it means the EFI puter sees gross errors.
it means to scan it, but hark this old car , has 1cent jumper wire test.
its here.
see it. see photo 2, the DLC next to the battery
see the jumper?
http://www.fixkick.com/CEL/DLC/DiagJump.html

see that red 91 tracker.
good now click home and read what to do on that page.
CEL page.
SES is same for CEL.
this car is a federal USA car also has federal nag light,
that turns the lamp on at 50,000 miles and repeats
see NAG lamp rules. there.

Check the codes

according to the owners manual there is no 50,000 mile service, it is due at 51,000, the recommended service by Chrysler is as follows:
1.CHANGE OIL AND FILTER
2.ROTATE TIRES
3.INSPECT ENGINE AIR FILTER AND REPLACE AS NEEDED

Dealers have there own services that they recommend at mileage intervals that may vary from factory recommendations, beware of those large expensive packages they try to sell u.

the only listing for 50,000 miles is to change oil and filter and rotate tires, this is assuming you have done the other services at 30,000 miles which has alot more done but this is all to be done at 50,000. hope this helps.

drop by autozone and they will scan the codes for free (at least the last time i heard it was free) the people there are fairly knowledgable so they should be able to tell you why the light is on.

sometime it's a one off that triggers the light. after three cycles of the key when it hasn't encountered the same problem it will go out.

return the car to have the light reset as it is most probably due to the disturbance of something during the service,eg;hose or electrical connection,check what chemicals if any were added to the engine,eg;carbon clean or the like as this can upset sensors as well

HI, this is a check engine light,. i would advise to run a diagnostic scan on the engine asap. this will expose the actual issue, and it will also reveal the necessary repair options you will need to apply to correct this matter as well.

Possible causes are usually a defective or damaged sensor circuit of some sort...

It could be any number of things you will nee the codes read to be sure. If yor mileage is near one of the recommended services points 50,000, 100,000 or 150,000 this could be the cause. Again you won't know or sure ill codes are read Good Luck With This

The difference is the yellow wrench is a mantinence required light it doesent mean there is a problem its a reminder to get service like oil changes . Everytime you get an oil change the tech has to reset the mantinence light . The reset instructions are in the owners manual

If the check engine light has been coming on you could take it to an Advance Auto Parts store and they can run the codes for you for FREE and tell you why the light is coming on. That way you or whoever is not just guessing so you are not replacing parts not needed which can get expensive. Sounds like it could be as simple as a tune up but could also be a sensor of some kind which there are several that could cause your problem. MAP sensor, Mass Air Flow sensor, throttle position sensor just to name a few.