Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Flashing Check Engine Light

Hello,

My check engine light has been on for the past week. About three days ago my Engine Temp indicator started pinning to the right. Now this morning when I started my car up, the check engine light started flashing for maybe a minute, then went back to a solid light. Has anyone had this experience? Thanks!

Flashing CEL means
REALLY BAD shiznit is goinbg down. And runnig on full hot probably did it. Don't screw around, you better get to a dealer. It could be ANYTHING!!!

My first problem EVER on my contour was this same symptom. All it turned out to be was that the PCM had lost configuration (or something like that ). The dealer told me it was still safe to drive, however, you're situation may be different considering you temp. gauge going to the right a few days back. Go with AussieSVT's advice and don't screw around and get it to dealer or someone who can read the CEL Code.

joc wrote:

My check engine light has been on for the past week. About three days ago my Engine Temp indicator started pinning to the right. Now this morning when I started my car up, the check engine light started flashing for maybe a minute, then went back to a solid light. Has anyone had this experience?

  A steady CEL usually means something fairly harmless; if there are no other symptoms, then you're probably just polluting more than you should, and perhaps burning more gas than you should.

  Your temperature gauge ?pinning to the right? is bad news; it means you're overheating, and at great risk of serious engine damage.

  A flashing CEL means that you've got at least one cylinder that is misfiring, perhaps as a result of serious damage resulting from running it while it was overheating.

  I'm glad I'm not you.

The temp gauge is pinned all the time though, it never goes down, even when off. I don't think that there is an actual temp. problem. One thing I just thought of is that when I had my clutch replaced a few months ago, my trusty Ford dealer broke the heat sensor which they replaced (after trying to charge me for it) in the same visit. Could this have gone bad or been installed incorrectly?

You can't really generalize a steady CEL light as 'no big deal'. There are about 100 different possible error codes that can trigger a steady check engine light. Some are no big deal, others a major deal, or might start out as no big deal but turns into a bigger deal as you drive. For example, the first time my cat were defective, my CEL came on steady, yet it ran OK for about 500 miles. I ignored it, until suddenly the engine started losing power big time, and knocking like crazy under acceleration. Then I brought it into the dealer, and it was diagnosed with plugged and disintegrated cat converters. I was lucky in that my engine was OK, but I have heard of several stories with these defective cats causing complete engine failure due to sucking disintegrated cat material into the engine through the EGR and ruining the cylinder walls. All the while the CEL is on steady. That's just one example - there are many others.

Bottom line is don't ignore any check engine light that stays on, whether its steady or blinking. Ignoring it can do a lot more than just pollute - it can ruin your engine. You should know what the code is before deciding to ignore it.

stingray454 wrote:

You can't really generalize a steady CEL light as 'no big deal'. There are about 100 different possible error codes that can trigger a steady check engine light. Some are no big deal, others a major deal, or might start out as no big deal but turns into a bigger deal as you drive. For example, the first time my cat were defective, my CEL came on steady, yet it ran OK for about 500 miles. I ignored it, until suddenly the engine started losing power big time, and knocking like crazy under acceleration. Then I brought it into the dealer, and it was diagnosed with plugged and disintegrated cat converters. I was lucky in that my engine was OK, but I have heard of several stories with these defective cats causing complete engine failure due to sucking disintegrated cat material into the engine through the EGR and ruining the cylinder walls. All the while the CEL is on steady. That's just one example - there are many others.

Bottom line is don't ignore any check engine light that stays on, whether its steady or blinking. Ignoring it can do a lot more than just pollute - it can ruin your engine. You should know what the code is before deciding to ignore it.

  This gets to one of my biggest gripes about the whole CEL concept.  The vast majority of the time, a lit CEL indicates something that can be safely ignored for a while.  Rarely, it indicates a serious problem which must be corrected right away in order to prevent severe harm.  Unless you have acess to an OBD-II scanner, you have no way of knowing the difference.  The CEL is a ?Boy who cries ?Wolf!??.  Because it so often lights up to indicate minor problems that can safely be ignored, it is useless as a means of warning for severe problems that require immediate attention.

I agree. Thats why I wish car companies would put a simple little LCD panel on the dash or under the hood that would display the error code that is causing the CEL to come on. How much could one of those displays cost? $2.00? All that would be needed is a display like the stereo or clock has. To me, that's what ON-BOARD Diagnostics should be.

stingray454 wrote:

Thats why I wish car companies would put a simple little LCD panel on the dash or under the hood that would display the error code that is causing the CEL to come on. How much could one of those displays cost? $2.00? All that would be needed is a display like the stereo or clock has. To me, that's what ON-BOARD Diagnostics should be.

  My mechanic was once showing me this nineteen-eighty-something Cadillac he was working on.  It has a display over on the left side of the dashboard which normally displays an estimate of how many miles per gallon the car is getting.  But by pressing some unusual combinations of buttons, we was able to get this display to show him troublecodes, sensor readons, and all other such stuff as one would normally be able to get from a modern car by way of a good OBD?II scanner.  No additional hardware or equipment was required here, though ? just knowing which combinations of buttons to press.

  If there's anything in the world that could induce me to become an infidel ? to buy some heathen non-Ford vehicle ? it would be a feature like this.

I'd have to agree with Bob. Anyone with experience with CELs in general and Ford CELs specifically can tell you that only in RARE instances are they a major cause for concern and then there's usually some type of performance indicator. I have the CEL problem on my Duratec off and on ever since I've had it (Feb. 98) and it has never been a major deal. It has 132k on it now and, after having the MAF sensor and the EGR valve replaced, the sensor will come on after warm-up and then again, somtimes it doesn't. My 1992 Escort with 140k had the CEL for better than a year straight several years back with no ill effects. If you are in tune with how your car should perform and it doesn't seem up to par, that's a better indicator than the CEL.