Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Can A Bad Plug Wire Cause A Blinking CEL?

Because of a suggestion that a bad plug wire could cause a momentary blinking CEL (Whitey in the General forum :)), my FAD (fear, anxiety, doubt) factor has dropped 99%. Can anyone else verify that a bad plug wire could cause a blinking CEL, or does the electrical problem need to reside in the guts of the ignition?

Any help is appreciated -- I gotta travel to the airport tomorrow at 6:00 AM (yuck).

Here's one for all those who think monkey man is a sissy and doesn't get his hands dirty! While draining out a fresh quart of oil that my new miracle mechanic overfilled (that's another story!) , I noted that the middle wire on the set of wires to the front of bank of cylinders was abraded. Now I know how the misfire occurred. When I hit a bump under acceleration, the plug wire got close enough to the inside of the hood, and began to arc to the hood instead of the plug. This also explains why the misfire ceased immediately upon restart, and probably why it has not reoccurred.

Whew. Now all I need to do is replace the plug wires, and determine if I have a broken motor mount. No symptoms of a broken mount are noted. BTW, I know what can happen with a broken motor mount, as I once owned a 283 Chevelle 4 speed! Any tips on how to judge motor mount integrity are appreciated.

OBD II includes misfire codes. A misfire of any type, if severe enough, can set the CEL and set a misfire code for the cylinder involved.

monkey man wrote:

Can anyone else verify that a bad plug wire could cause a blinking CEL, or does the electrical problem need to reside in the guts of the ignition?

  As I mentioned in one of the other umpteen threads you've started on this topic :rolleyes:, the owner's manual for my 1996 Mystique says that a blinking CEL means that the engine is misfiring.  Nothing there indicates anything about why the engine is misfiring ? just that it is, indeed, misfiring.  I think the answer to your question is very clear.  A bad spark plug wire could certainly cause misfiring, and if it does, I think that it is to be expected that the CEL will be blinking.