Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Check Engine Light!

Alright- today I was driving up a pretty big hill- (sp. limit 45) and all of a sudden the car loses a bit of power, and the check engine light starts to flash, and then becomes steady. after that, the car regained power (i think...) and drives around alright, but has a rough idle (when in drive and stopped, the car vibration shudders slightly). under the hood, the engine also seems to vibrate/move a little more than normal. im going to make an appointment at the car stealership tomorrow (nowhere else to go ). anyways- anyone have any ideas?
by the way its a 96 zetec, ATX, and only 39k on the odometer. before this happened, it was running perfectly.

Report back with the code.

A flashing CEL is usually indicative of a misfire. Like Todd says, report the code here. The specific code will tell us which cylinder is misfiring, and that will narrow down your search for the problem. Its probably a bad plug or wire, though; easily fixable if that's the case.

will do- and i hope it's just a bad plug/wire. in the meantime- is it safe to drive?

Had something similar happened with my Duratec. I was in the garage and was just starting the car up. Except this time the engine was shaking like CRAZY! I immediate turned the engine off... Then start it up again... constant CEL. Took it to dealer... They replaced the ignition wire set. Apparently one of the wires got melted or something.

How much did it end up costing? I took it in today, and they "estimated" $117 to run the diagnostic...im not sure if that was JUST for the diagnostic, but if it was... .

Nate,

Go to one of the following AutoZone's in your area and get the codes from the PCM. Make sure to take a pen and paper to write them down. Don't pay anyting till you consult this board. There's a good chance you can diagnose/fix it yourself.

*11414 Kinsman Rd Cleveland, OH ZipCode Phone: (216) 751-0571
*15103 Euclid Ave Cleveland, OH ZipCode Phone: (216) 851-9352
*15427 Snow Rd Cleveland, OH ZipCode Phone: (216) 267-6586
*16122 Lake Shore Blvd Cleveland, OH ZipCode Phone: (216) 481-5012

AutoZone and some other car part shops will scan your computer codes for free. Chances are this is just plugs or wires, but the error codes will be extremely helpful. For 4 plugs figure maybe $25. Wires are probably about $40-$50.

P0302
was the code that the ford guy gave me (they just called). they said it was ignition coil and wires i think that were bad. also reccomended replacing the spark plugs b/c they're the original ones. total cost: around $500 for everything. thoughts on that price??

This is a Zetec, so I'm not too familiar with the ignition system, but on the Duratec plugs, wires, and coil are all very easy to change out yourself. Unless you're completely inept with a wrench, by all means do this yourself! Start by changing all four plugs (make sure the engine is cool). P0302 indicates cylinder #2, but since your plugs are original you should just change them all for good measure. If the misfire continues, change the wires. If that doesn't solve it, change the coil. These are in order of expensiveness (is that a word?) so hopefully you'll catch a plug or wire problem before shelling out for a new coil. On the Duratec a coil is about $100, I'm not sure about the Zetec.

Don't pay $500 for what amounts to a very basic tuneup.

EDIT: fordpartsonline.com has a Zetec coil for $93 and a Duratec coil for $125. If you're not in any huge rush, call Bill Jenkins. He'll probably have a price slightly lower than fpo.com (in my experience)