Flashing check engine light (beginner)

**xander37** · 12-27-2011

I drive a '99 pontiac grand prix gt with 190k+ miles. A couple days ago while I was driving my engine started stuttering and shaking the car. I could tell it was in no condition to drive so I took it home immediately. Luckily I wasn't more than two streets away from my house.

It is now sitting in my driveway while I figure out how to fix this problem. I've had bad luck with mechanics and auto services. I generally get screwed over due to obvious lack of knowledge in this field. I was hoping someone could inform me about this problem so that I know specifically what I need to do in order to fix it, and the average cost for repair so that I don't get ripped off.

I conveniently live in a place teeming with car servicing shops, all within a half mile radius. I was wondering if it would be okay to drive the car over to one of these places with the condition that it is in. I really don't have the extra money for a tow service right now.

**dsmuts** · 12-27-2011

A flashing light means you have a misfire. You might just need new plugs

**bps02gtp** · 12-27-2011

yes you can drive there.

like dsmuts said its typically a misfire but ive had issues where it could be low fuel pressure. clogged fuel filter or injector. bad fuel pump. bad spark plugs or wires or coil pack. all are factors in a blinking light.

drive to an autozone (you'll be fine) and have them put the scan tool on it to see what it is and then ull have an idea what needs to get done.

**Bio248** · 12-27-2011

a flashing SES light means that you were experiencing a 'potentially catalyst harming misfire'. it will not register on the autozone scanner.

change your plugs and wires. that is probably the issue. it could be a number of things, but start with the easy stuff first.

**darkhorizon** · 12-27-2011

9/10 times this happens to a normally driven car, you have a bad plug wire.

**xander37** · 12-27-2011

Yeah well I went to tires plus and the guy told me that it's $620 to fix a bad coil and "arcing" spark plug which I think is ridiculous. Honestly I think they are taking advantage of me because I am a woman. I wish I knew how to do this stuff on my own or knew somebody that did

**Fivefingerdeathpunch** · 12-27-2011

they are, it would take their guy maybe 1 hours tops to fix the coil (if it needed one) and do all the plugs and wires.

Do you got a boyfriend or family friend or someone that is into cars a little bit? Im sure they could tackle the spark plug job for you.

**xander37** · 12-27-2011

I have a guy friend that says he is good with cars, but he is usually unreliable and flaky and I'd much rather trust a professional to do it. My cousin says he knows a mechanic who would do it for cheap and we both called and left messages but he still hasn't gotten back to us. That was 3 days ago.

I wish I at least knew the average labor costs so that I could tell if I was getting a good deal or not.

**Explicit_Spade** · 12-27-2011

General labor cost is $60 and hour. It really shouldn't take a mechanic more than an hour to do both the coil and all plugs and wires, but labor time is based on the books they use.

**z3r0** · 12-27-2011

Where are you located. My gp people will help each other.out if they are close. Also pizza and beer usually helps

Sent from my Kindle Fire

**xander37** · 12-27-2011

Louisville ky. If you know anyone out here pizza and beer would not be a problem

**Odi** · 12-27-2011

plenty of GP peeps in KY

**Explicit_Spade** · 12-27-2011

Originally Posted by Odi

plenty of GP peeps in KY

Call em out! I can't think of any active KY members off hand.

**dsmuts** · 12-27-2011

Just change your plugs and wires. You might need a new coil but they are cheap and abundant in the junkyard. If you weren't so far away i'd help you out but your a good 3 hours or so away. Should be about $50 for plugs and wires and about an hour to change them

**xander37** · 12-29-2011

Guys, I'm very frustrated. I was so proud of myself for changing the wires and the spark plugs, but it did nothing to help my problem.

My service engine light comes on solid when I turn the car on. When I put it in drive is when it starts blinking. The worst part is when I start accelerating. Even the slightest bit will make it start shaking. The shaking does taper off a little bit as I gain speed. What could be the problem?

**BlackGT97** · 12-29-2011

turn traction control off then try it.....maybe, just maybe...idk just try it lol

**aussie** · 12-29-2011

Sounds very much like what my car was doing :-(
Lower intake manifold gasket was my issue. leading to damaged lifters & burnt valves due to overheated engine...

Does the temp guage fluctuate? warm the car up to operating temp and see if the guage goes up & down continuously
Has the low coolant light come on at all?
smell the exhaust, does it smell sweet at all?

my car idled rough, stuttered up until about 15Mph

**98L36** · 12-29-2011

Ok, just throwing this out there but try a can of SeaFoam. When I bought my car it also had a misfire (just barely noticeable by shaking/vibrations but it did cause the light to flash) and I ran a can of SeaFoam through the gas tank and it magically went away....for a while. After that I had a spark plug wire go bad (at 159,000 miles it was time for them though) but after a can of SeaFoam and plug wires mine runs as strong as ever.

The SeaFoam treatment can't be easier either. I got a can at WalMart for $7 and there's instructions on the back of the can. All the stuff does is clean certain parts of your engine...in my case I probably had a dirty fuel injector. It's simple to use too, just dump the stuff in the gas tank and forget it. Be sure to read the can though as there are recommendations on how much to use based on how full your gas tank is at the time.

Might not cure it but for $7 I'd give it a shot.

**SlowNA06** · 12-29-2011

Originally Posted by xander37

I drive a '99 pontiac grand prix gt with 190k+ miles.

I'm so proud of you - most guys here take more than two days to coax into changing their own spark plugs.

Any chance you've still got your old spark plugs lying around to take a picture of them and show us? Were they wet on the tips when you pulled them out?

My guy instinct is that you've got a rat's nest in your intake box, starving your engine of oxygen. This is very easy to get to. There is a black plastic box with wire clips behind the driver's side headlight. Pop that bad boy open - might take a little effort to push the ends apart to get the filter out, but you won't break anything. That filter needs to be changed every 30,000 miles. $15. If you still have the factory one on there, it's dag-nasty by now.

If that's fine, it's possible that your Mass Airflow Sensor is filthy and that your throttlebody butterfly plate is gunked up, causing the engine to suck in the wrong amount of air for the amount of fuel it's putting in. CRC makes a MAF sensor cleaner, so make sure you use that and nothing else on the MAF.

The fuel filter can also clog, leaving the engine starving for fuel. This is located in front of the driver's side rear wheel. This is also a 30,000 mile item. $15.

Catalytic converter can get clogged by 150,000 miles. That will prevent exhaust gas from getting away from the engine... like backing up a toilet. If clogged, you ought to smell rotten eggs, and a good hot engine will make it turn cherry red at night.

Oh. I want you to double and triple check that you didn't mix up any of your spark plug wires. It might sound stupid, but it's more frequent than we might admit. That'll make the engine breakdance.

Um. Oil's full, right?

Also possible you've got a fuel injector stuck open or closed. Or hell. I had a squirrel chew through one of my injector wires, causing my engine to breakdance. So, check for nuts.

I use the Crocodile Dundee method.

Originally Posted by BlackGT97

turn traction control off then try it.....maybe, just maybe...idk just try it lol

haha, man, if only that solved everything...

**BlackGT97** · 12-29-2011

dont.....laugh....at...me!!!!! lol.
I had a very strange "Missfire" today and it turns out it was the traction control messing with the timing causing it to bogg down until i reached a about 20 MPH.