Blinking CEL ?

[sliderr]

All I need your advice, i have a history with my MY97 2.5, i had regular problems with my CEL turning on and I got teh 1126 ( running lean / rich ) or problems with my oxygen sensors before and after cat, and i had some problems with oil leakage on the engine...

I replaced the AOS ( with the .. 04 model ) replaced al my O2 sensors and air sensor.. When i replaced the AOS last week my car stopped leaking oil which is great news, however it did not resolve my issue as the CEL came back on after 300 miles...but this is what happend today !!

I am driving up north about 400 miles (my sisters house) and when I was almost there I did a few over-takes with high RPM's after this, my car didnt want to accelerate and it almost stalled when driving it, when i released the accelerator it stalled when going idle and i had to keep it on 2000 rpm to keep it running, also at this time the CEL was blinking and i lost all acceleration power.., I pulled over and reset the computer by disconnecting the battery but that didnt resolve the issue, although it is now running idle again but very rough and not shutting down.. the CEL is now blinking on off sometimes it does it and sometimes it just is " normally " on and at least i have some acceleration again ...

My question as I dont have any tools with me, can i keep driving it back home (400 miles) ? it seems to be handeling pretty normal again (at least driveable) but i am afraid of the blinking CEL which appeared earlier..

[JFP in PA]

Mistake #1: Blinking CEL means pull over, shut the car off, and have it towed to the shop; something more serious has occurred.

Mistake #2: Never, repeat, never disconnect the battery to clear a blinking CEL; in doing so, you have lost all the critical diagnostic information pointing to what is wrong that was stored in the DME. Get the car towed into a shop, get it scanned.

Without the codes, any supposition as to what is wrong is purely a guess....................

Edited October 22, 2011 by JFP in PA

[sliderr]

Mistake #1: Blinking CEL means pull over, shut the car off, and have it towed to the shop; something more serious has occurred.

Mistake #2: Never, repeat, never disconnect the battery to clear a blinking CEL; in doing so, you have lost all the critical diagnostic information pointing to what is wrong that was stored in the DME. Get the car towed into a shop, get it scanned.

My cel is now not blinking anymore, can i still drive it back?

Without the codes, any supposition as to what is wrong is purely a guess....................

[sliderr]

Alright i was lucky i had the cable in my car and was able to find the software - looks like the 02 sensor on the back is bad? how is that possilbe it has just been replaced?

[JFP in PA]

Without knowing what the codes are, you have no idea if or when it is going to start blinking again. You don't need a PIWIS or Durametric system, any OBD II compliant scanner will tell you exactly what is going on. From your first post, it sounds like the car went into "limp" mode (the DME sets a relatively low engine RPM limit to prevent doing more damage), that usually does not happen without a damned good reason....................

If it were my car, I’d have it scanned before I did anything else. You could very well get a few kilometers down the road, out in the middle of nowhere, and it could start flashing, or worse.

[JFP in PA]

Alright i was lucky i had the cable in my car and was able to find the software - looks like the 02 sensor on the back is bad? how is that possilbe it has just been replaced?

In general, bad O2 sensors do on cause a car to misfire, which you seem to have on all cylinders on one side of the engine. The O2 sensor code, however, can be the result of this type misfire event.

Edited October 22, 2011 by JFP in PA

[sliderr]

You mean i Will have to check The 02 sensor behind the cat ? I will do this tommorow morning first thing, if it can not be fixed can I drive it ?

[JFP in PA]

According to the OBD II diagnostics manual the O2 code (P0130) is an electrical fault code, meaning that the sensor is not in the correct voltage range, or is shorted. The sensor and its heater need to be checked for the correct voltage readings, and the wiring harness and connectors need to be looked at and tested for continuity, presence of shorts to ground, and the correct voltages. If the sensor fails the test, it needs to be replaced. If the sensor voltages are correct, and the wiring is OK, the next stop is check the DME, which may have developed a fault.

As for driving the car, that is up to you. Without "eyes and hands on", and electrical test of the sensor and harness, I really have no way to advise you on how to proceed. As I mentioned, I have not seen an O2 sensor force an entire bank of cylinders to misfire simultaneously, and if it starts doing that again, it would be both a very long journey and would probably cause collateral damage to the car as well......

Edited October 22, 2011 by JFP in PA

[sliderr]

Well I followed your advice, checked the o2 sensor but it was dry and there were no signs of rust or oil or anything really, so just to be on the safe I let my car pickup and tow it to the dealer today, when it was riding up to the truck it was burping like crazy... to be continued..

[JFP in PA]

Let us know how this comes out; with all the misfires, you are better off to be safe rather than sorry……………

[logray]

Good decision to have it checked out!

[kbrandsma]

Well I followed your advice, checked the o2 sensor but it was dry and there were no signs of rust or oil or anything really, so just to be on the safe I let my car pickup and tow it to the dealer today, when it was riding up to the truck it was burping like crazy... to be continued..

Yes, good decision!

[sliderr]

OK - report from the garage, big vacuum leaks around the o rings caused the problems, also the Air Volume Sensor? was faulty not sure yet if there is catalyc converter damage but it seems to be ok ....... :eek:

[sliderr]

There she goes.....

[logray]

Glad you got it sorted. There was a fellow on here earlier that also had huge intake leaks and it was causing misfires as well.

[JFP in PA]

Glad to hear it was sorted and nothing particularly serious; when a car is running that poorly, you really do not want to try driving it long distances. You made the correct choice.

[sliderr]

Just got it back from the dealer, also the airsensor has been replaced its running smmmooooooooooooooooothhhhhhhhhhhhh :) special thanks to JFP in PA !

Edited October 25, 2011 by sliderr

[coleta]

Congratulations sliderr. Do you have the part #'s on the o-rings on the invoice so we can see exactly what was replaced?

[JFP in PA]

Just got it back from the dealer, also the airsensor has been replaced its running smmmooooooooooooooooothhhhhhhhhhhhh :) special thanks to JFP in PA !

Any time!

[sliderr]

The o - rings on the AOS both sides and on the throttle-body where gone, this was causing major vacuum leaks ..