colbylamb2006 Posted November 29, 2008 Report Share Posted November 29, 2008 My gas light is on and I crank up my car, but my CEL was on solid but then I started to drive it down the road and my car started sputtering and not accelerating like normal and the CEL started to blink, and I read somewhere in my owner's manual that to pull over if it starts blinking, so I just turned around and went back home. Today I drove it 4 miles to get some gas, and it started driving like it used to again, but my CEL is still flashing. I thought that it might be flashing because low fuel levels, but my needle wasn't even halfway between 1/4 tank and E. So I'm not sure. Nowhere in town is open today to pull codes. Advance nor O'Reilly's does it anymore. What do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enginph Posted November 29, 2008 Report Share Posted November 29, 2008 A blinking CEL is almost always misfire. Whatever it is you'd better not drive it till you read the codes... I dont think it is low fuel related. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
latinopikachu Posted November 29, 2008 Report Share Posted November 29, 2008 it flashes due to misfire. if it's flashing and the car seems relatively ok it's a random misfire, check the codes, i bet that's what it is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colbylamb2006 Posted November 29, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2008 ok after filling up with 89 octane gas, it started to drive ok again....so random misfire isn't bad to drive with? if it was still not driving good, i would need to park it, right? I just don't want to mess it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
///BHRpowered Posted November 29, 2008 Report Share Posted November 29, 2008 for starters put the right fucking gas in, and with it being so cheap you have ZERO excuses Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enginph Posted November 29, 2008 Report Share Posted November 29, 2008 ok after filling up with 89 octane gas, it started to drive ok again....so random misfire isn't bad to drive with? if it was still not driving good, i would need to park it, right? I just don't want to mess it up. Nope driving with misfire is bad, either regular or random. Idk about 2.5, distributor is known to cause problem. It may show up again soon. So dont ignore it and read the codes, check distributor.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt64341 Posted November 30, 2008 Report Share Posted November 30, 2008 A blinking CEL means that the misfire is bad enough that it will damage the cats. Eventually they will throw a code too and they are not cheap to replace. As long as it is solid, you can drive with it but get it fixed as soon as possible. Get the code (P030X) to find out which cylinder is misfiring (1-6, 0=Random Misfire). It could be plugs, wires, distributor, or an injector (unlikely). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colbylamb2006 Posted December 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2008 well first of all I got gas at a store that did not sell 93...so I put 89, they only had 87, 89, and Diesel. So... anyway...I just got my catalytic convertor replaced in the summer....no where in my town has a code reader..I checked Advance and O'Reillys... how much will the dealer charge me to just hook it up to the computer to tell me what codes are being thrown... the summer when I had all the work done to my car, I know the knock sensors need replacing but I haven't done that yet, that's the reason my CEL was on and solid, then the other day it starts to blink...57 times per minute to be exact. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt64341 Posted December 1, 2008 Report Share Posted December 1, 2008 well first of all I got gas at a store that did not sell 93...so I put 89, they only had 87, 89, and Diesel. So... anyway...I just got my catalytic convertor replaced in the summer....no where in my town has a code reader..I checked Advance and O'Reillys... how much will the dealer charge me to just hook it up to the computer to tell me what codes are being thrown... the summer when I had all the work done to my car, I know the knock sensors need replacing but I haven't done that yet, that's the reason my CEL was on and solid, then the other day it starts to blink...57 times per minute to be exact. When I thought that I didn't have OBDII, I had mine pulled at the dealer and they charged me $20. They shouldn't charge at all for that, maybe yours will be more reasonable and do it for free. Make sure that you make it clear that you just want the code and not a diagnostic or they will charge you for an hour of labor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colbylamb2006 Posted December 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2008 Well I went to Akins Mazda/Ford in Athens, GA. I go to school at UGA is the reason I didn't go to my dealership I bought the car from. They wanted to charge me $75.00 just to pull the codes...so I was like no sir, have a good day. And when I got back in my car after that the CEL quit blinking....but I'd still like to know what codes are being thrown around....I know for sure knock sensors...but when I crank it up when it's cold I hear this like metal grinding sound, but it only does it on cold mornings....then the rest of the day it doesn't do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
///BHRpowered Posted December 1, 2008 Report Share Posted December 1, 2008 20 dollars and you got a fucking deal, 99% of places will charge you 35-75 buy a cheap obd2 code reader off ebay, I forgot what brandf mine is, but its was like 30 bucks shipped and more hten paid for itself with my old jeep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MillerCycle Posted December 2, 2008 Report Share Posted December 2, 2008 Well I went to Akins Mazda/Ford in Athens, GA. I go to school at UGA is the reason I didn't go to my dealership I bought the car from. They wanted to charge me $75.00 just to pull the codes...so I was like no sir, have a good day. And when I got back in my car after that the CEL quit blinking....but I'd still like to know what codes are being thrown around....I know for sure knock sensors...but when I crank it up when it's cold I hear this like metal grinding sound, but it only does it on cold mornings....then the rest of the day it doesn't do it. Let me help you out. I got a '99 Milly S and last monday I had the same problem as you. I always drive with 93 octane so I knew it wasnt that. When the CEL is blinking its a misfire. Its ok to drive arond local but not for awhile, so keep it to a minimum if possible. Its either a bad coil or fuel injector. Mine had a misfire in cylinder 5. My dad has his own shop so it didnt cost me nothing, just the discount price for the injector and I installed it myself. To find out what problem you have, I troubleshot by switching the #6 injector with the #5 injector. Then I put her back together and started her up. Then the code came back up and the misfire had gone to #6 so I knew I had to replace the injector, while i was at it I got a new coil aswell. I would find out which cyclinder is misfiring then change the injector and coil just to get them both done while you got everything apart, I dont know if the 2.5l has the same setup as the S as far as the coils go. I'm almost positive thats what it is. Message me back if you find any more info on it. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt64341 Posted December 2, 2008 Report Share Posted December 2, 2008 Well I went to Akins Mazda/Ford in Athens, GA. I go to school at UGA is the reason I didn't go to my dealership I bought the car from. They wanted to charge me $75.00 just to pull the codes...so I was like no sir, have a good day. And when I got back in my car after that the CEL quit blinking....but I'd still like to know what codes are being thrown around....I know for sure knock sensors...but when I crank it up when it's cold I hear this like metal grinding sound, but it only does it on cold mornings....then the rest of the day it doesn't do it. You need to be very specific that you want a code and nothing more, the diagnostic will be an hour of labor (about $75). But like BHR said, a code reader will pay for itself very quickly. As for the grinding metal noise, it is the starter grinding on the flywheel. It is most likely the starter solenoid going or the starter might just need to be cleaned up. 20 dollars and you got a fucking deal, 99% of places will charge you 35-75 buy a cheap obd2 code reader off ebay, I forgot what brandf mine is, but its was like 30 bucks shipped and more hten paid for itself with my old jeep. 99% of places pull codes for free, the guy didn't know how much to charge so they made up a price on the spot. A diagnostic for $20 would have been a steal. Let me help you out. I got a '99 Milly S and last monday I had the same problem as you. I always drive with 93 octane so I knew it wasnt that. When the CEL is blinking its a misfire. Its ok to drive arond local but not for awhile, so keep it to a minimum if possible. Its either a bad coil or fuel injector. Mine had a misfire in cylinder 5. My dad has his own shop so it didnt cost me nothing, just the discount price for the injector and I installed it myself. To find out what problem you have, I troubleshot by switching the #6 injector with the #5 injector. Then I put her back together and started her up. Then the code came back up and the misfire had gone to #6 so I knew I had to replace the injector, while i was at it I got a new coil aswell. I would find out which cyclinder is misfiring then change the injector and coil just to get them both done while you got everything apart, I dont know if the 2.5l has the same setup as the S as far as the coils go. I'm almost positive thats what it is. Message me back if you find any more info on it. Good luck. The 2.5 does not use ignition coils, it has a distributor, but its mostly the same idea. It could be a plug, wire, distributor, or injector. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
///BHRpowered Posted December 2, 2008 Report Share Posted December 2, 2008 if you have the S 90% of the time its a bad coil, people seem to get 80-120k out of them. if you want to know for sure, simply swap the coils around and see if the problem follows. matt - autozone use to, but thats about it, no dealer, and most shops won't do it for free, and in reality, why should they? oh and palmbeach, the S uses ignition coils, the 2.5 uses outdated wires and a distributor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt64341 Posted December 2, 2008 Report Share Posted December 2, 2008 All the places around me still do it for free, and they should be free. When they tell you what the problem is, they hope that you will buy the parts from them to fix it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
///BHRpowered Posted December 2, 2008 Report Share Posted December 2, 2008 autozone use to be free, for a code and nothing more, but they've stopped it in my area, there is no reason it should be free, I admit 75 dollars is a bit much, but what there using did cost them money and there in business to make a profit. like I said, I got a cheap code reader for 30 bucks, its not super advanced, but it gives codes and can pull them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankzao Posted December 6, 2008 Report Share Posted December 6, 2008 HArborfrieght $40 is how much mine was...totally worth the $$$$$ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
latinopikachu Posted December 6, 2008 Report Share Posted December 6, 2008 im thinking of getting the autoenginuity one just so i can connect to the laptop and pull all sorts of data Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enginph Posted December 6, 2008 Report Share Posted December 6, 2008 im thinking of getting the autoenginuity one just so i can connect to the laptop and pull all sorts of data How much? I remember scantool, ~$50 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
///BHRpowered Posted December 6, 2008 Report Share Posted December 6, 2008 connecting to a laptop might be nice, but its not required. the one I have is pretty small and can easily be kept in the glovebox, also came with a booklet containing everycode and what it is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enginph Posted December 6, 2008 Report Share Posted December 6, 2008 connecting to a laptop might be nice, but its not required. the one I have is pretty small and can easily be kept in the glovebox, also came with a booklet containing everycode and what it is When I connect it to a laptop I can get every data (such as mpg). I can log the data during a short trip and then analyze to see whats going on.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cuto Posted December 6, 2008 Report Share Posted December 6, 2008 Damn...does anybody have a picture of where the obdII port is?...im thinking soeone ripped the thing off on my Xedos 9....I know its supposed to be above the gas pedal, abobe near the firewall...but heck! All i see is a bunch of wires. I used to have vag-com on my audi...and i loved it all the way. I could do all sorts of tests, put autolock at 15 miles on the doors...etc...etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
///BHRpowered Posted December 7, 2008 Report Share Posted December 7, 2008 saint - have you done this on the millenia? I didn't think the ecu had mpg and such.....unless its in there, and we can use the xedos cluster board somehow to display it but then again why would it be stored, it should be a running calculation or rpms/speed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveSter Posted December 7, 2008 Report Share Posted December 7, 2008 I dont think it has the option to see MPG. At school I hooked up a $3K auto diagnostic scanner on it and it wouldnt tell me MPG but it tells you alot. Like the condition of the O2 sensors rpm, timing, intake manifold absolute pressure, coolant temp, etc. but not MPG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enginph Posted December 7, 2008 Report Share Posted December 7, 2008 Hmm not sure about mpg. I thought the software can calculate mpg since fuel trim data is also available, so fuel consumption should be calculated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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