When you start the vehicle, all but a few lights turn off, such as; B. the seat belt light or the door opening light. When your car is driving on the road, the check engine light suddenly flashes and then goes off, which means your car is having problems.
Regardless of weather these problems are dangerous or not, read this article today to learn the causes and solution to this error.
What Does a Flashing Check Engine Means?
The check engine is a light that indicates a fault with the engine or engine parts. Check engine lights are usually located in the instrument panel behind the steering wheel.
When the ECM detects that the sensor data deviates from normal or the signal is lost, the check Engine light illuminates to alert the driver.
If the “Check Engine” indicators light is on, it stays on or flashes and then goes out. This can make divers very anxious or even panicked. The check engine light is probably the most misunderstood indicator on the dashboard because it doesn’t tell you exactly what’s wrong with your car.
However, if you notice the check engine light flashing and the turning off. The most common reason for the check engine light to go out could be that you touched or clicked the reset button after turning the key off.
If this does not happen, your vehicle is in a dangerous condition and you should stop as quickly as possible. We recommend that you park your car and have it towed to a trusted mechanic to carry out the necessary repairs. A flashing check engine light is very dangerous because it indicates a serious engine misfire.
Or there is something seriously wrong with the fuel supply or compressor.
8 Reasons That Make Check Engine Light Flashing Then Stops While Driving
This can be one of many causes for the check engine light to flash and then go off. Just take a look at the following 8 most common reasons:
1) Oxygen Sensor Defective
A car’s lambda sensor is an electronic device that measures the level of residual oxygen in a car’s exhaust gases to help the engine set the correct amount of fuel injection. This help ensure operational efficiency through strict compliance with emission standards.
If the oxygen sensor is not working properly, this can result in an increase in fuel consumption of up to 30%. When an oxygen sensor malfunction, the information is incorrect and the combustion process is no longer efficient, often requiring the vehicle to use more fuel to compensate.
Therefore, if you check engine is flashing, your oxygen sensor is probably defective. Here two causes why this sensor doesn’t work or the wrong measurement:
- The cable is damage
- Due to the quality of the gasoline mixed with a high concentration of ethanol, it is above the permissible standard.
The only way to repair a damage oxygen sensor is to replace it with a new one. This should be as quickly as possible as delays may occur the, s catalytic convert is broken.
2) The Gas Cap is Open or Not Tight
Although it may seem simple, a loose gas cap can cause your check engine light to come on and off. The fuel cap plays an important role as it prevents fuel vapers from escaping.
When the tank cap is tightly closed, the pressure in the tank usually reaches the optimal value the sensor is measures this pressure. However, if the tank cap is opened or the rubber ring is scratched, the sensor will in some cases detect and report engine damage.
How do you fix a loose gas cap? If you receive codes that indicate a defective nut, you should physically inspect the item to ensure it fits properly.
3) Defective Catalytic Converter
Did you know that if your car ran without a catalytic converter, you would emit harmful gases, including carbon monoxide? The catalytic converter is responsible for cleaning harmful components from the exhaust gases before they enter the environment
If your car’s catalytic converter fails, the check engine light will also come on. To turn of this light, you can repair it or replace it with a new one. The cost is unfortunate:
You may have to spend up to $2000 to purchase a new catalytic converter.
4) Defective Air mass sensor
If the check engine light stops flashing, there may be a problem with a bad mass air flow sensor. The MAF plays a key role in measuring the intake airflow entering the engine and sending a signal to the ECM to calculate and adjust the appropriate fuel quantity and ignition timing.
However, after a long period of operation, this sensor is also sensitive to dust and dirt, which means that the transmitted information becomes incorrect and affects the entire system. If the detects that the intake air flow sensor is defective the check engine light symbol will to illuminate to alert you.
5) Stuck Relay or Damaged Air Filter Value
When the engine is running, gasoline evaporates without this filter value system. All gasoline vapors are released into the environment. This value’s role
Is to recover the gasoline vapors, then pass them through the filter and inject the vapor mixture into the combustion chamber. This means no gasoline fumes are lost, which helps the engine run more optimally and save more fuel.
If this value is defective, the vehicle reports engine failure and only specialized control unit can detect weather the value is defective or not. A new gas cap is affordable.
6) Damaged Spark Plugs
The check engine light flashing error is usually caused by a spark plug fault, such as a dirty spark plug, a damaged spark plug cap or a damaged a high voltage wire. These errors can cause the spark plugs to fire weakly or at the wrong time, significantly affecting the combustion of the gas-fuel mixture.
This reduces engine performance, causing vibration vehicle jerking when accelerating, difficulty starting, vehicle stalling etc.
7) Damaged thermostat Value
The thermostat value is responsible is regulating the coolant circulation to cool the engine. The thermostatic value ensures a cooling temperature 80 and 95 degrees Celsius, enabling optimal engine operation. However, over a longer period of time, problems such as value blockages can occur.
This impairs the cooling effect and causes the engine to overheat. If you don’t care of this quickly, your engine will have serious problems. If the ECM detects that the thermostat is bad the Check Engine light will appear on the dashboard.
8) Defective EGR System
The exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system is responsible for injecting exhaust gases back into the intake air to reduce NOX concentration. After a long period of operation, the exhaust gas recirculation control value or this piping system may become blocked by dirt and soot.
At this point you will see the engine light start flashing and then stop. You could say that this check engine light is composite light that effects several systems in the vehicle. If you are unsure about diagnosing the causes.
To avoid losing money, you should take your car to a reputable dealer and repair shop to have it thoroughly checked and repaired for any detects.
How Long Can You Drive with a Blinking engine Light?
While driving, the “Check Engine” light on the dashboard illuminates, which means there is an engine problem. If the indicator doesn’t flash you can ignore it for a while. You can drive your car once it no longer has any problem.
However, this a waring sign that should be addressed in a timely manner to avoid possible damage.
The most common Question we get is: How long you drive with the check engine light on? The answer is that you can safely travel more than 50-100 miles. To keep your car in good condition, it is always best to have it checked as soon as the check engine light comes on. If your vehicle’s check engine is on, this blog will help you.
Will The Check Engine light reset Itself?
The check engine light probably won’t reset unless you fix the problem.
If you fix the problem, recovery may occur, although it may take some time. The car usually requires 10 to 20 successful cycles before the check engine
Light resets.
Cycling means starting your car in could weather and driving it until it warms up, then turning off the engine and turning it off again.
Does the “Check Engine” light reset after repair? What happens if you continue driving without resetting the check engine light after fixing the engine problem? Does the engine light reset?
When the check engine light comes on the dashboard of your car, the first thing most people thing of is that things are about to get expensive. Unfortunately, this also the case in the many cases.
However, you may be wondering: Is it possible to reset the check engine light or should I have it repaired?
The check engine light will likely stay on if the problem is not corrected. However, fixing the problem may result in data recovery, although it may take some time. The car usually requires 10 or 20 successful cycles before the check engine light resets.
Cycling means starting the car in cold weather and driving it until it warms up,
Then turning off the engine and then turning it off again. If you are sure that you have resolved the issue that caused the check engine light to come on, the check engine light automatically reset after to 10 or 20 successful cycles. As you can imagine, 10 to 20 successful cycles take a lot of time.
In this case, it is much more convenient to reset the check engine light using an OBD2 saner.
Meaning Of the Warning Colours Of The Check Engine Light
First of all, you need to know that your car’s lights can be one of the following three colour: Green, Yellow and Red. The green lights is simply indicate the operation of safety and driver assistance system such as direction indicators and parking lights and therefore should not worry the driver in the slightest.
The situation is different colours with yellow and red traffic lights, which can indicate a problem or even that maintenance needs to be carried out as quickly as possible.
Yellow Engine Warning Lights
Yellow engine light should not be ignored as they have different meanings and can indicate problems that are difficult to fix. The engine warning light can signal possible malfunction in the ignition system (yellow flashing light), the catalytic converter or the injection system (steady light) or also malfunction in the exhaust system or the fuel supply system.
In short there are many possibilities and when they yellow warning light comes on, the best solution is not to turn on the engine too much and to contact to assistance center.
It is also important to not that a flashing or steady, check engine light does not always on mean that there is a serious problem. If the check engine light is on but the car seems fine, you can probably take it to your repair shop.
Contact a local repair shop or service center to determine the actual causes of the problem.
Red Engine Warning Lights
The oil level warning light is another important indicator to pay attention to because a low engine oil level can seriously damage your car. The oil light turns red and indicates a loss of internal pressure in the lubrication system, possibly due to excessive oil consumption leaks or other problems.
If your car is particularly old or use, it is not uncommon for a problem like this to occur. If a warning light comes on a new vehicle, it is possible that the damage was cause by an external factor (such as an accident).
In any case, when the oil level warning light comes on, it is advisable not to drive and immediately check there may be a leak or other problem so that the problem can be repaired at the workshop and you can get back on track. I travel in complete safety.