Flashing CEL
Crazygirl
04-10-2022, 05:25 PM
Just bought a 2013 Terrain SLT-2 with just over 142,000 miles. The CarFax report looked good; a minor accident involving the front end when it was less than a year old with no airbag deployment. Report shows regular maintenance done, and right off the bat the dealer told me the alignment was off a little. I trust this dealership since my stepdad was a mechanic and bought at least 3 trucks from them.
That being said, after I had driven it less than 50 miles, I was on the highway when the CEL flashed for about 30 seconds, then stopped. There didn't seem to be any problems while driving, and the light stopped going off before I even had a chance to pull over. I've driven it a couple of times since then, but it hasn't come back on.
I haven't hooked it up to the code reader yet to see if there are any stored codes, but was wondering if anyone might have any thoughts on such a brief experience?
That being said, after I had driven it less than 50 miles, I was on the highway when the CEL flashed for about 30 seconds, then stopped. There didn't seem to be any problems while driving, and the light stopped going off before I even had a chance to pull over. I've driven it a couple of times since then, but it hasn't come back on.
I haven't hooked it up to the code reader yet to see if there are any stored codes, but was wondering if anyone might have any thoughts on such a brief experience?
maxwedge
04-10-2022, 05:35 PM
Got to look for pending or history codes, no other way to approach this. So they tell you the alignment is off, now what?
Crazygirl
04-10-2022, 11:51 PM
I hooked up the reader, but there are no codes, not even anything stored. I guess I'll have to hope it was an isolated incident, but keep the code reader in the car, just in case.
Stealthee
04-11-2022, 06:32 AM
Usually a flashing CEL indicates a multi-cylinder misfire.
maxwedge
04-11-2022, 08:35 AM
Stealthee is correct. Basic code readers do not have the capability to read pending or history codes.
Blue Bowtie
04-11-2022, 11:09 PM
It could also be a short term fuel trim out of tolerance from a lazy sensor or fuel pressure fluctuations.
The above responses are correct. Instead of throwing parts at it to guess what the problem may be, scan it for pending/history codes and the data streams associated with them. That should narrow down the possibilities.
The above responses are correct. Instead of throwing parts at it to guess what the problem may be, scan it for pending/history codes and the data streams associated with them. That should narrow down the possibilities.
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