S.E.S light /trans/ ?

[matt919]

I haven't been on here in quite a while.. but yeah, 02 gt 3.4 48k+.

this past week or so, i've noticed a difference in driving, but it wasn't anything someone would pick up on normally, but i knew something was different. So i became obsessed with every shift and the sounds of the engine and all that.. and was hoping that its just bad plug wires, since it seems to be running a little different between 2nd&3rd. (only when its between 30-45mph.. and mostly uphill) but also it seems to be shifting different on certain occasions. So i took it for a ride on the highway.. and was manually shifting it from 1st to 2nd, 2nd to 3rd..etc. As it got to where its programmed to shift into third (the high 5000's).. the Service Engine light came on/started blinking.... and the rpm's wouldn't go any higher until i put it in "3".... (holding 1st gear to the red line was no problem). From trying out certain things, i've never had a problem w/ leaving it in "2" until the red line.. So im sure i have found my problem.. just not sure what it is? I'll probably get it scanned tomorrow.. but was just bored and curious really... any help would be cool, thankssss.

[grfnkl]

the manual in the car says something about the SES light when it comes on and blinks, to turn the car off immediately something about causing severe damage to the engine... NOT TO FREAK you out or anything. If anything it was probably a miss fire, that caused it. let us know how you make out with the codes and all... Good Luck

[GTP Dad]

The blinking light indicates a misfire condition in the engine. It can be caused by a number of things. Start by changing the fuel filter, if you got to
5k RPM's with no problems it could be due to fuel restriction. If that doesn't change things then go with new plugs and wires. If that doesn't help then it could be a bad coil. Finally, you could be developing an issue with the fuel pressure regulator or fuel pump itself so you may want to check the fuel pressure to see if there is an issue. Good Luck!

[matt919]

hey.. well, saturday afternoon, i stopped at the mechanic and he said the code read a general misfire... and given the other symptoms i was telling him, he changed the wires. Now the car was fine for saturday..and most/all of sunday. I tested it w/ holding it in 2nd to the red line.. and the light never came on, although i thought it was a tad more sluggish than when it was normal, but i figured i'd was just imagining things.With in the first 5 minutes of driving monday, it was back to how it was. A bit of a hesitation on accelleration here and there. I held it in 2nd til the read, and as expected.. the light came on. So today, the code read misfire on cylinder 1.. and he changed the plugs and the fuel filter, which was only a little blocked up.. but neither did a thing... so im not sure what is up next. It seems to have become worse over the past week.. especially on the occasion where i turn at a higher speed.. and as the trans. downshifts for a better accelleration.. there is hesitation..as well as while accellerating. So yeah.. i would normally just jump to the fuel pump as being the problem... but if the first changing of the plug wires fixed it for 2 days... im not sure how that would even have any effect if the initial problem was the fuel pump.... just figured i would update.

[GTP Dad]

There is a good possibility that you have a bad coil. Bad wires often cause coils to go bad due to high resistance. Change the coils and see what happens. One thing to try is to swap the coils around. Switch the coil that currently fires number 1 with the one for the number 6. If the misfire location changes you have your culprit. Replace the coil and it should be fine.
One suggestion is if the coil is bad you may want to replace all three since the problem may progress to the others.

[matt919]

alright.. so.. nothing has really been replaced since the last post, but its been in twice since then. I had a few problems where 2 of the plug wires were popping off the plugs.. and naturally, causing misfires all over. My mechanic, who is a friend, says that after he fixed the wire deal... it ran fine. However, thats not the case.. theres a loss of power between normal accelleration, and flooring it. Its very noticable to me, since ive driven the car... but to him, i guess hes not picking up on it? Also, when the the a/c is on.. its twice as bad. my gt ran only slightly slower when the a/c was on every other time.. and now its barely able to accellerate, let alone up on incline...... keep in mind, new plugs/wires/fuel filter. i'd hate to go into changing the fuel pump if its really not going to be it.. but im just aggravated by now... thanks for anymore input.

[gmack221]

get a fuel pressure gauge and check the fuel pressure, that will tell you if your pump & pressure regulator are working, if they are fine then i'd try swapping your coils like GTPDad said, he's usually right on .... and if that changes where the misfire is replace them all like he suggested.

[snowtroll669]

or run a can of cyllnder enjector cleaner throw it see if that helps

[matt919]

Hello.. well, after all of that, it was the catalytic converter. with in the course of 2 days, it was horrible.. no power at all. So it went to the dealer, and a day later.. replaced under the emissions warranty. Runs better than it has in a while! thanks though.