Ran great then just lost power

MAMAT

MEMBER
2004 CHEVROLET CAVALIER
225,000 MILES

Have loved speeding around in my little car (bought it early this summer) but just yesterday morning I took off for work and it was like all the power was gone. Could not get much over twenty five mph and had a heck of a time taking off from stopped position. Could have beat almost anybody off the light before, she was a fast little car. But yesterday, nothing. I did take off cold so I just chalked it up to not liking that so much. The check engine light is flashing. Coil pack? Or is there something else I should be checking?

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,883 POSTS

You need to have the diagnostic fault codes read and recorded. The people at many auto parts stores will do that for you for free. The flashing check engine light indicates the fault code is referring to one of the most serious conditions. Too much unburned fuel is going into the exhaust where it will burn in the catalytic converter and overheat it. You are supposed to stop the engine right away to let the converter cool down. If you keep driving the car, a minor problem can quickly turn into a very expensive repair.

The most common cause of too much unburned fuel in the exhaust is a spark-related misfire, and that is usually due to worn spark plugs and wires. If you are going to try to solve his yourself, start with those, but there are other things that can cause this. You need to know the fault code number to figure out where to start.