My car's check engine light

Tiny
JDL
  • MECHANIC
  • 16,098 POSTS
I'd have the trouble codes checked. Some of the national brand autostores used to check some codes for free. How long since a tune-up?
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Monday, July 6th, 2020 AT 7:06 PM (Merged)
Tiny
BMRFIXIT
  • MECHANIC
  • 19,053 POSTS
Check engine light on
1st step should be to check for codes
as to the reason, many possible and to list some common reasons,
not a tight gas cap

an O2 sensor
a bad O2 sensor and or emission control sensor would turn the two lights together
also a bad alternator internal diode would do the same
codes should pin point to the troubled area and or the reason
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Monday, July 6th, 2020 AT 7:06 PM (Merged)
Tiny
GARYDEANHAMILTON
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
Spark plugs and wires at 98000 miles. Coolant flush about a month ago.
Thanks for the reply. I'll have the codes checked tomorrow.
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Monday, July 6th, 2020 AT 7:06 PM (Merged)
Tiny
LEESHA33
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
  • 1996 PONTIAC GRAND AM
  • 4 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 155,000 MILES
Car is running and sounding rough-I have replaced vacuum hose, spark plugs, boots and coil packs and the check engine light is still on it will stay on for about 30 seconds then flash for about 30 secs and this will continue the entire time i'm driving. Had a diagnostic check done and it came up 3 codes vacuum Hose, misfire, and sensor (didn't say what sensor). The engine is a 96 grand am the body is 97 sunfire. Can anybody please help me? I am at my wits end! Thanks in advance!
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Monday, July 6th, 2020 AT 7:06 PM (Merged)
Tiny
MMPRINCE4000
  • MECHANIC
  • 8,548 POSTS
A flashing check engine light is an indication of a convertor problem.

Convertor can be checked by a backpressure test, or if it is bolted on, remove and inspect for melted material or cracks in convertor honeycomb.
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Monday, July 6th, 2020 AT 7:06 PM (Merged)
Tiny
QWERTY12345
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
  • 1996 PONTIAC GRAND AM
  • 4 CYL
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 185,566 MILES
I was driving home and my engine light pops on, so after I was driving for a couple of mins the car had a little shake to it and seem like it wanted to cut off tha twhen the engine light start blinking, after bout 3 mins it stop and the engine light stayed solid. And a ETS light came on with it. Can u tell me wat going on with that
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Monday, July 6th, 2020 AT 7:06 PM (Merged)
Tiny
RASMATAZ
  • MECHANIC
  • 75,992 POSTS
Go to Autozone its a free public service and have the computer scanned for code/s-you have a problem within the engine management system that caused the CEL to turn on-This is your starting point of diagnosis, finding out what's going on
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Monday, July 6th, 2020 AT 7:06 PM (Merged)
Tiny
JOE22943
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  • 1 POST
  • 1996 PONTIAC GRAND AM
  • 4 CYL
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 155,000 MILES
On my 1996 Grand AM the check engine light and the ETS off light is on, what do this mean? Also where is the rear defrost control for this car located. Thanks guys.
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Monday, July 6th, 2020 AT 7:06 PM (Merged)
Tiny
SERVICE WRITER
  • MECHANIC
  • 9,123 POSTS
Rear defogger is pArt of the a/c heater control panel

The first step for the CEL and the ETS is to pulll the codes from the PCM and troubleshoot from there. So get the code read and post back, they are probably related to the same cause.
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Monday, July 6th, 2020 AT 7:06 PM (Merged)
Tiny
BULL516
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
  • 1996 PONTIAC GRAND AM
I have a 96 Grand Am w/169k, 4 cylinder GT, manual.
I picked up the car about 6 months ago and the Check engine light would light up at cold starts. It would sometimes go off after driving around. I assumed this may have been an O2 sensor, as the car would have the "stinky" exhaust smell at start up. Also, when I got it it tended to jerk occasionally as if the clutch was slipping. It didnt happen all the time, more so after driving for a while. Recently, I was accelerating to get on the highway, when the car just seemed to lose power. The more I depressed the gas pedal, the more it tended to slow down. If I took my foot off the gas a bit, it seemed to find a sweet spot where the car would accelerate more, but still slower than normal. As I got into normal stop and go traffic, I noticed that the car was running very rough. If I gassed it in park, it would putter like it was flooded. My guess is that a plug or two got ruined, and the car is not running on all cylinders. I was also told that it could be a problem with the fuel regulator. I have scanned the car for codes, but none come up. The car also, at times, would rev much higher than normal at idle. This also happened after driving around for awhile.

Any Ideas?
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Monday, July 6th, 2020 AT 7:06 PM (Merged)
Tiny
ROZ_CONNOR
  • MEMBER
  • 5 POSTS
Could be the coil pack as well!
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Monday, July 6th, 2020 AT 7:06 PM (Merged)
Tiny
BULL516
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
Thanks for the insight.
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Monday, July 6th, 2020 AT 7:06 PM (Merged)
Tiny
GREGA17
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
  • 1996 PONTIAC GRAND AM
Computer problem
1996 Pontiac Grand Am 4 cyl Front Wheel Drive Automatic

CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, I SCANNED FOR CODES AND 2 CODES APPEARED. FIRST CODE IS 137- 02 SENSOR CIRCUIT LOW VOLTS ( BANK 1 SENSOR 2 ) THE OTHER IS 172- SYSTEM TOO RICH ( BANK 1 ) I NEED TO FIND OUT WHAT THIS MEANS, AND WHERE THESE SENSORS ARE SO I CAN R & R THEM. THE CAR RUNS ROUGH WHEN YOU FIRST START IT AND YOU CAN SMELL A LOT OF GAS, AND SOMETIMES IT WANTS TO STALL AT A STOP.
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Monday, July 6th, 2020 AT 7:06 PM (Merged)
Tiny
MMPRINCE4000
  • MECHANIC
  • 8,548 POSTS
You would need to replace the O2 sensors (there should be two) upstream and downstream (before and after the convertor).

If problem persists, the CAT may be clogged or partially clogged due to running rich.
A CAT backpressure test will tell you if CAT is clogged.
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Monday, July 6th, 2020 AT 7:06 PM (Merged)

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