The flashing light means too much unburned gas is going into the exhaust system where it will overheat and damage the catalytic converter. You're supposed to stop the engine as soon as safely possible to let the exhaust system cool down.
The important point now is there is a diagnostic fault code in the Engine Computer, so don't disconnect the battery or let it run dead. Doing so will erase that code, then that valuable information will be lost. The people at most auto parts stores will read those codes for you for free. Be aware though, they're in the business of selling parts. No fault code on any car brand ever says to replace a part or that one is defective. They only indicate the circuit or system that needs further diagnosis, or the unacceptable operating condition. When a part is referenced in a fault code, it is only the cause of that code about half of the time. First we have to rule out wiring and connector terminal problems, and mechanical problems associated with that part.
You can go here:
https://www.2carpros.com/trouble_codes/obd2
to see the code definitions, or I can interpret them for you.
If you get a fault code for a single-cylinder misfire, lets say P0302, (cylinder 2 misfire), for example, you can switch that cylinder's ignition coil with the one from, . . . oh, . . . cylinder 1, and switch the injector with the one from cylinder 4, and even the spark plug with the one from cylinder 5. Erase the fault code, drive the car, then wait for the misfire to be detected by the Engine Computer. If the new fault code indicates the misfire moved to one of the other cylinders, it is caused by the part you moved to it.
Ford has had a lot of trouble with their ignition coils. If you find that, it is acceptable to replace just that one. If you find a defective injector, you might get away with replacing just that one, but it's better to replace them as a set. Chrysler buys their injectors from Bosch in flow-matched sets, and problems are just about unheard of. GM grabs a handful out of a big bin and throws them into their engines with no regard to flow-matching. That's fine up to typically around 100,000 miles, then, with a little engine wear, the mismatched flow rates cause elusive, impossible-to-diagnose misfires that are detected by the computer but can't be felt by the driver. The only solution for that is to replace all of the injectors with a flow-matched set of rebuilt injectors, but few people are aware of that issue. I learned this in a class put on by a very high-level instructor who owned an injector rebuilding company in Indianapolis. GM accounted for eight of the top ten injector-related problems. Ford was somewhere in the middle of the list, but most of their problems are caused by replacing just a single injector resulting in the unequal flow rates. That means the cylinders get different amounts of fuel. I'm pointing this out because while there's a small chance one injector is causing your current problem, you don't want to create a new problem by replacing just one of them.
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Thursday, January 2nd, 2020 AT 12:20 PM
