Blinking Engine Light Returns :(

[Kevin Lang]

I pushed down the accelerator, and normally I try not to go past 3k rpm, but I put more foot into it, enough that I thought I'd hit ~4k, but I was hovering just below 3k.



No big deal, until the hated "Check Engine Light" came on, blinked, and then went away.



Oh, and the acceleration was not what the Trac normally delivers.



Though I didn't feel any, the blinking CEL and the 3k rpm cap under hard acceleration are, as I all too well know, the signs of misfiring.





Is this misfiring? Is there any way to check besides looking at each and every wire boot and plug?





Was someone praying to the toyota gods for misfortune to find my ford or something?

 

[shawn stonbraker 2]

KL, the ST has a Rev Limiter that won't let it go above 3K RPM. The light was probably from it noticing it was at 3K for a little to long.

 

[EddieS'04]

What stone said, in park and nuetral. The rev limter cuts off the spark and fuel @ 3Krpm.

 

[Kevin Palmer]

True about the limiter, but I read his post as he was in gear and accelerating. If that is the case, the limiter would not be activated.



Yes, there is still a top end in both the engine RPM as well as speed, but neither of these can be obtained under normal driving applications. Both the PCM and the tranny would ensure the top end RPM's are avoided.



I suggest getting it read even if the check engine light is not lit at this time. There is often historical codes kept in memory...

 

[Kevin Lang]

I was accelerating after a U-turn, after ending the mild hydroplaning the trac is so fond of doing.



I haven't noticed the problem since, and hopefully it won't return.



From experience, when the trac is under load (going up the Appalachian mountains, for example) and misfiring, the trac will not go above 3k rpm or 60 mph with the "hammer down".



The scangauge II didn't pick up anything.

 

[EddieS'04]

From experience, when the trac is under load (going up the Appalachian mountains, for example) and misfiring, the trac will not go above 3k rpm or 60 mph with the "hammer down".

Something in the engine management is not making the A/F ratio change, with altitude. It could be a sensor or the computer.

 

[scott degroot]

If the cel was flashing then a code had to be stored. It may be stored as a pending code. I don't know if the Scan gauge is capable of reading pending codes or not.