I’ve recently been having problems with my 2001 Mercury Grand Marquis LS (has about 215,000 miles on it) where, after the engine has been running for about ten minutes, the check engine light starts blinking at around 40MPH and I lose power to the engine. It feels like enough to stall the car but if I keep the accelerator down, the car eventually shakes it off and goes back to normal after 45MPH. It happens every five or six minutes with the same result. The car also seems like it is shaking when I try to accelerate from a higher gear when that happens. The other issue with it is that when I come to a complete stop or turn into a parking spot after it has happened, the call stalls and shuts off completely. I’ve gotten pretty good at being able to throw it back into neutral and start it back up without any issues, but it is a major hassle to put up with. I’ve tried to research my issue online but I’m seeing two different solutions to a problem that I might not even have. The first one tells me to replace all of the O2 Sensors and the second one says to replace the spark plugs and ignition coils. I don’t have much money to invest in the car and I’m just trying to make it through the rest of winter and most of spring so I can purchase a new car. Anyone have any suggestions on what the issue might be?
When a Check Engine light flashes, it’s indicating that there’s a major misfire occuring. And continued operation of the vehicle can result in damage to the catalytic converters.
It has to be determined what’s causing the misfire and have it repaired. Catalytic converters aren’t cheap to replace.
Tester
Hmm…the modular engines are very reliable as is the whole chassis in general. Invest in the tune up parts. It’s less than one payment on your new car. Retail would be expensive for this level of service, but you’ve got to be paying for it anyway in terms of inconvenience (losses in drivability) and fuel economy.
As a general rule a blinking CEL means stop where you are at or risk more expensive damage.
Do you have access to a scan tool? See if you can borrow one. If not, you can purchase one for your specific car which is a lot less expensive than the multiple car ones. It will narrow down your problem and hopefully you can repair it yourself. As was already indicated a BLINKING light is no joke.
It was a reliable car but it is worn out and may be impossible to keep it fixed for long. It’s had a good past but the future is one big IF after another.
NOT fixing it will cost you more in the long run. Get the codes read(usually a P#### format) and report them back to us