The CEL doesn’t flash on all cars when the readiness monitors are not reset. My '96 Ford Contour doesn’t, the only way to find out is by plugging in a code reader or emissions testing equipment. It may on Honda’s, I don’t know, because I’ve never owned or worked on one. Yes, the correct phrase is MIL, but on many cars the light will actually read “check engine”, or in the case of my '02 Escort “engine” therefore the term “check engine light” is often used and is usually better know to people with no mechanical background which is often the types that come here asking questions…
So much worry and angst over meaningless computer generated dash lights…
Does it start and run?..yes…
Does the engine operate normally?..yes…
Drive on…
If something IMPORTANT is wrong, then the answer to one or both of the above questions will be no…
Read the codes and decide how important the problem is…