Re: Blinking engine light?

["Mark Sussmann" <saucemanvr6@hotmail.com>]

John,

I've had the check engine light blink before.  Basically, for the 2 years
I've had my Jetta the light has been on 90% of the time. At one point it was
on for close to a year straight.  In damp and/or cold weather, my engine
would misfire and it would flash and then just stay on. I'm not sure if
you're having similar engine problems, but in my case it was the infamous
coil pack. That costs from $250 if you do it yourself...or you can do the
"epoxy" fix for $3 (I believe it can be found in the gti-vr6 archives - I
can dig it up if you need me to).  After I replaced the coil pack, the light
came back on for awhile (but I don't remember if it would flash or
not)...that turned out to be my post-02 sensor - probably due to my previous
misfiring coilpack.  But since then, I've invested in the rosstech VAG-COM
tool, and when the light comes on I just read it and reset it myself - MUCH
easier than seeing it while I drive :) Hope this helps...

Good luck!

-Mark


----- Original Message -----
From: "John A. Kilpatrick" <john@hypergeek.net>
To: "Jetta GLX Mailing List" <jettaglx@igtc.com>
Sent: Saturday, September 29, 2001 3:21 AM
Subject: Blinking engine light?


> So tonite on my way home, just after I started driving, the check engine
> light came on and was blinking.  Now the light is bad enough, but I
> figured if it was blinking then I should pull over and check what the
> problem is.  The owner's manual says that it means the catalytic converter
> might be damaged.  *sigh*  However it did stop blinking and is just steady
> on now.  So my question is:
>
> 1) If the light stops blinking, is that a good sign or just the way
> it behaves?
> 2) Has anyone had their engine light blink before, and what was the
> diagnosis?
> 3) If I need a new cat, how much money are we talking?
>
> Also...any idea if it is still safe to drive?  True to form it happened on
> a Friday evening, and I do have plans this weekend.
>
> Thanks,
> John
>
> --
>                                John A. Kilpatrick
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