Why is my car shaking and the check engine light flashing?
A shaking vehicle AND flashing MIL ("check engine light") sound like the vehicle is misfiring on at least one cylinder. As @Anna Nguyen, @Brendan Sinclair, @Antoun Nabhan and others have said, it could be an ignition related problem. It could also be fuel-related. If one or more fuel injectors are clogged or dead, that would also cause a misfire in the affected cylinder(s). These are relatively cheap/easy things to check and fix.Other causes (which could be more complicated and more expensive) to fix include contaminated fuel, a bent intake or exhaust valve, a broken valve spring, a damaged piston/connecting rod, and on and on.I recommend getting a scan tool and checking the codes which are causing the MIL to light/flash and I also strongly recommend NOT driving the vehicle until the problem is fixed. If you continue to drive the vehicle as is, you will exacerbate the problem. Dumping unburned fuel into the exhaust due to a misfire will overheat and kill your catalytic converter. A more serious problem like a bent valve can eventually cause you to crater your engine (i.e.: completely destroy the engine).
Why does my check engine light come on after getting gas?
As many have mentioned, it's not simple to answer without more information. There are a number of emmisions fault codes that can occur when fueling for a variety of reasons. Heres a few-Various leak codes. The fuel tank isn't just a can with a pipe in from the filler neck and a pipe out to the fuel line to the motor. There is also also ventilation system that corrects for tank pressure changes allowing air to enter when needed while keeping fuel vapor from escaping, and can pull that fuel vapor into the intake system of the engine.The most common leak issue is a loose or misplaced filler cap that causes a major leak code. Next is a failed seal on the fuel filler cap causing a minor lack code. After that you have the charcoal canister shutoff valve sticking open due to a mechanical failure or due to debris from the charcoal canister caused by impact, consistent over filling, or age. Next would be the purge valve sticking open or closed. Finally hard system leaks such as a cracked hose or seal at the level sensor assembly.Overfilling can affect the charcoal canister by degrading the charcoal filter and causing the valve to stick. This system was only designed for vapor and not liquid fuel.As the fuel tank is semi flexible, the weight of the fuel will normally distort the tank and allow for some leaks due to dried or failed seals to be fuel level dependent.Finally there are the weird ones… found a low-jack transmitter installation gone awry. The installer screwed the mount through the floor under the seat into the fuel tank. Once he realized fuel was leaking on the ground he pulled the screw out, out some sealant on it and screwed it back in the hole. The customer only got a minor leak code when they had a full tank and the weight pulled the tank down off the screw.Found couple plastic tanks cracked at a seam. Also found issues due to distortion and swelling of the plastic tank from E85 and MTBE. There were a few metal tanks with braised hose junctions that separated. One tank actually collapsed and crushed due to a stuck shutoff valve and a bad sensor.Good luck.
Can I still drive my car with a heated oxygen sensor?
Oxygen sensors in general are normally located before and/or after the catalytic converter. P0136 is a generic code for types of trouble with oxygen sensors on “Bank One” of an exhaust system (FYI, if you have true dual exhaust Bank One will be driver side). The code that you are receiving is more of an indicator of dirty or bad oxygen sensors. As oxygen sensors are installed directly into the exhaust pipe, normally somewhat near the engine. Point being, they are always what I would consider very “heated”.As with any check engine light it should never be ignored or driven any further than necessary. But to answer your question, if your vehicle will start and stay running, it is drivable. If your light has not been on for the past several months, ie. just came on within the past few days, you should be fine. Oxygen sensors can cause the vehicle to run extremely sluggish/rough and/or stall. As well as no run/start at all.If you do replace your oxygen sensors it would be wise to also replace your EGR valve as well as the PCV valve as these can potentially cause very similar problems (not to mention these are normally more inexpensive & easy to replace items that will help the vehicle run better & more efficiently).Average PCV Valve, less than $5.00. EGR normally $30.00 or so. But be advised that part prices can differ greatly from normal auto parts stores to online pricing. I just put a new EGR on my 2001 Chevy Silverado and local parts store pricing ranged from about $115 to $145. I purchased it online for $35.34 with shipping. You will find oxygen sensor pricing to probably be skewed about the same (I am not the biggest fan of ordering parts online but am forced to because of the dramatic cost differences).Good luck and I hope this helps you!
What are some symptoms of a bad idle air control sensor?
Idle air control valves open to allow more air to "leak" into the intake, raising the engine rpms, or close when not needed. When your AC compressor kicks in or power steering is activated as you suddenly turn the steering wheel, the sudden drag on the drive belt will bog down the engine. These systems send a signal to the engine computer telling it they are active and it then signals the IAC valve to open, which increases the engine speed. Without this occurring, the engine could struggle, or die. The IAC valve can cause weird idle issues, mess with throttle functionality or cause the car to die. Sometimes they fail, get stuck or just get all carboned up. Sometimes people have success at cleaning them, but generally it is best to replace them when bad. Idle issues and even problems with the IAC valve may not be due to the IAC valve being bad itself. An idle issue does not mean the IAC valve is bad. It is best to pay close attention to how the vehicle is acting, and then communicate that clearly and as completely as possible to your mechanic. Intermittent problems can be very hard to diagnose. Details will help. Knowing more about the vehicle in question and its symptoms (in detail) will also help in understanding more about what it is doing.
1996 Cadillac Eldorado ETC, No power to Fuel Pump - Filter, Fuse, Connections & Relay all good, what can it be?
You have a open circuit from the relay to the fuel pump.Check continuity from those two points.If no continuity and hot leg from relay is hot,run a new wire from the relay to the fuel pump. Cam sensor plug with power on should read about 8 volts at the plug and 5 volts going to the computer.If you do not have 5 volts coming from the sensor to the computer ,the sensor could be bad if you have the 8 volt input before the came sensor. Make sure the oil pressure sending unit is plugged in as if it is unplugged it will not allow the injectors to work.
Will the elm327 1.4v obd2 obdii can bus dianostic scanner work on a 2004 lincoln navigator?
should. I don't know that particular model of ODBII scanner or that vehicle but it should work. All cars from 1996 and up have OBDII compatible ports. "1996: The OBD-II specification is made mandatory for all cars sold in the United States."--Wikipedia
Will it cause problems with my car if I cut off the catalytic converter and put a straight pipe in its place?
It will add performance but hurt fuel economy and your ability to pass emissions.The CAT is a great invention, but it adds an obstruction to the exhaust. If you remove obstructions you will realize some performance benefit (could be major or minor depending on the car, probably only major if large powerful engine to start).The problem is your car (if it’s less than 20 years old) uses inputs from the oxygen sensors to modify the air fuel mix. There is an oxygen sensor before the CAT and one after the CAT to measure how good of a job it is doing. If you remove the CAT you will get an error code (check engine light). On most cars this means your engine will probably not run as good (certainly not as efficiently) because without those inputs from the oxygen sensor it won’t dynamically modify the air fuel mix and the spark timing, it will just run off of presets as if the car is still warming up (open loop vs closed loop).The error code will also prevent you from passing emissions (which most states require) and the lack of a CAT will be noticed by most emissions testing facilities that use cameras nowadays to make sure it has not been removed.Most people ask this kind of question to bypass emissions (rather than to improve performance). If your goal is to bypass emissions, it won’t work. CATs are expensive because they are made of platinum and palladium and a few other expensive materials. It is illegal to sell a used catalytic converter but some people do it anyway.If you’re asking for performance modification reasons, your best bet is to buy a less restrictive performance exhaust system that has a CAT and spots for the oxygen sensors.
What are the symptoms of a bad transmission speed sensor?
On some vehicles, there are sensors that function specifically for certain parts of the vehicle. Sometimes a bad speed sensor will mess up the function of the ABS brakes (causing them to overreact or not kick in at all, which usually creates a light on the dash), other times it can cause erratic speedometer readings and/or (for auto transmissions) cause inconsistent shifts and it shifting completely out of gear into neutral at random. Some vehicles it will do all of these things at once, but you should get a CEL (check engine light) or ABS light to show up on the dash if one of these things are becoming problematic enough to cause issues.