2016 Z06: Check Engine light Flashing
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Joined: Jul 2005
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From: Plano TX
2016 Z06: Check Engine light Flashing
Strangest thing happened today. Was on my way home, and almost there when my check engine light started flashing. I had driven it about 24 miles, nothing hard, just cruising down the Interstate for most of the drive. Kept it in Auto until I got to my small town, then put it in manual. Drove it for a bit then the flashing check engine light appeared. It went out after about a minute or so. Anyone experience this before? The car has about 24K on the odometer. I'm ashamed to say it but I haven't really driven it like it was meant to be driven yet. She is my daily driver though.
No Mods. 63 degrees outside. Didn't see any other warnings. She threw a P0300 code.
No Mods. 63 degrees outside. Didn't see any other warnings. She threw a P0300 code.
Last edited by nightmel; Nov 30, 2017 at 07:33 PM.
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A flashing CEL indicates a sustained misfire in one or more cylinders. When this happens you want to reduce power as soon as possible (slow down, shift to a lower gear if necessary to reduce engine load) and if the light ceases flashing then it is safe to drive but you need to get it to the dealer. If it continues flashing for more than a few seconds you really want to park it and then try a restart to see if the flashing light goes away; if not it is best to park it and have it flatbedded to a dealer.
A flashing CEL is required under OBD-II specs when there is a sustained misfire in order to get the drivers attention because it can result in raw fuel being dumped into the cats with potential for damaging the cats and potential fire from a severely overheated cat. Common causes are a bad plug or coil pack or even a loose plug wire which will result in raw fuel into the exhaust.
A flashing CEL is required under OBD-II specs when there is a sustained misfire in order to get the drivers attention because it can result in raw fuel being dumped into the cats with potential for damaging the cats and potential fire from a severely overheated cat. Common causes are a bad plug or coil pack or even a loose plug wire which will result in raw fuel into the exhaust.
Last edited by NSC5; Nov 30, 2017 at 09:23 PM.
Thread Starter
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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 671
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From: Plano TX
A flashing CEL indicates a sustained misfire in one or more cylinders. When this happens you want to reduce power as soon as possible (slow down, shift to a lower gear if necessary to reduce engine load) and if the light ceases flashing then it is safe to drive but you need to get it to the dealer. If it continues flashing for more than a few seconds you really want to park it and then try a restart to see if the flashing light goes away; if not it is best to park it and have it flatbedded to a dealer.
A flashing CEL is required under OBD-II specs when there is a sustained misfire in order to get the drivers attention because it can result in raw fuel being dumped into the cats with potential for damaging the cats and potential fire from a severely overheated cat. Common causes are a bad plug or coil pack or even a loose plug wire which will result in raw fuel into the exhaust.
A flashing CEL is required under OBD-II specs when there is a sustained misfire in order to get the drivers attention because it can result in raw fuel being dumped into the cats with potential for damaging the cats and potential fire from a severely overheated cat. Common causes are a bad plug or coil pack or even a loose plug wire which will result in raw fuel into the exhaust.
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Joined: Jul 2005
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From: Plano TX
Update: So they could not locate any codes. Which is strange. I pulled the code yesterday with a handheld OBD II reader and did not erase the code. How does it not show up as a history code?
However, I also reported a noise that sounds like bearings going out and they said that it's my water pump. Of course like every other part that we need for these things, it's on a National Backorder.
However, I also reported a noise that sounds like bearings going out and they said that it's my water pump. Of course like every other part that we need for these things, it's on a National Backorder.
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The P0300 code by itself indicates it is random misfire affecting multiple cylinders and it should have shown in history even if the CEL was no longer lit or flashing. If any of the individual cylinders were showing a pattern instead of random misfires then there should also have been additional codes in the format P030X where X is the cylinder with a pattern of misfires.
If it has been sitting a lot I guess it might be "stale" gas. The random non-cylinder specific misfire is less common than seeing a sustained misfire for one or more specific cylinders. Did you hit a large bump just before the CEL came on? A loose/poor connection at one of the harness connectors could cause this to happen.
If it happens again shoot a cell phone video of the flashing CEL if possible. Although this doesn't really "prove" anything a service tech may sort of believe you when you tell him about the issue but is more likely to treat it as a credible issue with video. Like most things in life getting good service comes down to strategy and people skills.
If it has been sitting a lot I guess it might be "stale" gas. The random non-cylinder specific misfire is less common than seeing a sustained misfire for one or more specific cylinders. Did you hit a large bump just before the CEL came on? A loose/poor connection at one of the harness connectors could cause this to happen.
If it happens again shoot a cell phone video of the flashing CEL if possible. Although this doesn't really "prove" anything a service tech may sort of believe you when you tell him about the issue but is more likely to treat it as a credible issue with video. Like most things in life getting good service comes down to strategy and people skills.
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Joined: Mar 2001
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From: Bonneville Salt Flats
"P0300 Random Misfire Code. A random misfire means your engine is misfiring, but that the problem is not isolated to one or two cylinders. It is jumping around in a random way from one cylinder to another. A random misfire code usually means the air/fuel mixture is running lean."
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From: Santa Fe Tx
Flashing Service Engine
Strangest thing happened today. Was on my way home, and almost there when my check engine light started flashing. I had driven it about 24 miles, nothing hard, just cruising down the Interstate for most of the drive. Kept it in Auto until I got to my small town, then put it in manual. Drove it for a bit then the flashing check engine light appeared. It went out after about a minute or so. Anyone experience this before? The car has about 24K on the odometer. I'm ashamed to say it but I haven't really driven it like it was meant to be driven yet. She is my daily driver though.
No Mods. 63 degrees outside. Didn't see any other warnings. She threw a P0300 code.
No Mods. 63 degrees outside. Didn't see any other warnings. She threw a P0300 code.
2016 Z51 with about 900 miles - drove about 5 minutes at 35mph or less then noticed the flashing light. I slowed down and pulled off the road it stoped flashing and went out. I checked for codes about 30minutes later and found none. It has not happened again and I have a little over 1700 miles. But I've taken to the dealer for the dreaded transmission shudder. This condition is well described in another post. I should hear from dealer about shudder fix tomorrow???
I've started keeping a driving experience log to note any thing I notice- I note mileage, time of day, driving situation and issue.
I find the really good dealers/mechanics appreciate this. The really poor mechanics/dealers could care less, but they're crap anyway.
The problem with Vettes is there are not many sold each year and even fewer driven on a regular daily basis and so finding problems which are common is hard. However, most Vette owners are better equipped to describe problems, if they would only do so in a format like this Forum.
Thanks for the post I know I'm not alone
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From: Supporting the Corvette Community at Abel Chevrolet in Rio Vista, CA 707-374-6317 Ext.123
St. Jude Donor '08
First thing to check with a dead mis fire (flashing CEL) is spark plug wires. I can't even count how many customers have towed their cars in only for us to fix it in 2 minutes while still in the service drive. Half of the time the wire fell off the coil or is not seated on the coil side of the spark plug wire.
If you check the basics (plugs/wires) then the next likely culprit is an injector. We do them frequently on all the LT based vehicles.
If you check the basics (plugs/wires) then the next likely culprit is an injector. We do them frequently on all the LT based vehicles.
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 2,144
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From: Central Florida
First thing to check with a dead mis fire (flashing CEL) is spark plug wires. I can't even count how many customers have towed their cars in only for us to fix it in 2 minutes while still in the service drive. Half of the time the wire fell off the coil or is not seated on the coil side of the spark plug wire.
If you check the basics (plugs/wires) then the next likely culprit is an injector. We do them frequently on all the LT based vehicles.
If you check the basics (plugs/wires) then the next likely culprit is an injector. We do them frequently on all the LT based vehicles.