Check Engine Light Flashing - Please Help

[NismoGirl]

Ok, diagnosis goes like this.

1st when under load/wot from 4000rpm onwards, check engine light flashes and dumps heaps of fuel smoke.

2nd when under load/wot from 4000rpm onwards, check engine light flashes and dumps heaps of fuel smoke.

3rd when under load/wot from 4000rpm onwards, check engine light flashes and dumps heaps of fuel smoke.

4th when under load from 4000rpm onwards, check engine light flashes and dumps heaps of fuel smoke. (only know from braking and accelorating to put under load)

5th when under load from 4000rpm onwards, check engine light flashes and dumps heaps of fuel smoke. (only know from braking and accelorating to put under load)

The car has got, Power FC, apexi fmic, apexi avcr (set to 1bar), running standard turbo and tomei cam gear. Don't ask me what it's set to cause I have no idea. Coil packs have been replaced and I'm running Splitfires. Fuel pump, regulator, injectors are all standard.

The light only used to flash occassionally (when I say occassionally, I mean.. VERY occasssionally) when at the drags or giving it heaps on mountain runs (I know that's just general pinging before it becomes audiable) then it's gradually gotten worse where I now I have to drive like a granny otherwise the check engine light starts flashing at me.

Thoughts at the moment are, AFM? or fuel pressure regulator (still only got the standard one) or the o2 sensor.

Any information would be most helpful. I thought it may have just been a tuning issue, but the more we think about it and investigate it further, the more we think it might be a part failing as such.

I'll be testing the afm today and swapping it with a friends to rule out that situation. Any other suggestions?

Also, is there any easy way to test that the o2 sensor, fuel pressure reg, fuel pump are going so we can try and rule those alternatives out as well?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

EDIT: with just general driving to and from work, I haven't lost any fuel economy either, if anything gained it because I can't put my foot down.

[Phat6]

Hey Nismo Girl ... I had sort of the same problem, but it was only when I let off the gas ...

It generally means that your injectors are maxing out, or you are getting bad knock. What senors are ebing monitored on the hand controller ? I have mine set to Water Temp, Inj Duty, Knock and Revs ...

You can check the O2 sensor with the hand controller (if you have one). I can't remember off the top of my head how, but if you like, I can find out and post it up.

All sensors can be checked on the same screen, my mate has a 400hp skyline and his was having bad issues with the engine check lite, upon inspecting the sensor screen, his exhaust temp senor (in the cat) had died, unplugged it and it is all good ...

sorry if this sounds like gibberish, but I have just woken up.

Thanks ... Ian

[ylwgtr2]

whats the knock on the handset say?

[NismoGirl]

I dont have a hand controller

Maybe I'm going to have to wait till friday when it goes to the mechanic to see what's wrong. I just wanted to try and have it all fixed cause theres a fair lot of stuff that needs doing plus I've got it booked in to get it tuned. I thought that may have been the problem, but I'm thinking otherwise now.

I didn't think the settings on the pfc could change? Therefor, what it was tuned to shouldn't change meaning the knock shouldn't change?

I'm sure I could get hold of a hand controller before friday but it might just be easier to hand the keys to the mechanic and ask him to fix it.

[NismoGirl]

Hrm.. well seems to be the AFM. We swapped it over this arvo and it only seemed to flash very top of 2nd around 6500rpm.

So we took to mine with some contact cleaner and it seems to have gone now. I'll test it during the week but if it still plays up, looks like i'll be in need of a new afm by friday

[predator]

times like that the hand controller would be useful eh?

[NismoGirl]

I said to Andrew "maybe we should buy a hand controller" and he said ".. **** that"

Contact cleaner r0x0rs

[Amaru]

I said to Andrew "maybe we should buy a hand controller" and he said ".. **** that"

Contact cleaner r0x0rs

Id still look into getting a hand controller... it provides valuable information, and next time something like this happens, you can just take 2 seconds to look at the hand controller and know whats going wrong.

[ylwgtr2]

I dont have a hand controller

Maybe I'm going to have to wait till friday when it goes to the mechanic to see what's wrong. I just wanted to try and have it all fixed cause theres a fair lot of stuff that needs doing plus I've got it booked in to get it tuned. I thought that may have been the problem, but I'm thinking otherwise now.  

I didn't think the settings on the pfc could change? Therefor, what it was tuned to shouldn't change meaning the knock shouldn't change?

I'm sure I could get hold of a hand controller before friday but it might just be easier to hand the keys to the mechanic and ask him to fix it.

Its not about the settings changing.....its not the settings that make the knock...its a lean mixture or timing....now a crook fuel pump,reg,afm can cause a lean mixture

[siksII]

the engine light flashing quickly means the car is knocking, drive it softly until you get it onto a dyno, because the knocking will destroy your motor, dont keep doing it like you have been...

[Mik]

the engine light flashing quickly means the car is knocking, drive it softly until you get it onto a dyno, because the knocking will destroy your motor, dont keep doing it like you have been...

It could also be injectors or AFM running out.

If you see the check engine light flash from ping, you should be able to hear it

[NismoGirl]

It's never been audiable knocking otherwise I wouldn't have driven the car at all.

At this point in time (after driving to work today) it hasn't happened again after me pushing the car at the points it used to always happen.

As mentioned, the car is going to the mechanics on friday for a service and tuning. I'll get the mechanic to chuck the hand controller onto it if the problem persists. He's informed me to just keep an eye on it, and let him know on friday.

I also don't see how a hand controller could have told me my afm was dirty? :confused:

[ylwgtr2]

you would have seen an abnormality in the air flow meter volts display on the hand set however more importantly without looking to far into the hand set you wouldve seen the knock readings

[rs73]

could it also be that your fuel pump maxed out before either your injector or afm does...?

[paulr33]

With the hand controller you could have turned off all the warnings then went through each one in turn to see which one triggered the engine flash light (theres 3 items). You could see your injector duty, afm values and knock levels, straight away you would have known what was causing the engine flash. you could have also gotten the afm and 02 values and known if they were working (in a sense the values they return are ok) or you could posted what the values are and someone could have commented on them. you coudl have also done a map tracer while someone else was driving the car and you watch what map its reading and load poiint then check out the load vs rpm for injector or timing and see what the values are like compare to other rpm and load values, for comparsion only unless you want to change them (and are confident in doing so).

i tihnk the hand controller is very handy

[siksII]

also you can see other things that may be wrong that you cannot see in the normal monitor mode, by going into the sensor check screen..

say if the tps is not working properly and the voltage drops too low the value will be hilighted so you can see what is causing the engine check light to flash.