"Check"-light starts to blink @ +60mph

[MaXiMiZoR]

The check engine (electronic circuits) light keeps starting to flash when I drive above 60mph (100km/u). In normal traffic I don't have problems because my speed doesn't come above 60. But when I turn to highways and reach speeds above 60mph the light starts to blink. It stops doing that until I shut down and restart the engine.

The garage has read the ECU error-codes with a ODB-reader and has reset the "check"-light and I've had no problems for a day or so. The day after, the light started to blink again and sometimes it stays on uninterrupted. I have until now 2x replaced the sparkplug cables and 1x sparkplugs (cause garage says that should be it, but it's not) and the problem still exists.

Can anyone help me out here?

[Daniel]

-Have the car scannned again and ask the error code(s). Post it here.
-Is the car serviced recently? Air filter/fuel filter/fresh oil/...
-What symptom do you feel when check engine lamp is ON or FLASHING?

[MaXiMiZoR]

That's the strange bit... The garage checked it 2 times and never found an error code. They just reset the Check Engine-light but surely that's not the solution.
When the light starts blinking, I don't feel anything abnormal. The car just continues to drive normally.

Oil filter, oil, air filter, spark plugs and sparkplugcables are recently changed so I don't think it has to do with those.
Spark plugs are Bosh Super4, Sparkplugcables are Bosh, oil filter is Bosh and air filter is Pipercross foam replacement filter (brand new).

I'm thinking of buying myself an OBD2 code reader. The garage asks 15€/reading and all they can say is: "we didn't find an error code".
I was looking on Ebay and found the "Launch Creader V" , looks a good deal for around 50€.

[Daniel]

When CEL blinks is it on a steady frequency of about 1 per second or is it random?
Does it happened suddenly, after some changes on the vehicle, servicing, refuelling,...
I've read that CEL without stored error code can come from poor grounding connexions, interferences, bad HV wire routing,...

Sorry I can't help you better. Maybe wait for more experienced advices.

Cheers,

[MaXiMiZoR]

At speeds over 100km/u it starts to blink at a steady frequency. This happens all the time I exceed 100 km/u.
When I shut down the engine and restart it the blinking light is gone and apparently the fault code is gone too because the garage doesn't find anything.

I've already extra-grounded the engine with copper cables @ the injector rail, cylinder head and right front strut.

Grounding kit:

[Daniel]

A "check engine lamp" flashing signals normally severe misfire that can damage the engine and / or exhaust system.

To my knowmedge (but I'm not a mechanic) this will throw a error code in ECU memory:
-for several driving cycles (I think 40 or so) without error.
-until ereased by ScanTool.
-until ECU's stand-by power is disconnected.

It could be usefull if your garage could hook their OBD reader while driving to find real time defects.

Hope it helps,

[Puddle31]

I have had the blinking check engine and the manual says it is for a severe engine misfire. The flashing CEL misfire resets on its own unless there is some other cause. I dont' remember anything showing up on the OBD code history. somethign must be causing the misfire, and I would guess it's not the plug or wires since you replaced those. How about the ignition coil? would you get a code for that?

[MaXiMiZoR]

@ Puddle31: It could be the coil pack... Before I bought it, the car has probably driven some time with broken sparkplug cables. The guy who sold me the car had replaced them but the quality of those cables was so poor that 2 out of 4 got broken again after just 2 months (because during those 2 months I took them off and on a couple of times and 2 of the cables broke at the sparkplug connector). Could be that the bad sparkplug cables which the car has been driving around with have had a negative impact on the coil pack.

I'm bidding on a Launch Creader V @ Ebay right now, so I can read out the codes while driving.

[Captain Manic]

As I recall, the '06 Aveo owner's and GMervice manuals say that the flashing CEL indicates a misfire condition. Are 2002 European models OBD2 compliant, out of curiosity?

[MaXiMiZoR]

If everyone here thinks it is a misfire condition, why does the car misfire only at high speeds??

[Daniel]

As I recall, the '06 Aveo owner's and GMervice manuals say that the flashing CEL indicates a misfire condition. Are 2002 European models OBD2 compliant, out of curiosity?

In Europe and for petrol only models under 2.5T:
EOBD compliant for NEW models from 2000.
EOBD compliant for ALL models from 2001.

In french

EOBD.JPG

[Daniel]

If everyone here thinks it is a misfire condition, why does the car misfire only at high speeds??

That's THE question, MaXiMiZor! Maybe there is a floating cable making poor connexion at speed, maybe. I really don't know . I'll be very intersted by your scanner investigations.

[MaXiMiZoR]

FUCK THAT SCANNER

I'm SO PISSED right now, I lost the auction by £1
I've been highest bidder for 6 days and the last 10 seconds some guy throws an extra £2 on the bidding and I'm totally fucked because my highest bid was £1 higher than the previous and not £2...

[Daniel]

FUCK THAT SCANNER

I'm SO PISSED right now, I lost the auction by £1
I've been highest bidder for 6 days and the last 10 seconds some guy throws and extra £2 on the bidding and I'm totally fucked because my highest bid was £1 higher than the previous and not £2...

That's Ebay, man.
10 seconds is wayyyyy too long before bidding. You have to make your highest bid on the last second...or try a "purchase now" item
Note there are also false bidding...

Good luck,

[MaXiMiZoR]

I'm over it now...
I just don't like to lose.

I can "buy now" this unit for £2 more than the final bidding price. So it didn't matter that much at all...