Driving your vehicle, and suddenly the check engine light comes on; what everybody does in this situation is, get panic. You will start wondering what went wrong with your car and secretly pray for the issue to be small.
The problem seems a lot bigger if you are stuck somewhere a mechanic cannot be easily found. This means you will have to wait to get lucky, for a car to stop by and help you, or wait until your mechanic decides to pick up your call and pick up your car to fix it.
Sometimes you do not want to worry yourself, and want to ignore the warning check engine light. Some of us ignore the light, hoping it will go away soon, by itself. The idea of engine fixing its issue on its own seems silly.
Modern times come with modern technology. These days, vehicles come with sophisticated technologies in them, and there can be dozens of reasons behind the issue which causes the check engine light to illuminate.
What to do if check engine light starts flashing?
If you are driving your car, and suddenly see the check engine light flashing, it is time to stop. Basically, the flashing light is an ultimate warning for you.
You see the check engine light flashing, what you need to do is Stop driving your car, and have it serviced by a professional mechanic as soon as possible.
If the light starts flashing when you are on the road or driving your vehicle, you need to pull over your vehicle. Look for a parking lot nearby or mechanic. If none is present, pull over on the side of the road, and call a tow truck.
While at same time, don’t take it too seriously. As the only real danger is if breaks don’t work! So you may, if choose, continue driving and book mechanic early as possible. Or can see the fault yourself via OBD scan tool.
It might cost you some money to have your car towed to the nearest mechanic shop, but it is in the best of your interest – it can save your vehicle from any further critical damage and the consequent costs.
Still thinking, what is exactly the issue with your car?
Whenever you come across a blinking check engine light, it could mean serious damage to your engine. Generally, the problem could be due to an engine misfire, and to notify you of this misfire, the light starts flashing.
An engine misfire feeds unburned fuel into the exhaust system of the vehicle, which can cause further damage.
When that happens, the temperature rises inside the vehicle, and the temperature of the catalytic converter can rise to dangerously unsafe levels, which can damage the parts of the vehicle. Further, this can cause damage to your pocket. And when I say damage to your pocket, trust me, you do not want to get into this type of trouble – paying bills for this extensive damage to the engine.
The longer you wait for anything to happen miraculously, the more is the probability of your vehicle getting severely damaged. Waiting longer to get it fixed will not do any good.
But that could not be the only one reason behind your check engine light blinking. So what else can cause it?
Other major issues which can cause a flashing engine light include a crack in the manifold gasket, a misfiring cylinder, a problem in the coil, contaminated fuel or a damaged piston. Or see exact reason via a car scanner which you can plug into your car and laptop.
Now, you may be thinking what possibly you can do to get your car fixed right away.
If you think you are qualified enough with adequate experience to work on vehicles, you can use find out the issue with your vehicle and the solution by hooking up an OBD reader.
But if check engine light blinking happens when you do not want to waste your time on it, for example, if you are in the middle of a trip with your loved ones, then you cannot drive back to your home to find the issue and solution.
If you, still, are unable to figure out the problem with your vehicle, then a blinking check engine light can take the form of a serious issue. It is, therefore, important that you do not ignore the blinking check engine light even for a couple minutes.
The best solution here is to find a nearby mechanic and go straight to their shop. Otherwise, call a truck and get your car towed to the mechanic to avoid further damage.
It can also happen on a weekend when there will rarely be anyone available to help you out. If it happens on a weekend, it may be best to leave your vehicle in a safe parking zone until Monday.
Alternatively, you can call a towing truck, and get your car towed to home. When you think you can access a mechanic, conveniently, during the week, you can call them to repair your car.
The bottom line of the discussion is that it is necessary to take immediate actions regarding the blinking check engine light. Instead of waiting for getting your car serviced, you should stop driving it. You might be feeling unusual sounds or unusual feeling inside the car, so it is safe to get it fixed first.
You should keep a close ear to the sounds and movements of your vehicle every time you drive it so that you can know if there is something wrong.
If you know how the vehicle runs normally, you will find it easier to know when something is wrong with your car. Sometimes, you might be able to detect any possible issues with your car before the check engine light even starts blinking.
Generally, you can feel something is wrong with your vehicle when the check engine light starts flashing. The sound, the feeling or something might not feel normal about it. And it is time to get it fixed, before getting late.
The best solution in such case is to not ignore the flashing check engine light, and take immediate action to fix the issue with your car. Otherwise, you might cause greater damage to the vehicle.
