96 mustang v6

[tmcuhh]

ok, so I start the car and just sit there. the check engine light is on and it's blinking. the car also is making a noticeable vibration. you can look at the dash board or just sit still and feel the movement that is deffinitely not supposed to be there. anyone have any idea what this vibration is. the car is over 100k and to my knowledge has pretty good maintenance done on it, but then again there is always something i don't know. help please?!
96 ford mustang 3.8 v6 manual

[hooligan]

OMG, I drove a 1984 Corolla and it's got like 140K miles on it and its check engine light is blinking.

[pablohoney]

Originally Posted by tmcuhh

ok, so I start the car and just sit there. the check engine light is on and it's blinking. the car also is making a noticeable vibration. you can look at the dash board or just sit still and feel the movement that is deffinitely not supposed to be there. anyone have any idea what this vibration is. the car is over 100k and to my knowledge has pretty good maintenance done on it, but then again there is always something i don't know. help please?!
96 ford mustang 3.8 v6 manual

I'm pretty certain '96 Mustangs have OBD-II (On-Board Diagnostics II) installed. This means you can plug in an OBD-II reader into your car (look for a plug-in port under your steering wheel, at least that's where mine is and I own a Mercury). The reader will read the error code that is causing the check engine light to come on.

Now, where to get a code reader? I bought one off ebay for $50. I've also heard Pep Boys will read codes for free, but alas we don't have any of them in this part of the country, but maybe you do. Without the code it's almost impossible to diagnose, and even once you have the error code, you'll have to do some more research to figure out what's causing it. Also, I would be careful to assume the blinking light and vibrations are related, even if they seemingly happened simultaneously. Just work one problem at a time and if you kill two birds with one stone, great, otherwise be prepared for multiple issues.

[kpih]

Sounds like problem with fuel/air mixture? Oxygen sensor may be?

[Beat180]

pop the hood. is the engine shaking at idle or when you're on the road or both? The vibrations could be alot of things, like blown motor or tranny mounts, bad air/fuel mix, a jacked idle air control valve, fuel injector that's gone out, fuel pump that's going bad, etc. Get the ODB-II code reader and post which code comes out.

[JamesBondMx]

Hi tmcuhh !

I got just the same problem in a 4.6L, 96, do you get any update or have any clue?

[mrazntre]

sounds like an air/fuel prob to me too.

i'd check to see that all the fuel injector plugs are secure and other things such as the wires. Those things shouldn't pull a code though. So mebbe you have a bad 02 sensor that's running in extra rich limp mode, which could cause rough idling and the check light.

[tmcuhh]

i had someone plug in and see what the check engine light was for. it said cylinder no.2 is missfireing which probably means spark plugs, and then an auxillary emissions code which is probably bad wires most likely. i'm not sure yet, but i guess we'll find out.

[mrazntre]

are you running copper or platinum plugs? some cars don't like the platinum stuff.

[tmcuhh]

i don't know, but it's probably whatever they have stock, couldn't tell you if the person before me had a tune up ever.

[Beat180]

misfire, check the distributor cap/rotor and if your motor's got one, the crank angle sensor.