For some reason, during wot my CEL starts flashing and then usually goes off after I'm done mashing. But, after I turn the car off and come back later to turn my car on, the CEL is on again and stays on for awhile before eventually going off again. I think its the rt cat, but should I be worried about this? Is there something to stop the CEL from going off besides driving slow from now on?

 

flashing CEL=possible engine damaege happing RIGHT NOW!

you should have these codes checked. The ECU stores all codes it displays until they are cleared.

Best place for doing this, is an acura dealership. Generic scanners don't always show all the codes The ACura scanner will.

 

Unfortunately a flashing CEL on our cars doesnt retain codes. It indicates a misfire.
Plugs, coilpack, o2 sensor all could be causes. I use to get it when i got wheel spin to cause axle hop. Try a good engine cleaning like seafoam.

 

thanks, i think it might be the o2 sensor, but I'm not sure. I know aftermarket cats are known to set off the CEL

 

exact same thing happened to me. while on the freeway during this shitty storm i went wot on the freeway for a sec and my check engine light came on. i thought water had flooded my engine cause i have a CAI. but after that it was driving fine. i ended up bringing my car to my cousins shop to get it checked out. he said it was a misfire on cylinder 2 3 and 5. car was fine after that

 

was actually going to post something about this..... heres my scenario - when i start the car, the maint. required light flashes a half dozen or so times (ive never noticed this before) and then stays off

I tried pulling any code, but came up with 0 codes and a positive green light on my reader (indicating evereythign was fine)

I started noticing the flash after i was driving, and accidently shut my car off (i was coasting in neutral, my foot cought my key chain string and turned the car off, i turned it back on while still coasting in neutral and noticed the flashing maint light --- first time i ever noticed it, is it normal???)

 

Yes, the "MAINT" light is just a factory preset for factory & schedule maintenence........nothing to be alarmed about, eventually, it will stay on....but just read your owners manual, it has the step for clearing it.

 

good info to know. i was referring to what most newer systems do. i retract my last statement.

 

The cat shouldnt be causing it if its a good cat, plus if it was it should be a code that is being retained by the ecu and showing a solid light.

First thing to ask is how old are the plugs?
What octane fuel are you running?
Mileage?
Are your motor mounts in good shape? (sounds strange but things add up to help cause other issues)

 

[QUOTE=fsttyms1]The cat shouldnt be causing it if its a good cat, plus if it was it should be a code that is being retained by the ecu and showing a solid light.

The display shows a solid light after I turn the car back on and stays like that for awhile, sometimes a couple days. Sparkplugs are new, motor mounts are in good condition, not to mention I have a new engine in there and 91 octane in sf so I dunno?

 

And when that light is on there is no code?

 

There is always a code when their is a solid CEL. Whether it's on when you finally get to autozone is a different story. Given it's seemingly being caused by the WOT condition, I'd be focusing on the o2 sensor. If the plugs or anything else were causing issues you a) should be able to notice b) it should occur during most driving conditons not just WOT.

Regarding your aftermarket cat, a common 'solution' is to put a spacer or some type of modification so the o2 sensor is less exposed to exhaust gases, as in it isn't threaded as deeply in to the cat. You can use this auto forum search to check out what all the codes mean as well as to find solutions to the aftermarket cat/o2 sensor problem if that is indeed your CEL which it probably is.

 

thanks man, I was pretty sure it was the CEL, but I don't know what to do about it. I'll check out the forum and see what I can find.

 

I found this link, it's a CEL is inevitable, but you can install a plug into the o2 bung and mount the o2 sensor onto the heat shield, but where can I get this stuff?
http://www.honda-tech.com/zerothread/1636376

 

great, i dunno wats going on but I was driving to work and all of a sudden my Maint. required light pops up, and my CEL is still on since a couple days ago.

 

don't know about the maint. required light, but the cell problem sounds like what happens in my car to a point except if I really get on it the cell has been know to stay on till I have it read. If I just play around it does like yours is. I've had it check by my mechanic and he says that for me it a combination of the S/C, I/C, and test pipe. Basically I get a missfire in 1-6, yet the pugs and coil packs are ok and the Dyno shows no problems to indicate a missfire. I would recommend an O2 extender for you cat. It didn't help me (test pipe) but with you just having high flow cats it may do the trick, plus it only a few bucks.

 

anyone have a clue why that happened?

 

Nothing more than time triggered the maint req light. It doesnt mean a thing is wrong with your car. Since your CEL light is on Get the code read

 

The CEL went on again about a week ago and the shop reset it. It was throwing the exact same codes you were talking about (misfire). Just last night the same thing happened during WOT at around 6k, and the CEL is back on again. When I bought the cat from excelerate, it came w/ an o2 extension, so where can I get an extender your talking about. Sahtt told me there's a spacer you can put in, but it's just starting to get annoying. This won't affect my car when I get a tune will it?

 

to reset the maint. req. light....simply hold down select and reset buttons with the car off, then start it and continue to hold them down until the light turns off...

 

im gonna try that right now

 

wait, its the CEL, not the maint. required light

 

that wont work

 

sorry, i should have pointed out i was responding to ralphie's post about the maint. req. light