trying to get rid of that annoying check engine light!
 

Check engine light on my 89 mustang won't stop flashing... what can be done to get rid of the annoying light?? also what would make the 302 engine a little sluggish on takeoff?? it drops almost to a stall when you hammer the gas but then takes off...

would the egr valve affect this??

Black tape.:D

You need to read the codes to know where to start, but at a minimum look under hood and give everything a once over for something obvious.

catalytic converter?

can be anything as far as the check engine light. but most likely a bad egr sensor. sometimes the o2 sensors go bad and can cause the car to dump fuel . that would make the car stumble off line.
check fuel pressure should be no more than 45 with the vacuum off. on a stock engine and 35 with the vacuum on. give or take 3 psi in either direction.

how the rest of the cars tune up??
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Check to make sure there isn't carbon buildup in the EGR or its lower port.

My guess would be O2 sensor, but to be sure, you need to get the codes read. You can buy a cheap code reader for under $20 for your Ford. A garage will charge you that much just to read it, so you might as well buy one.........invaluable tool in the later models.

electrical tape, or rip the dash out and smash the bulp :thumbup: sometimes the light can just come on for no apparent reason, some auto parts stores will check it for you for free and tell you whats wrong and if its not reading anything they'll turn the light off

Go to this site http://www.dalidesign.com/hbook/eectest.html and read the instructions on how to do your own EEC test with a test lite and a jumper wire. Instructions on how to read the codes and link to the 2 digit codes included. Could be a number of things. Read the codes first.

uh oh - link doesnt seem to be working for me. Try your search engine for that site or PM me and I will try to email you the info.

Hmmmm...maybe the two go hand in hand. That's why the light came on. Jeez..what do you think is the original intent of the light anyhow? Just to pop the hood and look at it? It could be the oxygen sensor, it could be the EGR valve, it could be a multitude of things. But how would anyone know if the light DIDN'T COME ON. Sorry to go off but it is kind of a ridiculous question. When the light comes on, go to your local PepBoys, AutoZone, Advanced, etc. and they will check it for free. Zip, Nada, Zilch. Then you can fix what is wrong, the light will go out and probably prolong the life of the engine a little. BTW the numbers 710... that means OIL if you stand on the opposite side.

Kevin

I had an old Ford Zephyr one time and the oil light kept flashing at tickover , I reached up behind the dash with some long nose pliers and crushed the bulb - that cured it :mwink: :evil:

getting the coldes read is the proper thing to pinpoint problem. only reason I suggested the EGR passages is tha Ford has had problems in the past with a lot of Carbon buildup in the EGR p****ages causing the Check Engine light to do some crazy things.:thumbup:

Could be any number of things listed. Could also be a bad injector, TPS, or many other things. Have the codes read and go from there.

Don't just keep driving it with the light on or remove the bulb. It is on for a reason. You may end up sitting on the side of the road when it decides it has had enough.

Get a Haynes book & a cheap analog voltmeter (mine was $5). A couple of jumper wires & you can read your own codes. Might also clean the throttle blade & IAC port if you haven't lately.