Service Engine Soon light flashes and then stays on?

Question

On the way to school this morning the service engine soon light on my 97 ford taurus gl 3.0 flashed several times and is now on solid. When i take off from a stop there is very low power and and the light flashes again. It almost seems like it is 'chocking' on gas when i step on it. I also noticed a burning smell coming from the engine once i arrived at school. Temp gague was normal and oil levels are good. I need help FAST. Thanks

Sorry for the lack of details this morning. The car is a 1997 Ford Taurus GL with a 3.0 V6. 112,000 miles. The light stays on solid except when accelerating from a stop at which time it flashes about 4 - 5 times and then goes back to solid. As i mentioned before there is a loss of power when accelerating until it is up to speed. I have had transmission problems in the past but i have a feeling this is something with the motor. Could a bad sparkplug cause this? Thanks again for all your help!

i'm not a car person so i'm not sure what you mean by class a missfire. Would this be a bad spark plug? How long can i drive it like this? Would it last me enough to go another 50 miles? When i get out of school i need to go strait to work (25 miles) and then i would need to drive to town to get the code read and try and get the part (20 miles)... I have hardly any money as i only have a part time job but if i don't have the car i can't go to work and if i don't go to work i don't get paid and i can't get the problem fixed.

One more thing that i should mention is that last night, for the first time this year, the temperature dropped from 20 above to 20 below. Would this cause anything such as a false read from the computer. At this time it is 1 below and isn't supposed to go up anytime today. According to the weather report it is supposed to be in the 30's tomorrow.

Problem Fixed... it was a miss fire in cylinder six. Thanks for all your help

Answer 1

If you have a flashing "check engine" light, it means you have a class 'A' misfire that will do damage to your catalytic convertor if you don't deal with the problem soon!!!!

Answer 2

You didn't give year, make and model so it's tough to narrow down.

Generally the Service Engine Soon warns of a failure or compromise of your engines emmission control system. When it flashes (at least on GM vehicles) it implies there is an intermittant problem. Most of the time you are not in urgent need of a tow, but you should not ignore it. Autozone and Adavanced Auto Parts are some of the establishments that will read your system for free (hoping you'll buy your parts there of course).

However, you mention a burning smell - which may or not be related. In light of this I'd have it towed.

Answer 3

go to auto zone, advance auto parts, some napas they read codes for free and will tell you the part that needs to be replaced. also when turning key on but no all the way to start count the number of times the light comes on this also will help in telling you the code.

Answer 4

drive directly to a mechanic. Flashing "engine" lights are very bad and you are doing damage to the vehicle. Better yet, have it towed.

Answer 5

Goto your local auto store, they will read your computer with the OBDII scanner and tell you the codes and what needs to be replaced. Sounds like an oxygen sensor

Answer 6

If you lack the knowlege and ability to fix it, take it to a trusted repair shop near you.

Answer 7

BURNING SMELL DO NT SOUND GOOD GET IT CHECKED SOMETIME IF U DO NT PUT YOUR CAP ON GOOD THE LIGHT WILL COME ON