95 Ford Escort LX engine problems/check engine light?

Question

Recently bought a 95 Ford Escort LX 1.9L, it has 168k miles. The car is more gutless than it should be for an Escort. It idles fairly rough (around 1.5k RPM cold start, 500 RPM warm), lurches back and forth a bit intermittently, and has a hard time going up hills- makes kind of a puttering noise uphill (goes away with the clutch depressed). The economy is not near what it should be, hovering in the upper 20s for the most part. Also, about every 20 miles or so the "check engine" light will flash for just a few seconds, then shut off again.

I replaced the spark plugs with NGK V-plugs and cleaned the MAF sensor, to no avail. The old plugs had no deposits or damage.

Can I check the engine code if it's intermittent? I thought the light had to be on to check. I'm pretty sure 95 Escorts are OBD-I.

Answer 1

(Check Engine Light)
There are many components that work together in the engine to maintain optimal engine performance and economy.
A service engine soon, or check engine light indicates that there is a sensor that is reading a condition that is "out of range".
Simply resetting the light does not solve the initial cause of the problem.
Replacing a number of parts trying to troubleshoot the problem in the hopes of getting the light to stay off is a tremendous waste of time and money.
The simplest, and most economical way to alleviate your issue, is to have an engine diagnostic done by a reputable shop to determine what caused the computer to signal you to begin with. Just reading the computer codes may not find the "cause".
That being said, if per-chance you feel the need to reset the light in the hopes that it was a "glitch" of some kind, you could disconnect the negative battery terminal for a couple of minutes to clear the check engine light. (ignition key turned on)

Answer 2

you need to take it and have it scanned ,its possible it has a bad 0-2 sensor in it,and that will cause exactly what its doing,normally those cars are real good on power,but if it has a bad sensor on it the scan will show it ,and auto zone does this for free,this way you,ll have a better idea of whats going on with it,without having it scanned you could spend a lot of money buying part for it that you really don't need,good luck with it,hope this helps.