Check engine light comes on during a cold start

[sifan]

Last weekend the US east coast saw the biggest snow storm in three years. My car sat thru the storm with frigid cold nights. Despite using the engine block heater for 3 hours I started the engine on Monday morning, and the engine turned slowly like having cold/thick oil or weak battery but only for few seconds. Then the engine fired up with check engine light on. Since I haven't receive my ScanGauge to check the codes, I wonder if the CEL on was casued by misfire under cold weather condition.

It has not gone off by itself after three days of driving. Does anyone have similar experience? I have experienced CEL to come on due to engine misfire when I cleaned the throttle body but not by cold weather.

 

[Donald]

Did you pop the hood and have a look at the engine. Could snow have blown in the engine area around the wires? As long as the CEL is not blinking your OK until you can read the codes.

 

[Donald]

A blinking CEL that stays blinking means your car could be doing damage to the cat. converter, or at least thats one of the more important concerns. Having a tool to read codes is a great thing. I have one that works with my Palm and is great.

 

[sifan]

No, I did not pop the hood. The snow storm passed by on Saturday night. I removed the snow off the car on Sunday morning. The sun came out in the afternoon, and melt some snow. If there were any snow under the hood, it would probably be gone by then.

What is the difference in severity of CEL when it is blinking or just stays on?

 

[johnd]

Typically, a misfire condition will clear itself and turn the light off although the code will remain in the computer until cleared. A blinking light indicates a more serious condition that needs immediate attention, moreso than a steady light that indicates that something is not right.

 

[sifan]

I got the ScanGauge and pulled the codes last night. It turned out the engine experienced multiple misfires on cylinder #3 and #4. I guess it was caused by wires being cross due to snow. For some reasons the check engine light did not clear by itself. I used ScanGauge to clear the codes and reset the check engine light, which never comes up again. The tool is easy to use and worths every penny.