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Check Engine
Posted by Argisllc - http://saabnet.com/tsn/forms/e.php3?em= (more from Argisllc - http://saabnet.com/tsn/forms/e.php3?em=) on Mon, 9 Jun 2003 23:23:55
In Reply to: , Kok Chen, Sat, 17 Dec 1988 12:00:00

Check Engine Blues
My '86 900S has started to intermittently stall. The engine will start fine
when cold, then after some time will start to buck as if running on 1
cylinder. The 'Check Engine light will come on and flash rapidly. Sometimes
it will last for a second or two, sometimes it will go on for 10 or 15
seconds. If I'm going fast enough, I may (or may not) have sufficient
momentum for the condition to clear and continue normally, however, sometimes
the condition will last long enough that I coast to a stop (even on the
highway, which is scary!!!). When this happens, I can hear a relay operating
in synch with the flashing of the check engine light, and the relay will
click for several seconds after the engine is stopped with key on, then it
will stop. The relay click is coming from the right side of the
dashboard/firewall. So far, if the car becomes immobilized, shuuting it off,
then cranking it for anywhere from 10 ro 30 seconds (not continually, of
course) will cause it to restart and run normally until the next episode. The
problem started sometime ago, and only happened for a second. It is getting
worse, a trip on friday of about 30 miles resulted in 4 complete stops (one
on a bridge in the interstate!) and about 5 episodes of bucking where I had
enough momentum for the condition to clear. I think it could be a couple of
things: I lost the gas cap on the car about a month ago (now replaced), and I
might have gotten some water in the tank (it's been raining nearly
continuously here in New England for a month, approaching Biblical
proportions - it's raining now, and it's supposed to rain until monday :-( ).
However, I've been through about 2 tanks of gas since replacing the cap, and
I used a bottle of gas line antifreeze, and it is only getting worse. The
condition seems to happen only after the engine is competely warmed up, never
when cold, although this could just be that I don't do much short distance
driving. It does seem to be getting worse with the warmer weather, but again
this could be my imagination. The gas filter could be clogged, causing loss
of pressure downstream. I don't know, though, how the condition could clear
in a few seconds, or the engine restarted after some amount of cranking. The
relay could be bad. I don't know what that relay behind the dash is doing,
but it clicks rapidly (twice a second??) in sync with the dashboard 'Check
Engine' light. I don't know if this is a cause or effect.

I do note that when the condition occurs badly enough to cause me to come to
a compete stop and have to crank the engine for 10-30 sec, that there is a
small amount of grey-white smoke from the exhaust. It is not oil smoke, as it
is the wrong color (not blue), and dissipates rapidly. I've not been able to
smell the smoke (I'm too busy behind the wheel ;-( ), but that color and fast
dissipation is, from what I know, indicative of gas or water. I do think that
it's too grey in color to be water though. On another note, a few times when
this happens, the Check Engine' light will blink rapidly, there wil be no
palpable bucking, and there is no apparent loss of power. The light will stop
blinking after a few seconds and things appear to be OK again.

I'd appreciate any input as to what's going on. And, what's that relay?

Bob Sypek
'78 99Turbo, sold at 149K for a ....
'86 900S, 306K, with light show
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