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strobe light check guages

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Old Sep 12, 2005 | 11:39 AM
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Default strobe light check guages

my check guages light just started flashing after i replaced my sparkplug wires. it flashes like a strobe light, and does it mostly at low rpm and idling, when im cruising along it doesnt do it as much. all guages read perfectly fine. any ideas?
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Old Sep 12, 2005 | 03:53 PM
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Flashing SES light = misfires. Double-check your plugs/wires.

A scan tool may be helpful in isolating which cylinder is the problem.

Rob (Bad30th)
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Old Sep 13, 2005 | 07:57 AM
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Originally Posted by Bad30th
Flashing SES light = misfires. Double-check your plugs/wires.

A scan tool may be helpful in isolating which cylinder is the problem.

Rob (Bad30th)
its not the ses light, its the check guages light...anyone????
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Old Sep 13, 2005 | 08:21 AM
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new to me is the oil pressure low causing light to flicker,also the temp sensor is close to # spark plug make sure you didnt unplug or break it! the alternator excite wire is in the same harness that runs down the front of the head and is fragile...do any of your gauges seem screwed??
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Old Sep 13, 2005 | 08:59 AM
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Originally Posted by hourang
its not the ses light, its the check guages light...anyone????
Wow, that is a wierd one - I just thought you meant SES light and typed the wrong thing.

Never seen that one before... The check gauges light comes on when one of the dash gauges is out of range, and my guess is that Tunafish is right, you tweaked the coolant temp sensor (or wiring) and it's intermittently shorting/opening. (That's a likely scenario right after a wire swap).

Do you have access to a scan tool ? The factory temp gauge may be too slow to respond and you can't see the rapid changes caused by the shorted sensor. Does the car stumble at all when the light happens ? A messed up temp sensor will mess up your fueling and the car will sometimes stumble...

Just a guess, could be completely off-base here...

Rob (Bad30th)
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Old Sep 13, 2005 | 11:32 AM
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Originally Posted by Bad30th
Wow, that is a wierd one - I just thought you meant SES light and typed the wrong thing.

Never seen that one before... The check gauges light comes on when one of the dash gauges is out of range, and my guess is that Tunafish is right, you tweaked the coolant temp sensor (or wiring) and it's intermittently shorting/opening. (That's a likely scenario right after a wire swap).

Do you have access to a scan tool ? The factory temp gauge may be too slow to respond and you can't see the rapid changes caused by the shorted sensor. Does the car stumble at all when the light happens ? A messed up temp sensor will mess up your fueling and the car will sometimes stumble...

Just a guess, could be completely off-base here...

Rob (Bad30th)
yeah i was kinda leaning towards the coolant temp sensor fuggin up. i checked the wire to it to make sure everything was good and that it wasnt shorting out or anything, all looks good, i guess the sensor could just go out like that? car is definately stumbling, wasnt sure if they were related, i guess so. i also thought about the alternator wire and tried to check it seems to be there and connected. all guages read normal and dont move much at all. ill try to replace the sensor tonight, thanks for the help guys
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Old Sep 26, 2005 | 10:03 AM
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replaced the coolant temp sensor and nothing. brand new gm unit. would a bad connected wire cause this?
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Old Sep 26, 2005 | 12:38 PM
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are all of your gauges reading correctly? or do they fluctuate??
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Old Sep 26, 2005 | 01:36 PM
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the alternator guage reads a bit above 13v, all other guages are fine. maybe i need a new alt?
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Old Sep 26, 2005 | 01:41 PM
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how high above 13? if its not above 14 then its not a probelm
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Old Sep 26, 2005 | 01:49 PM
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prolly halfway to 14, not sure id have to look at it again. its like around a 1/4" or less to the right of 13.
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Old Sep 26, 2005 | 02:06 PM
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1/4" to the right of 13 is normal for my car after warmed up and the AC on, even at lights - even higher than that after a cold start.
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Old Sep 26, 2005 | 02:25 PM
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i had this very same problem, except my cooalnt temp gauge would peg out for a second and the car would stumble, then go back to normal.

turned out to be faulty knock sensors. coolant was getting to them. once i replaced them, problem solved.
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Old Sep 27, 2005 | 03:17 PM
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hrm i hope its not the knock sensors but very possible, how much do those cost?

i took off alll the wires again and actually put dielectric greese on them all, no change. :/
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Old Sep 29, 2005 | 08:18 AM
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ok update today, my voltage guage will dip up and down below 13 to just past 13 while im sitting at a light. my lights and everything dim a little when this happens. also if i put a slight rpm on it with the gas pedal, it stabilizes just above 13. think my alternator is going bad? belt? cheap tiny azz wire going to alternator bad? bad ground? thanks for the help.
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Old Sep 29, 2005 | 08:48 AM
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Take it somewhere that does free charging systems checks (AutoZone, Advance, etc.) and see. I know I got my alt. wet while cleaning my engine compartment and the regulator was messing up- the volt gauge would go into the red as I revved it and check gauges light would flicker like you describe as it was approaching the "not good" area . I would assume if it is flickering at idle, it is because the alt is just barely putting out enough, if you rev it and it goes off it is because the alt is putting out a bit more and keeping it happy. Check the wires going to the alt. also- as mentioned, they run right in front of the head there and it is possible something happened there.

That's my take on it.
Joe
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