Check engine light

[AD26]

Hello all, driving to work this morning the dreaded check engine light appeared although no difference in driving was noticed. The car isn't over heating, no unusual sounds, checked all the hoses when I got home, all fluid levels are where they should be.

Occasionally(usually on cold first start for the day) it seems to miss or feel like it's got a sudden drop in power then picks up again in a second and I get the rare back fire when changing first to second(at 3000ish rpm, not taking off in a hurry) but never any other gear. Could a spark plug, lead or worse, distributor cap be going or gone and would that cause the light?

I can't think of anything else to check.

Thank you

[Russ]

Can't be 100% sure but I had a similar issue with a V6 Telstar I owned which turned out to be the actual distributor itself. Assuming it's the same engine in the Cougar (pretty sure it is) the fault with the distributor is to do with the internal circuitry, it has a silicone film over it to keep moisture out but over a period of time the silicone dries out forming fine cracks, moisture gets in and starts to cause issues. Has the car ever completely died on you and you've had to wait a few minutes before it will restart ?

[AD26]

no, it runs absolutely fine(minus the missing). I babied it up to 80km/h as I have highway travel and it ran just like normal. Didn't stop at all

[Russ]

It may just be a spark plug or lead breaking down but I don't think that would normally trigger the check engine light. You could try disconnecting the battery overnight and reconnecting in the morning and see if the light goes out, if not then having it checked for error codes would be your best option, that could save you a lot of time and money in the long run

[AD26]

Thanks Russ, I took the battery off for a few hours and reconnected it(something I've been meaning to do since I got the exhaust/headers). The light appears for the 2 seconds as standard and disappears. No $$ solutions are the best

[Russ]

Another happy ending, glad to help mate

[baz]

This is about disconnecting the battery, about 2 years ago I changed my battery and found the car wouldn't idle, would cut out going around corners etc, then I got stuck at road works for about 5 min with engine idling after that no more cutting out,as anyone else had this happen after changing battery.
Baz

[Russ]

Originally Posted by baz

This is about disconnecting the battery, about 2 years ago I changed my battery and found the car wouldn't idle, would cut out going around corners etc, then I got stuck at road works for about 5 min with engine idling after that no more cutting out,as anyone else had this happen after changing battery.
Baz

The car will still need to be driven for several kms so the the onboard computer can readjust itself to the car, any modifications it may have (eg exhaust, high flow air filter etc...) and your driving style. It was most likely just adjusting itself after having the battery removed and replaced

[Ford Thinking]

Thanks for the tip about disconnecting the battery. I've had the check engine light come on for years on my Probe. It's slowly but surely driving me mad!

[thearrow]

If ever I change or disconnect my battery I take it for a long drive and that usually sorts it out.