Engine cut out engine light flashing

[JRHEXP]

While leaving an interstate rest area merging onto traffic I floored it and engine cut out for a second then engine light started flashing? After several seconds flashing stopped and everything has been fine since then.Anyone know what might have happened to cause this?Truck has about 49K miles on it. Thanks in advance. Jim

 

[mjp2]

You sure it was the Check Engine light?

It sounds like your traction control kicked in, which is accompanied by a yellow light on the dash that flashes while it's doing its thing.

 

[07navi]

Check for codes, it sounds like a fuel problem,

 

[Trainmaster]

A flashing check engine light indicates a miss. A fuel or ignition problem.

 

[Boostedbus]

What year? If it’s an Ecoboost then it may possibly have slugged some oil from intercooler on hard acceleration.

 

[bloodhound]

I experienced the exact same scenario in my 2009 but with a lot more miles. It was a misfire caused by plugs that needed replacing.

 

[JasonH]

While leaving an interstate rest area merging onto traffic I floored it and engine cut out for a second then engine light started flashing? After several seconds flashing stopped and everything has been fine since then.Anyone know what might have happened to cause this?Truck has about 49K miles on it. Thanks in advance. Jim

I had this happen while towing. Floored it to go around merging traffic and received misfire on cylinder 5 and 6. Fresh plugs, but old coils. I have not been able to repeat it. Try replacing your plugs and coils if it happens again.

 

[JerrySLC]

While leaving an interstate rest area merging onto traffic I floored it and engine cut out for a second then engine light started flashing? After several seconds flashing stopped and everything has been fine since then.Anyone know what might have happened to cause this?Truck has about 49K miles on it. Thanks in advance. Jim

I had some issues with mis-fires, caused by bad coils, and overheating due to poor coolant circulation. During the course of figuring all this out, I had several instances where the engine would go into cripple mode (running on 4 cylinders to prevent damage) and occasionally the check engine light would start flashing. I was told that the flashing check engine light indicates raw fuel in the exhaust system, which can destroy the catalytic converter.

 

[Frank R]

I have experienced this twice with my ’09 (95k miles). The incidents were approximately one year apart. Both times I had been towing my 7k lb. travel trailer. Both times only lasted a few seconds and did not leave any stored fault code. Also, both times the incidents were followed within a few hours by a CEL indicating a P0150 (Bank 2, Sensor 1 malfunction). Both times when I cleared the fault code it did not re-appear.

 

[JRHEXP]

You sure it was the Check Engine light?

It sounds like your traction control kicked in, which is accompanied by a yellow light on the dash that flashes while it's doing its thing.

 

[JRHEXP]

Its a 2017. A picture of engine was flashing. Ill hook up my Auto Tap to it and see if any codes come up.

 

[Frank R]

In my case it was absolutely the CEL.

 

[Boose]

My 05 did this a few times due to a faulty TPS. Replaced the throttle body and it never happened again. Not sure if the Ecoboost motors have this concern. My 2017 has never done this to compare.

 

[Steve Beckman]

I have a 2015 XLT and experienced the same issue when I was towing my travel trailer through some hills in central Utah. The code turned out to be a P0303 which was for a misfire. I was able to stop a few times and the light went off, but then would come back on when I was really pushing the engine to get up a hill. I was able to find a shop and we replaced all the plugs and the coil pack for #3. That resolved the issue. The guy changing the plugs said #3 actually felt loose. I only had about 20k miles on that set. The shop used NGK 97177 plugs which I see are gapped at 0.032

One related question about driving while the Check Engine Light is flashing. I've seen other posts that mention that is dumping fuel and will kill the Catalytic Convertor. Anyone have any idea how long would that take to actually kill it? Also, if I drove it long enough in that state is the Cat degraded in that it is impacting my current performance? Anyway to test it?

 

[Michael McC]

My '03 and my '16 both had throttle body problems. Misfired a few times before throwing a code. I had to pull off to the side and restart once or twice.

 

[Snidley53]

Just got back from Colorado towing our travel trailer and everything went fine until a coil pack went bad on I-70 near Fulton Mo. Got towed to the Ford dealer there including the trailer and we camped for three days cause they also found my water pump was leaking and I told them to get it fixed. Not the way we wanted to end the trip but the people at Fulton Ford were really great to deal with and made sure we had what we needed supplying electrical power for the RV and letting us fill the fresh water tank. Did I pay more than I wanted yeah probably but the customer service they provided made it bearable for the wife and I.

 

[HavasuMike]

The same thing has happened twice to me with my 2016. I keep meaning to check the codes if there are any. I forgot about it but now, after seeing your post, I will check it out.

 

[Carl kline]

i have had the same issue with my o7 but it does it every time i floor it. I also have an issue that when it is warm out it may take 3x cranking to start but quit when it got cold out. would the be the tps i have only had it for 5 months and changed coils and cam sensors and fuel filter getting ready for plugs once i get a kit for removing them incase they dont come out in one piece.

 

[Utah Driver]

When the TPS goes out the "wrench" light comes on, the vehicle drops to a couple of miles per hour in de-rate. Mine went out at 40,000 miles on my 16' ecoboost.