I was driving home quiet spirited then the CEL light flashed and I immediately noticed something was wrong. I limp it home and now noticed the car has a sputter while idling . Any idea what the issue is ? The car did have an issue with the factory catalytic converter. I'm crying on the inside I hope I did not just mess up my only car .

 

Flashing CEL usually indicates a misfire.

 

so the constant sputter at idle is a misfire ? I dont know if it the spark plug or coils . Or even if the catalytic converter is clogged

 

What does the code say?

 

It could be any of those. You need to do a proper diagnosis and process of elimination.

 

there is no code. After it flashed it went away. I'm guessing it spark plug or coil packs. My dad gf volvo had the same sputtering problem until we changed the coils and spark plugs

 

thanks hopefully new oem spark plugs and coils will fix the rough idle the car has 150k miles so I'm guessing they were never changed smh

 

Even if the CEL went away the the code should still be there saved in memory until cleared or the ecu is reset. I would scan it just in case to see if it can be narrowed down to a specific cylinder.

 

Not when it flashes. A flashing CEL doesn't necessarily save anything. It is just a warning for multiple misfire.