SES flashing
 

I have been posting on here for myself WAY TOO MUCH this past week! UGH heres another one......

I was wondering if there is a reason behind the sequence of flases when the SES light comes on. I was driving home today and it started flasing. It flashed 9 times, stopped for 1/2 a mile then, I missed the second count, stopped for 1/2 a mile then,third count was 19. Then a few miles down the road the final count was 23. I am having lots of problems with this SES lights so maybe this will help.....?

RE: SES flashing
 

The flashing SES will more than likely be related to a misfire condition that has not fixed itself... I think I read on my GM Service DVD the number of flashes are actual misfires it logged in the Computer memory (Freeze Frame Data), a good scan tool can help with that...AutoZone can tell you the Codes but I am not sure they can download the Freeze Frame Data.

If it is related to cylinder misfires GM Dealers have a new spider which is supposed to help with the misfire condition, it is not cheap, I see it on e-bay for $249.00. But if you can find a fuel injection spider from a 2003 or newer V6 equipped GM vehicle you might get it cheaper, I got lucky and found a complete manifold from a C2500 (3/4t) GM Van. I paid $58 including shipping from florida...

GM knows that there is a problem with the Poppet Valves and gas with MTBE additive, apparently the additive "gums" up the valves so that they do not function properly, they either stick open or close and cleaning them don't work for long...it also messes up the fuel sender in the tank...

RE: SES flashing
 

Thanks, looks like all signs are pointing to REPLACING the spider. We took the intake apart and cleaned the spider, also there were no leaks from the spider. So maybe Ill just spend the money. Another question could the Mass air flow sensor throw out miss fires if it is bad?

Thanks again
Mandi

RE: SES flashing
 

It could, do you have a K&N oiled foam air filter??? I would clean the MAF first before replacing anything. CRC makes a cleaner for MAF sensors now so try that before spending mass money on the blazer!!!

The sensor comes apart with a small allen wrench 3/32 I believe but they make tools with a bunch of them in one place. Just disconnect the electrical connector, remove it from the top of the air cleaner box and the intake tube (note there is an arrow for airflow direction), then you can take the four socket head cap screws out and the plastic piece in the center holds the sensor wires.

THIS IS THE CRITICAL PART, spray the wires and small resistors with MAF cleaner until they look nearly grayish white (age), if they still look dirty then you can soak a Q-Tip (cotton swab) with the MAF Cleaner and very gently remove any dirt that the spray did not get, these wires are very fine and break easily and a MAF is expensive to replace, so be very gentle with the Q-tip. You will also need to spray the front piece of the MAF sensor (it has a honecomb air diffuser to straighten out the air for the sensors, some people remove this thinking it will get them more power but that is just a fantasy), make sure it is free of debris and you can see through the honeycomb section. Then just reassemble in the reverse order that you took it apart and put it back in the upper air cleaner box. If that takes care of the problem then you are golden if not then on to the next idea.

You should have someone with a scan tool that can get realtime data while you are driving to see if you can narrow it down. Sometimes it could also be a bad sensor, connector or wire in the electronics and those are harder to track down since the scan tool can not tell you if the sensor is bad or the wire/connector is bad. That is when you need a Volt/Ohm meter to check things out but lets hope it does not get that far...

RE: SES flashing
 

UNBELIEVABLE INFO!! thank you. will clean maf tonight.