[vinny_]

06 ZX4 SE 2.0L

So today my check engine light came on faintly and was flickering in brightness, never really hit full illumination. For the most part it was just a steady faint light and occasionally flickering between a faint light of maybe 20% to 80% illumination if that makes sense. This was during a 20 min local drive.
Then the car sat off for 80 mins.
When I restarted it the light was just about on faintly for about 30 seconds then disappeared for the rest of the way, just a 10 mins drive.
Will see what happens tomorrow.

According to the manual it means engine misfire. Did not notice anything different or rough in idle, acceleration or anything. Not sure what to make off this. []

 

[BC_ZX3]

It would mean an engine misfire if 1) it repeatedly came on to full brightness i.e. it flashed solid and 2) the engine misfire was severe enough to dump raw gas onto the catalyst and mess with your emissions. You'd notice it for sure as a jerky engine stutter. A DTC code would also probably be stored.

Faint illumination of dash lights in the past on FF has sometimes been traced to electrical shorts/intermittents/dirty connectors on the instrument cluster circuit board, IIRC. You might want to try removing it and giving it a gentle cleaning. If you're experiencing any other odd electrical symptoms (pulsing headlights, random dash lights, etc) then it may be a symptom of something else.

 

[FordService]

So today my check engine light came on faintly and was flickering in brightness, never really hit full illumination. For the most part it was just a steady faint light and occasionally flickering between a faint light of maybe 20% to 80% illumination if that makes sense. This was during a 20 min local drive.

According to the manual it means engine misfire. Did not notice anything different or rough in idle, acceleration or anything. Not sure what to make off this. []

Hey vinny_,

If your check engine light continues to flicker, you may want to bring it to your local dealer so they can run diagnostics. Let me know if I can help in any way. []

~Natasha

 

[carbasics.co.uk]

Chech your user manual to see what other sensors could set it off, could be something as simple a brake fluid needing to be topped up.

 

[vinny_]

no action today so far, so hoping it was just a dodgy connection/moment in heavy rain
i've got to go for regular oil and filter soon, so will get my mechanic to just double check

i did that little tach trick mentioned in the other thread, by holding the odo reset, under dtc it said none

hey natasha, unless its a warranty job i wont be in a dealership anytime soon... case in point, rotors here in toronto, canada from ford $120 + 13% tax... rotors other side of the border in michigan from dealership $65 .. not worth finding out what else I can get robbed on

 

[sailor]

FWIW - the first response is probably correct - e.g. the instrument cluster is giving false readings at the light.

As mentioned, a REAL issue would show a BRIGHT light, not just a dim flicker....

AND the "code" would be readable....

Luck!