I have a 2000 Windstar SEL 3.6L. 154,000 miles. The check engine light has been on for a long time. Code check revealed it was an emissions issue. The mechanic didn't seem worried about it. It idles very rough when in gear. Chugs, dies once in a while, but idles ok when in park. Not sure what that is about. And other things like the radio must have a short because it blows fuses. I had to unplug one wiring bundle from it so that it doesn't get power to save fuses. When that fuse blows my power doors don't work.


one power door will close then reopen again immediately. Can't find the cause. We have to close that manually so that it will stay closed. Power window on passenger side quit working long ago. Driver's seat won't adjust because the control broke. Battery has started dying (time for a new one). Power steering pump has a hole in it so have to refill it every day. And my brakes suddenly started grinding so its now time for new brake pads. Lots of issues like that.


But my main concern is the fact that my check engine light has suddenly started flashing when driving down the road. The van runs like it normally does when that happens but I noticed the a/c slows down and gets a little warmer when it flashes. It flashes about 5 times then stops and the a/c goes back to normal. I was planning on taking it next week to get the power steering pump and brake pads replaced but now this flashing has started. I have nothing else to drive at the moment so I have to wait. So, my question is, what does that mean when the check engine blinks like that? All the gauges are ok when it is flashing.

 

When the check engine light is flashing it means your vehicle is exceeding pollution standards and if it continues long enough without being corrected ,which is not very long at all, it will destroy the catalytic converter(s). They can be quite expensive to replace and that is why the light flashes to get your attention .When the converters melt internally from excessive fuel they tend to plug up the exhaust system and low power complaints start and continue to get worse with use. Not a good thing to ignore that !!

 

I've had many of these problems, the doors closing problem really got me. For me it ended up being two plastic black bumpers on the rear hinge of the door. Pulled them off and haven't had a problem since.

The chugging problem could be the PCM being damaged from water solved my CEL flashing every time it rained heavy. From my research the flashing is usually a random miss fire.

At the time i am still fighting one problem. No lights on but still happening in the rain now it seems to be a transmission issue but only when its wet (hard rain or car wash)

The door thing really aggravated me fought with it for a few hours before finding a TSB that mentioned those plastic pieces. went to check and sure enough they were there and immediately fixed the problem.

 

IF U R A FORD WINDSTAR OWNER WITH THE REAR END RECALL MAKE SURE FIRD DID NOT PUT BRACKETS OVER THE REAR END TO SUPPORT FROM CRACKING RATHER THAN REPLACING IT, I WAS DRIVING MY 2000 WINDSTAR whEN THE REAR CRACKED IN HALF .MY FAMILY COULD OF BEEN KILLED. CALLED FORD AND THEY SAID THEY FIXED IT WITH THE BRACKETS AND SAID THERE WAS NOTHING THEY CIULD DO FOR ME. WENT TO YHE DEALERSHIP AND THEY WOULD DO NOTHING, IF I WAS HURT I NO I WOUlD HAVE A LAW SUIT, Warning all windstar owners