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Re: Service engine light is flashing and runs sluggish...
Flashing check engine light means Eminant Engine Damage soon! Sounds like a bad or clogged catalytic converter. Maybe take to Autozone or O'reillys' have them hook up "Scan Tool" for free & get codes..
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You need an auto electrician with a pro grade scan tool computer to record what happens after 15 minutes to make this happen. The $5k machines can do that.
What engine does yours have ? 3.8 or 4.6 Do you have a professional type scanner that will show sensor data parameters ? Is the check engine light on ,or anyother light's ? Wrench symbol . 012 Idle Speed Problems Idle Speed Wrong I know yours only dies when put into gear , idles fine in park an neutral . Just showing what scan data is , if your not familiar with it. With the problem your having it's a necessity to have a scan tool that can view data pid's . You could spend a lot of buck's just replacing part's on recommendations from people on here . Testing an not guessing is the way to find the problem .
The cheapest, easiest thing to check would be the alternator belt tension, since it was just replaced recently and may have stretched. After that I have no clue.
A flashing check engine light is a very bad thing. You are not supposed to drive it when that light flashes because engine damage will occur. You may have a bad head gasket and now it is severe.
The light and the word stop should be sending you a clear message . The engine hard starting and sluggish is also sending a message and if you do not heed the message and have the fault codes read and the problem fixed then the next message may be replace the engine or gear box . The light is there --not to be an annoyance ---but to inform you that something drastic is going wrong and it needs urgent attention.
It may be worth your while to have an exhaust back-pressure test done to make sure your converter isn't plugged. When the vehicle is in neutral, there is very little load on the engine, so a blocked exhaust may not be as apparent as it would be in gear.
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