stuttering occasionally

audiolit

I crashed my Town Car into a cement barricade a couple of months ago. Only damage was left rear. When I took it out of the body shop, the Check Engine light was on. Next morning, I started to drive to a shop, but the Check Engine light was off, but I was experiencing what felt like a 'stutter' which seemed to me to be a misfire. But a shop tested it and found nothing. Then, a transmission guy told me it must be the transmission, but I didn't buy that, since the trans seems to be fine. Later, I saw that the left turn signal was blinking too fast. The Check Engine light did not come on. The next day, all was fine. Another shop said it must be the rear end, but I don't think so. Since then, the light came on once, for about an hour. But every time I drive it, there is a 'stutter' which is very brief and seems to happen at random. Can anyone help with a possible diagnosis? Thanks, John

juanjackson

2 player games
I crashed my Town Car into a cement barricade a couple of months ago. Only damage was left rear. When I took it out of the body shop, the Check Engine light was on. Next morning, I started to drive to a shop, but the Check Engine light was off, but I was experiencing what felt like a 'stutter' which seemed to me to be a misfire. But a shop tested it and found nothing. Then, a transmission guy told me it must be the transmission, but I didn't buy that, since the trans seems to be fine. Later, I saw that the left turn signal was blinking too fast. The Check Engine light did not come on. The next day, all was fine. Another shop said it must be the rear end, but I don't think so. Since then, the light came on once, for about an hour. But every time I drive it, there is a 'stutter' which is very brief and seems to happen at random. Can anyone help with a possible diagnosis? Thanks, John

Hello, I think the intermittent Check Engine light, fast blinking turn signal, and stuttering sensation could point to an electrical issue. A loose or damaged wire, connector, or sensor could be causing these sporadic symptoms.

thecardoc3

audiolit said:

I crashed my Town Car into a cement barricade a couple of months ago. Only damage was left rear. When I took it out of the body shop, the Check Engine light was on. Next morning, I started to drive to a shop, but the Check Engine light was off, but I was experiencing what felt like a 'stutter' which seemed to me to be a misfire.

Sorry that I missed this earlier. You probably have this solved already, but I can add some insight.

What you described there does sound like a misfire. The Check Engine Light being on should have resulted in a trouble code being stored which would have helped narrow the focus of the testing if the problem had still been present when the technician got to see the car. Did they report if a code was actually retrieved and if so, do you recall what that code was and can you post it?

audiolit said:

But a shop tested it and found nothing. Then, a transmission guy told me it must be the transmission, but I didn't buy that, since the trans seems to be fine. Later, I saw that the left turn signal was blinking too fast. The Check Engine light did not come on. The next day, all was fine.

The turn signal blinking too fast indicates that one of the lamps isn't working. The fact that it then resumes normal operation means it started working again. If it happens again, you should stop somewhere safe and take a look at the lights to see which one is missing. You can compare the other side (right hand) just to be sure how many lamps actually show as the turn signals, but I would expect to see one lamp in the front and two in the rear. This really could be as simple as a bulb that is failing that the filament sticks itself back together temporarily. Once you at least identify the specific lamp with the problem it would be easier to locate the exact cause. It is unlikely this has anything to do with the "stutter", but let's leave that until more details are actually known.

audiolit said:

Another shop said it must be the rear end, but I don't think so. Since then, the light came on once, for about an hour. But every time I drive it, there is a 'stutter' which is very brief and seems to happen at random. Can anyone help with a possible diagnosis? Thanks, John

Can't really diagnose something like this without actually having the car to test. If you can let the shop know the exact conditions under which the problem occurs, OR if you can get the car to them while it is happening, making sure to let them know this has been a randomly occurring problem, they might be able to get on it right away to start the testing before the problem goes into hiding again.