check engine light

[jboxster]

Just pushed my 01 to right before red line in 2nd and 3rd and went to 4th (not red line in 4th. Had to slow down fairly quickly, and the check engine light started flashing. After about 45 seconds (and much slower speed) it stopped flashing. Any ideas on this? Oil is fine, temp was fine, it was just a quick burst and then back down.

What should I be checking?

Thanks....

[RandallNeighbour]

A PST2 tool will tell you the fault code (dealers have these). If it went off, I don't think you have anything to be alarmed about, but you should find out what it is so you can sleep at night.

The rule of thumb is that if the CE light burns solid, it's a sensor of some sort or you forgot a gas cap, etc. If it blinks, it means the engine should be shut off and the car towed to a mechanic for a checkup. But yours went off quickly, so it might have just been over-revving that did it... when you red line the boxster engine, the computer shuts off have the valves (or is it pistons?) to keep the engine from blowing. I would imagine this would cause a blinking CE light.

Get it checked out and report back so we can all learn from what you're going through.

[deliriousga]

I wouldn't worry about it unless it comes on and stays on. When you take it close to redline then drop it quickly it's hard for the engine to compensate for emissions. That's probably what caused the quick light.

You can get a code reader on eBay for about $25 if you want one for future use. All they do is give you the code number from the computer and clear the code once you fix it.

So, did you hit the rpm limiter? Feels good, eh?

[jboxster]

yea it felt great, this puppy gets up and moves..............

[limoncello]

I hit redline in 1st a couple of times when I got the car - I don't stare at the tach whilst leadfooting, redline comes quick in 1st, and the engine seems like it would be very happy to keep revving. Really screws up the shift to 2nd though. No CELs, but the cooments on emissions make sense. I think I would want to have it checked though just to find out what lit it up.
Does the car store data from the CELs? How many and for how long? Anybody know?

[RandallNeighbour]

Sadly, it seems to permanently store redlines... any dealer will know how many times you've redlined your engine. I do not think these can be deleted if I remember old posts on Renntech.

I do not know if the car's computer stores historal info on the CEL incidents, but it would not surprise me if it does. I do know that if a CE light comes on and then eventually goes off and you bring it to a service technician, he can tell you why it came on in the first place.