Used Cars :\

[Remnant King]

So I go wake up in the morning at about 8:30, and by 9, I am out of the house and at the mechanic. I remove my resonator and put a straight pipe instead since it was the cheaper option. There isnt a hole but there's still a hissing sound coming from somewhere near there. I also spend another 4-5 hours at another mechanic getting my coolant flushed out, oil change, oil filter change, fuel filter change, spark plugs and wires change and the thermostat changed. There was a Service Engine Light on, and the problem was the thermostat.

So at around 4 pm, I am finally done with the mechanic and get to drive the car again. All is well and good, I managed to finish most of the maintenance...NOT. The effin Supercharger decides to act up, and God knows whats wrong with it. Everytime I get on it, it starts shaking and feels like I am going nowhere. The Service Engine went away on its own without anyone clearing it, and sometimes, it'll come up and flash a few times then disappear again. This is seriously starting to get to me, UGHHH.

[matt5112]

flashing light means misfires.

bad ones too.

[Remnant King]

...

Any idea what the cause may be? It wasnt doing that until I did all that other stuff.

[redlinepontiac]

ive had coils go bad randomly

[TCO]

Make sure all of your plug wires are hooked up.

[footballplaya3k]

Sounds exactly like when I got new plugs and they were the wrong ones. What kind are they? I'm guessing you got ripped on some platinum cores, if so I would take those out right now and put some 605's in, assuming you're stock. BTW just about everything you got done is basic maintenance that you could do yourself pretty easily but I do not know what kind of situation you are in so I won't say you wasted your money.

[BillBoost37]

Flashing check engine light means "Potential catalyst damaging condition" (usually misfires)

Take a look at the rear exhaust manifold and ensure none of the wires are touching the O2 wiring.
Your supercharger issue that you mention almost sounds like a vacuum leak.

On the check engine light, depending on the code (each is programmed a certain way) they can and will turn off based on that programming. For example it takes 3 consecutive drive cycles w/o issue for a P0171 to turn off. Most trans codes are automatically reset with the ignition cycle.

[Remnant King]

Woke up early today again. Before I started the car, I opened up the hood and checked if the wires were in properly...the first one wasnt in, so I pressed it in. The supercharger was still acting retarded though, so I headed on over to the mechanic and had it checked out. It turned out another two wires werent in properly, and that some of the wires were either cross wired or touching (cant remember which) but everything ended up good. It cost me $20, and I am sure I could've done it myself except I wouldnt know where to begin. I'd honestly rather work on the car myself and once something goes wrong, I know that it was ME that did it wrong. I hate shelling out money for things like that but when I have no knowledge, I am forced to do it :\

I really appreciate your help guys, you basically pinpointed the exact problem.

[2001goldGTP]

thats why i dont trust just anyone to touch my car, and usuallt thats the guy mounting my tires on the rims lol, glad it was no big deal

[Bio248]

also, the supercharger has no way of acting 'retarded' it either works or it doesn't. just because it makes stupid interval whining noises doesn't mean it is doing something wrong.

[FriboRage]

I think maybe he was confusing the shaking and lack of power from the massive misfires going on with a blower issue?

Cause after the plug wires were fixed, it was all good.

@OP: Read on here... read and read and read... read everything, read stuff that doesnt pertain to your car or your problems, just read it all...atleast everything on the 3800.
Every little thing you read drills more info into your head and soon you start to remember stuff and understand more, it's just all about time and repetition
Even the random stuff in The Rant section and the Lounge, because people will offhandedly mention stuff in there that you didnt know, or say something that adds onto other information you knew.

[ZR1Vette09]

you payed them to fix something they screwed up in basic maintenance? i'd have laughed in their faces and driven off.

[Remnant King]

I actually went to a different mechanic to get it checked out. I saw no use in going to the same mechanic when the problem started because of him.

[Terry102]

Ahhh, the glory of being an educated Automotive Technician /flex
haha...i dont even ever have to work on the ground, always got a lift and a heated garage to work in

[footballplaya3k]

Ahhh, the glory of being an educated Automotive Technician /flex
haha...i dont even ever have to work on the ground, always got a lift and a heated garage to work in

You lucky bastard....

[redlinepontiac]

hmm the shop i work at even has heated floors lol