I own a 1998 Dodge Ram 1500 V8 Sport truck (5.2L) and while driving on the freeway/highway, I stepped on the gas pedal in order to pass the vehicle in front of me but during the acceleration process the CHECK ENGINE ligth started blinking for about 10 seconds then when back to normal. I checked engine oil and transmision fluid and everything is fine, on the normal range mark. Engine is running good and strong and the same goes for the transmision. I'm wondering what's going on??
This is the first and ONLY time it happened since I own this truck and happened only at that specificmoment, no more blinking light since then. Will appreciate any feedback. Thank you in advance.

 

go to a shop and have your engine codes read. even if the light went out, the codes are still saved. most likely an O2 sensor going bad

 

check the code history and if nothing is there don't worry about it, but make sure they clear the history so next time if it blinks it my register it. some codes take 2 or 3 consecutive times to trip the code.

 

Read the threads in my sigline. I can tell you from experience that a blinking CE light, on acceleration, means you are having a misfire issue.

 

What should I do to find out if it is a misfire issue? Is this a $$$erious/major problem to fix?

 

By reading the code, it should tell you which cylinder is misfiring. The you can check the normal stuff like plugs wires injectors.
This happened to me once when I washed the egine right before I changed the plugs the first time. Water got trapped in those funky plug tubes, and caused a missfire by grounding the plug.

 

It could be something as simple as a tune-up. Also there is a TSB on our trucks for spark plug wire routing that could cause misfires and other symptoms. It's apain in the neck,but depending on the cylinders involved in the misfire, it could be worth looking at.

 

thats very bad, if it is misfiring that bad the blinking light means engine or cat damage will result.severe misfires and spark knock will melt a piston and burn valves. it is most likley a tune up issue, but find out what cyl it is by the dtc, autozone pulls codes for free. p0300 is multiple cyl miss p0301 is cyl 1 an through toop0308 is cyl 8 misfire. whan the plugs are removed is any of them are white and crusty, that is coolant and either a headgasket or cracked cyl head.

 

Not just that, but a plugged cat will also cause a misfire.

 

Thank you very much for your feedback, I will check the plugs. This is the first and ONLY time it happened since I own this truck and happened only at that specificmoment, no more blinking light since then and engine is running solid and strong. Like you said, it may need a tune-up.