from as much as i can tell the car is miss firing and not running on all the cyclinders, i believe its an electrical problem. bc i can stand behind the car and smell fuel and what not. the check engine light is on and is flashing so i know that its logging an error code. im just woundering if n e one else has had this problem or could maybe guide me in the right direction as to what the problem is.

 

this is such a common post on AF... coilpacks and sparkplugs are the easy and cheaper fixes... get the codes read before buying anythoing though. someone else just had this problem and it was his icm ( more expensive)

 

yep, get your codes read and post them on here for the techs.

autozone will let you do it for free.

 

tell us what year your car is...
pre facelift b5, its 99% the icm is bad
post facelift b5 or b6 + 99% coilpack is bad

 

its a 98

 

That's a pre-facelift B5, so it is probably the ICM. Definitely scan the car for codes first and post your results here - the tech-cert guys can tell you what to look into from there.

 

I'm a DIY guy BUT by no means am I a mechanic.
BUT I read on here a few timesnot to drive the car (if possible)if the CEL is flashing on and off. Anybody agree here?
Just a thought.

 

it is not good to do as it will kill your cat and other things quicker, but if you have to drive it to get codes checked by all means get those codes checked

 

where can i get a ICM at?

 

Dealer, ECS tuning.

Josh