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Misfire Mishap??? HELP ;)

6K views 30 replies 7 participants last post by  mymustang 
#1 ·
Okay so its a v6 3.8l auto 2001 mustang. All at once seemed to lose power and noticed it was like 3 qts of oil low and the AC stopped working that day too. Literally all in one day. Anyways read codes at auto zone had a "mechanic" chk it out and cylinder 1and5 had no spark. Replaced coil pack and 6 dbl plat sparks and still the same. Maybe worse. No spark from the same two cyl and the car won't hardly go without it being on a downhill. Very loud and jumpy. Ideling bad. The works. Has anyone else ever had this prob?
 
#2 ·
Did the "mechanic" check the crankshaft position sensor?
I'm not familiar with the ignition system on those, but you need to figure out what powers or triggers the coil when it needs to fire. That may be the problem.
Being that low on oil could have caused some engine damage. :(
 
#3 ·
Honestly I don't know. I've been doing some researching and think that it could possibly be either the wiring to the coil pack or the ignition module. But then again who knows. I'm going to go out to pick n pull and see if I can find that module in case that's not the problem I don't end up wasting the money on buying a new one.
 
#4 ·
Obviously I didn't do enough research cuz now I'm under the impression that I don't hv a ignition module that its either built in or has something to do with the pcm? But I did keep on hearing about that crankshaft sensor. Where is that at? I'd heard of a camshaft sensor and recently had someone repair the coolant thing apparently had some sort of leak and they repaired it with some kind of black tar looking stuff that hardened and stopped the leak. I wonder if that might have gotten on the cam sensor cuz one of the posts I found said it was near the coolant reservoir and if it got dirty could cause it to malfunction. I don't know. I'm so internet researched out Im about to the point to give up.
 
#5 ·
99's had an IM but i haven't seen one on '00+...i've looked on my parts computer at work and on a 99 i can get a part number for one, but none on anything newer. It has to be integrated somewhere. what were the codes that where being thrown..i'd assume there was more besides those two misfires
 
#6 ·
Well the code the guy at cardovas wrote down just yesterday was a p0351. That's the only code he wrote down, not sure about whether it has any others. And I was mistaken about the IM it doesn't have one. I just don't understand how it could all at once have such and so many problems.
 
#7 ·
We had a 2001 taurus at work with the same problem,,the injector driver is built in the PCM computer,,not for sure on the mustang on that year..We replace the computer and had it programmed and it fixed it..Also if the car misfiring real bad the PCM will not let the A/C engage,,on the tauruses anyway..Dont drive it to much misfiring like that ,,it will toast the cataylitic convertors pretty quick
 
#8 ·
Yeah the AC was another thing to go that day. All in one day I swear. It was like I got outta Walmart turned the key and it didn't wanna start. I tried again and it kinda seemed slow and low but started. I checked my oil 3 quarts low! The AC quit working and slowly but surely by the end of the night u wasn't making it down the highway home without turning my flashers on so I didn't get rear ended. But I'm not driving it now. To auto one and cardovas a cpl days ago but that's it. I found my can and crankshaft sensors. They are both covered in oil sludge. I'm gonna try to clean em up and see if that has an effect. Gonna look for a new crankshaft sensor tomorrow since its only like 29 bucks and two bolts to install.

---------- Post added at 06:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:56 PM ----------

Can I ask another question? I'm wondering since I have 6 fuel injectors and according to a diagram I'd come across it looks as though they are strategically placed along the engine almost as if to represent the cylinder they supply. Are the location to the cylinder they are nearest have anything to do with that being the cylinder they go to? For instance if this fuel injector is on cylinder 1 it supplies fuel to cylinder 1. And so on and so fourth?
 
#11 ·
............and you forgot your reply mymustang. ;) :lol:
 
#12 ·
I was gonna to reply on the injector question,,but someone already has,,then i tried to erase it ,,Im still pretty stupid on a PC ,,Ive only been on a computer for about a year,,other than the one at work,,I still dont know how to post and send pictures..I had to get a 8 year old niece to set me up with email,FB and other stuff..Once i tried to send a pic to here and it ended up on my FB wall,,LOL..So ill stick to typing words for now..Im way behind with technology,,other than car stuff
 
#13 ·
Okay so I took the coil pack back since obviously that's not the problem. I was gonna go ahead and grab a crankshaft sensor but the guy at auto zone talked me outta it. He said my code doesn't hv anything to do with it. (P0351) and then he proceeded to tell me my ignition module. I argued I didn't hv one and he insisted I did cuz the computer would tell him if it wasn't. So I end up buying a forty f'n dollar Haynes manual and I(we) were right. (Thanks for teaching me that) but I'm so in live with the book. I read the electric section first and then decided to just start from the beginning. I feel 100% more informed than I did a week ago. But anyways so what are the odds that a major tune up would solve this problem?
 
#14 ·
You see I found five major symptoms that my car is exhibiting and when comparing the list of possible causes in each symptom I found that they each share these possible culprits; clogged fuel filter/foreign matter in fuel; vacuum leak @ intake manifold; fuel injection or engine control system malfunction; low or uneven cylinder compression.
 
#20 ·
You said no spark to 2 plugs,,if its not the coil pack,,its got to be the computer or the wires in between,,or the connection at the coil pack,,(primary side),,You can ohm the wire harness from the coil pack to the computer,,and see if any of the wires are broken,,if not probably the computer,,Its not the crank sensor because you have 2 specific cylinders not responding,,if the crank sensor was bad it would be random on all cylinders,,if you do replace the computer,,the car wont start because it needs programming ,you have to take it somewhere like the dealership or someone that has the ability to program it
 
#21 ·
I had something similar happen to my 00. One day I came out to leave from work and it started ridiculously misfiring as soon as I started it. I did some snooping and one of my spark plug wires hit the egr tubing on my exhaust and melted and shorted itself out to the exhaust. Went to the parts store and got a new set of wires and it was still misfiring. Found out these cars have polar ignitions and that there is one complete circuit for two cylinders, one gets the positive charge and the other gets a negative. When my one cylinder shorted it cause the other cylinder on the circuit to also short and feted my coil pack. New plugs, wires and a coil pack fixed my problem. Don't know if you changed them but try the wires as well. My girlfriends car was throwing three different misfire codes because of bad plug wires
 
#23 ·
mymustang said:
You said no spark to 2 plugs,,if its not the coil pack,,its got to be the computer or the wires in between,,or the connection at the coil pack,,(primary side),,You can ohm the wire harness from the coil pack to the computer,,and see if any of the wires are broken,,if not probably the computer,,Its not the crank sensor because you have 2 specific cylinders not responding,,if the crank sensor was bad it would be random on all cylinders,,if you do replace the computer,,the car wont start because it needs programming ,you have to take it somewhere like the dealership or someone that has the ability to program it
Thatts good to know. Found a guy on cl parting out one with the same stats and needless to say after about three hours of playing in sockets and engines I am finally home. I ended up pulling another coil pack, the crks sensor ans the cam sensor, the computer (from the pass side ) think its the PCM, a cold air intake filter and some misc things luke hood latch vent cover. All for $125. So tomorrow I'm thinking I'll pull all sparks and plug wires etc. And try this motorcraft coil pack, try the copper plugs only, replace each wire so there's no doubt that its wired correctly and possibly install filter. If this doesn't have any positive effect then my next move us deff gonna be to attempt an install of the computer I just got. Where would I find someone who knows or has ability to program it and is kinda cool like just wants to so it on the gp?

---------- Post added at 09:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:42 PM ----------

Oh and I gotta get a new elec circuit monitor cuz when testing the wires from the plug at the coil pack, my trusty helper thought to actually turn over the key and blew my tester outta here. Lol
 
#26 ·
I know a dealer can program it,,but im sure there is other people that can do it..alot of shops have the (pass through) which let them be online with ford,,and gives them the ability to program the computer..I dont know alot about it being we dont have one,,but i went to a class at ford about it,,just look around and see who can do it,,they may be able to load a tune in the new computer,,which woud make your car run a little faster and better,,but not sure
 
#25 ·
1slosix said:
i wanna backhand that autozone guy lol...
I don't know whether to backhand him or hug him. Cuz if it weren't for his lack of knowledge I'd hv never bought the Haynes guide to prove him wrong. That manual really opened my eyes and understanding. I'm like **** my stang may be running like crap and parked but on the bright side I can now tell you what kind of engine I've got and quite a few others. Lol
 
#27 ·
Well I put in the coil pack and took a lot of time double checking my plugs and connectors and firing order/diagram and even added the stelta I think is the name of it air filter and modded a maf sensor in and when started it idled high and still kinda tough but not as noticeably bad. Assistant and I kinda attempted to track down source but only diff was when one of the vac hoses pulled car started shaking even more. Like an 18 wheeler and it still shook more than it had before. Also cleared engine light with break and battery being disconnected and when it had started shaking even more service eng light came back on. It was dark still so I gave up but am now ready to go back out there if any suggestions?
 
#29 ·
Are you still not having any spark on the same cylinders..I would go to advance they have a 5 dollar or cheaper spark tester ...If you have a old spark plug wire,,take and put it on the tester,,remove the wire from the coil pack that was misfiring ,,and hook the old spark plug wire to it..ground the tester to something metal on the engine and crank the car and see if you have any spark,,dont run it very long though so you dont wash the cylinder to bad
 
#28 ·
On 99-00 models the firing order listed in the Haynes manual is upside down. Just thought I'd give you a heads up. There's a little tab or something on the top or bottom of the coil pack just match that to the one on the picture and you will have the correct firing order. I put my wires on according to the picture and my car still wasn't running right then I realized the picture was off
 
#30 ·
OH MY GOD... where to begin. So today I went in an all exclusive vacation to gunk and bolts and buildup and more. So I decide to put in motocraft coil park from the parted stang. Leave plugs (all are new 4 copper 2 dbl plat) and make sure plug cords fit snug and ran to correct divider and then to coil pack. Started it and it was loud but lowered and almost sounded safe to test so I decide f it ima pull around the apartments. Get in, listen some more, still not healthy but much better. Foot on the brake put it in reverse and nothing. I didn't feel the tran move or anything. Push gas and nothing. Try a couple times to put it back in park to reverse. (Big park curb in front so no D position) but nothing. So quickly I shut it off and barely remember to disassemble the batt very before jerkin it out. (Not literally) so a couple of hours into my day of me and Haynes troubleshooting a dude shows up. Great. So he takes over and is like didn't u need to do something. (Date with grandad) so I take his car n go. Get back and he's installed those can and cksft sensors not to mention a throttle something and when he test drives it I notice immediately there is this white maybe grey/white smoke thick fluffly smoke cloud fro. Tail pipe. I checked earlier after installing coil pack and pity hand on the exhaust while e.vine was being accelerated and it got a slight feel of moisture. But no smoke or colors. WTF please somebody, super-hero, captain-save-a-stang!, swoop down and fix this horrendous problem. :(
 
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