Black TL

Hey guys,

I just got my car an exterior detail. Before starting, they were spraying the engine area with cleaners. I saw this and went to the guy and told him to stop, though some water still got sprayed.

Now on the way home, my engine was sputtering like crazy. Soon after the CEL and TCS light came on. I had the codes read and I'm getting the following:

P0300 - Random cylinder misfire detected
P0301 - Cylinder number 1 misfire detected
P0302 - Cylinder number 2 misfire detected
P0304 - Cylinder number 4 misfire detected
P0306 - Cylinder number 6 misfire detected
P1399 - Random cylinder misfire detected

I'm not sure if these are all related to one problem or if these are indeed 6 different problems.

Does anyone know what I should try? I have a friend with a 2003 TLS and was thinking of having him stop by so I can try putting his engine coils in to see if this fixes the issue (I had the same symptoms when my engine coil went bad twice, but never this many codes).

Pls help!

Thanks

hANDYcaptd

iTrader: (5)

It's most likely just 1 bad coil pack.

Do this. Have someone monitor the RPMs in the car. While the car is running, unplug each coil pack 1 at a time (plugging them back in afterwards). The one that DOESN'T cause a change in RPM behavior is your bad one. Grab a coil pack from your buddy and replace the bad one. If sputtering is gone, you can go buy one and replace it permanently.

Edit: It actually might be more than 1 since you've had this happen before with less codes. But in any event, the above procedure will still work. You just might find multiple coil packs that are bad.

Black TL

Thanks for the quick reply. I just called my buddy and he's away for the weekend so i wont be able to try it out until tomorrow (parts dept is also closed tom). I'm thinking of going and buying one pack right now, just to test it out.

On a side note, do you think this is just a very strange coincidence that it happened right after the engine was sprayed with some water? I checked for loose wires and couldnt find any. I'm hoping that the water did not do more serious damage. The engine was off during this process if that helps.

Below is a video I just took of the engine RPMs. If I remember correctly, when my last coil pack was bad, the engine would shake at all levels of the RPM range. Now, there's shaking while idling and when the engine is speeding up. At constant RPM's it seems smooth.



Thanks again

Black TL

Black TL

ok hopefully this is the last post.

After going to three dealerships (one didnt have it, the other had it when I called, but then sold it within the 20 friggin min it took for me to get there, and last one who finally had it), I replaced one coil and the sputtering stopped. It drove fine after replacing it. I still need to reset the CEL, but that I can do later on.

Phew. I'm getting married on Saturday, and had it detailed for the occasion.

Now I'm happy

Thanks again for your help.

hANDYcaptd

iTrader: (5)

Glad it worked out! I would say it probably wasn't a coincidence. The water probably caused it. But you never know, it could be one hell of a coincidence.

Whatever the case, glad you can forget about this problem and focus on your wedding. Congrats!

Black TL

Thanks!!

01tl4tl

spray all the coil power leads with wd40 to clear any moisture
ok to spray exposed electrical of alternator and any wire connections too

How did you figure out which coil was bad?

BEFORE you drive it another block!
pull the CLOCK fuse on passenger end of dash for a minute and reinsert fully

for the noobs: that is the secret backup power to the ecu, forces a master reset and self test/relearn of certain parameters,,finds all the coils working right and corrects timing, fuel flow, CLEARS CODES and CEL on dash etc

iirc 03s have to do an idle relearn afterwards,,,info is here on zine

01tl4tl

aftermarket coils work in the TL