So i finally got the time and courage to swap out my spark plugs. After a few hours...things were great. I drove the car for a mile or so...no problems. This morning i drove the car to work, fifteen miles away. no problems.

However, after work, my car feels like it is pulsating when accelerating and when with the brakes on. The pulsating feeling is hardly noticable when driving. My acceleration and overall driving did not seem affected by this. and by now the 'check engine light' has come on.

By the end of my drive home, the pulsating seemed to stop momentarily, as i could sit without shaking at a red light. however, after a 10 seconds or so, the pulsating returned.

any ideas? did i not screw in the plugs tight enough? did i accidentaly loosen something else? like a belt or something? maybe someone else had this problem?

thanks...

 

Not sure...but if you're getting a CEL bring it to a auto parts store and find out what the light is. We could probably guess all day, but I think that would probably be the quickest way to resolve your problem.

 

off to the store....

 

Do you have any check engine light?

 

Let us know what code it was.

 

I'm gonna take a guess:

1 - Spark plug not seated properly/tightened
2 - Coil pack is not seated properly/tightened

 

ok i'm leaving now...i had to chow dinner first...but i am really hoping that nsxnext is right...

i used the torque wrench for the front three...but the back three was a lil tricky...so i may not have tightened those enough...or too much.

 

Could be a misfire. Did you gap the plugs correctly? Again the CEL will tell you what the problem is.

 

back in...

P0301
Cylinder 1
misfire detected

p1399
manufacturer control
ignition system or misfire

so the guys at murrays said
1. check the gap on the spark plug
2. check the connection to the boot/wires

and if it's neither of those...then it could be the boot/harness ($32)

just for my own info...

cylinder #1 is closest to the front of th car on the passenger side?

how long should i wait for my car to cool off before i check cylinder #1?

 

Unless you dropped one of the plugs, you should not have to regap them (assuming you bought the pre-gapped ones for your car).
Go back and retighten the plugs. 1/4 turn past hand tight, then put the coil packs back on. Make sure they seat properly on the plug. They should pop onto the plug.

FYI: There are no "boots" on our ignition system. We have coil packs. They run about $50 if one goes bad.

 

Good call...seems like the that was the problem.

Seems to me like the coil pack is probably not seated all the way rather than the plug not being gapped correctly unless you didn't buy the pre-gapped. Good luck.

 

thanks for all the support guys...

the culprit: on the far to reach coil (in the back left corner) the connection from the wires to the coils was loose. I guess I neglected to push it in all the way until it went 'click'.

I am assuming this is cylinder #1 as this was the only problem. my car seems 'fixed'. I won't feel 100% confident for a few more days, as my CEL came up 24 hrs after I had finished the first time.

anyway...thanks again for all the pointers and suggestions...they were all GREATLY appreciated.

 

What is the proper spark plug gap?

 

0.4 mm