johnnybegood_5

Hey guys i need some help to figure out what's going on with a car i recently purchased.

99 3.2TL, 276 000 KM, the engine is misfiring and has the follow codes:
P0302- cylinder 2 misfire
P0301- cylinder 1 misfire
P0303- cylinder 3 misfire
P0304- cylinder 4 misfire
P0305- cylinder 5 misfire
P0306- cylinder 6 misfire
P0300- random misfire
P1399- random/multiple misfire

I was told that the 5th cylinder only had 80 psi and the engine was pretty much toast, but while driving the car the misfire decided to disappear and the car ran good for about 10 km (i was told by original owner)

I have checked the coil packs and plugs, the number 5 cylinder plug was black, 1 and 3 cylinders looked more on the white side than tan so the head gasket might be gone. Coil packs are good.

Car doesn't overheat, it starts up good, engine shakes slightly from misfire.

Going to preform a compression test myself, and put in new plugs soon. (plugs had blow out)

Im trying to understand why the car would kick in randomly if anyone has any ideas or advice what i should check.

ErickUa5

Have you checked the antifreeze resevoir, is it always full ?

01tl4tl

did you get some crazy low price that would make you suspect it has engine probs?

multi misfire codes usually means 1 bad coil
in this case #5 for sure as plug was black
light grey to white is normal plug color

compression changes with engine temp --ck cold and with throttle held wide open or reading will be incorrect
Do dry test- then add a few drops of oil to the low cylinder and retest- if it jumps up- ring problem

Use ONLY ngk plugs, iridiums or platinum 8 dollars each
wrong plugs will melt and throw misfire codes!!

our temp runs 1-2 lines below half at all times,,warms up in a few minutes

verify: rear plugs= pass to driver 123 ,,,, front pass to driver 456

99s also have bad ignition switch problem and we all get clogged egr passage in manifold- 99s worse about it

johnnybegood_5

Yes i knew about the misfire and got a great deal on the car. I was planning on swapping in a different engine.

For the order you are describing, it would be pass to driver front plugs:
#4 is black
#5 and #6 white.

3.2TLc

Hey JBG_5, it may be worth spending some time and effort with the existing motor before pulling it out. How many miles are on it and is it leaking alot of oil ? As 01tl4tl previously suggested, read the plugs ! Replace them with NGK's and clear the codes.

Have a compression test done to check cylinders. Also pressure check the cooling system, check the fuel pressure and load test the electrical charging. Inspect all wiring connections, grounds and vac lines. Anything neglected....loose or leaking causes problems.

Run some fuel system cleaner through the gas. Clean the EGR passageways and TB intake. Do the "Seafoam" cleaning ! If you're still getting a misfire code.....buy one coil and swap it with one cyl. at a time until you notice a difference in idle.

01tl4tl

start with the all important compression test--remember throttle wide open
and it helps to put a battery charger on if testing all cylinders
so you get a consistent rpm
let it crank 4-6 cycles and watch reading for rise and steady point

80 is way too low and suggest ring or valve problem
if its really within 20% of others- seafoam the oil hard,,half can in oil with new filter -drive 100-200 miles
and new coil $50 on #4
reset ecu and see what it does

johnnybegood_5

I replaced the plugs, cleaned the IM egr passageways and did a compression test.

I followed the Service Manual instructions and did the test after running the car.
I will do another test while it is cold.
results were all in the 190 - 200 psi. (number 4 was 200psi)

I have switched the coil packs from the 4th cylinder, everytime i pull the connecter off the 4th cylinder the engine doesn't slow down, but it will slow down on all the other cylinders.

When i first started the car after cleaning and plugs, it ran great for a couple minutes. The misfire came back but not as noticeable as before.

I have also seafoam the TB and put some in the gas tank.

While driving the misfire will disappear and come back, over and over. I can feel the car shake slightly then stop, and i can also tell a difference in power.

Maybe the injector??

3.2TLc

If you're still getting random "misfire" codes, try checking the fuel pressure. It could be that there's a restriction within the fuel system. Maybe the fuel pump's filter sock is gunked up ?
Perhaps the fuel regulator is on the edge ? How did the old plugs appear ?

johnnybegood_5

When i pulled the plugs to replace them, they all had a nice tan to white colour (all the same from what i could see).

I will pressure test both the cooling system and fuel system. I will have to recheck the engine codes and get back on here.

fsttyms1

Replace the #4 coilpack that when you unplug it there is no change and see what happens.

johnnybegood_5

I have switched it with almost every coilpack from the 2000 engine, it still misfires on that cylinder every time. I reset the codes by pulling the clock back up fuse for awhile when replacing coilpacks.

johnnybegood_5

i Have also switched the number 4 injector with number 5 with no change and the 4th cylinder is still misfiring, going to check fuel pressure and seafoam the oil next.

ErickUa5

Out of curiosity have you checked the ground under the lower cooling hose the reason I say this is because I found mine loose and from the wiring diagram that's the ground for all the ignition coils and some other stuff, check for corrosion or broken wires.

johnnybegood_5

Yea i had a look to see if the wire had broken wires but i will go ahead and clean up and redo the ground, Thanks for the tip

ErickUa5

You should also check for voltage on the 4th cylinder coil connector for battery voltage to verify the middle wire Black is the ground, black and yellow would be positive when the ignition is on you should see battery voltage.

johnnybegood_5

I checked while the car was running, I am getting a similar reading as the others. the only difference i could see was the yellow wire would be a little higher than the other cylinders, it would be jumping around 2.75v while the others are around 2.65v

checked new codes, they are all the same as before.

check compression cold and still got a high pressure (190psi)

check new plugs, the 4th cylinder was clean and wet, the other 5 were all light tan.

Do these readings im getting make sense?

Is it possible the computer is screwing up?

could a valve be bad even if im getting good compression?

any help is much appreciated, i still have a couple things to test meanwhile.

Thanks

01tl4tl

throttle held open for compression testing?
fuel pump fuse pulled?

01tl4tl

seafoam in oil clean oil gallies- passages- ports and vtec sliders

some cleaning of piston rings occurs too

for intake-injector issues use 2 oz per gal fuel = 1 can to just under half tank
also shoot some thru master vac port for instant cleaning of intake valve stems and edges
see if that stops the fuel drip onto plug

ErickUa5

It should be battery voltage atleast 12v and steady, you should have the engine off but key on, are you sure you're checking the right wires Black/ground and Black and yellow/positive if its not 12v thats a problem with the wiring assuming the battery is good its connections are clean and tight.If voltage is good then you can rule out an electrical problem

johnnybegood_5

Good news! The TL is running great!

I finally figured out that the injector on cylinder 4 had a bad connection with the connector itself, a slight bend to the two prongs and some di electric grease and the car is running great!

My mistake was when checking the clean plug from cylinder 4 it appeared to be wet but when i touched it to my lip today, i quickly realized it was dry and warm. I started poking at the injector, the car would run great if i kept pressure down on the connector towards the front of the car.

Thank you, to everyone who helped me out, the car needed a good cleaning from the condition the Intake Manifold was in.

3.2TLc

Hey JBG_5, good to hear ya found the problem !

Now on to getting everything in working order, now that ya don't have to replace the motor.

Check out the "DIY"s and take your time stepping through the process. We're here to help ya out !

ErickUa5

Glad you got it running. Hey you live and you learn enjoy your TL