Endlesswave

I have a 1999 SE. Yesterday my light went on - I checked the codes they were 0201 - ignition signal circuit and 0608 - No 1 cylinder misfire. Additionally there was the knock sensor 0304.

Im planning to drive to Montreal on Monday so I need to get this fixed quick.
Any help would be appreciated.

1) Should get ALL the coils tested, just test the ONE on the No.1 cylinder (which one is that btw, the most left one? front/rear?), or cosidering that this problem is frequent for 99s' should I bother testing anything at all and just replace?

2) Should I replace all 6 coils for future insurance or just the one on the No. 1 cylinder

2) Should I get new or used coils? The dealer quoted me $140 (Cnd) + tax but I can also get a used one at a junk yard for $100. Which one should I get?

3) A mechanic quoted me $30 to replace the one coil that does not work - I know this is cheap but is the replacement so easy that I should just do it myself?

4) Is it harder to replace the knock sensors on 99s that other years from the same generation? Ppl say it is pretty easy

I would really appreciate any help Getting 0201 with 0608 codes please help!

njmodi

iTrader: (4)

1. If you are short on cash, try replacing just the cylinder 1 coil. Cylinder one is in the rear bank (close to the firewall), passenger side.

2. It would be wise to replace all 6 eventually (or now - if you have the money) - assuming that these are the original coils that were installed on the car.

2. If you have the money, you can order 6 new coils for 360 USD - look up Dave Burnette in the FAQ sticky. O/wise you can buy all 6 used (but working) off a number of people including Tilleys99 - look in the 4th Gen classifieds.

2nd #2. See Above.

3. It's up to you to decide if you want to do it yourself.

4. If you have a 99 California-spec it's trickier, o/wise it's the same on all 4th Gens.

Endlesswave

Thank you for your reply njmodi!

Just to make sure - the coils that are for cylinders 1-3 are actually ON the firewall - closer to the windshield than the bumper, right?

I unplugged the coil that is supposebly failing and I heard the engine idling at a lower pitch, then when I plugged it back in I didn't a notice a change. I did this several times and I'm pretty sure that the pitch was lower when I disconnected it. Very vague effect though. What does this mean is it failing or working???

And about the Knock sensor - should I replace just the sensor itself or the cable that it connects too?

Finally , how do I find tilley99? I looked in the classifieds.

njmodi

iTrader: (4)

1. The cylinders are numbered as follows:

Windshield
----------
1 3 5
2 4 6
----------
Front Bumper

2. If you unplug a "bad" coil, there shuold be no change in way the engine runs - since the coil is supposedly bad and not firing to begin with. The other way to look at it is, for each good coil you unplug, the engine should stumble significantly more. So if you notice no change when you unplug a coil, then it's likely that is the cylinder that is misfiring (due to coil, plug or injector). You can make sure it's the coil by swapping two coils and seeing if the proble moved with the coil.

3. You only need to replace the knock sensor. Don't worry about that until you fix the misfire issue. The knock sensor code gets reported with a host of other problems (and often the knock sensor is not bad). The only time you should replace the knock sensor is if the only code you pull is 0304.

4. You might have to search back a few pages - but do a search on user Tilleys99 or shoot him a PM and tell him you are looking for coils. He's PM box is sorta full (most of the time)... (just use the web browser search to look for his name on each page).