I have a code cylinder 3 misfire, and my mechanic says sence I just replaced my plugs that it might be a bad sparkplug, so I plan to replace the plug, and see if it percists..

All I need to know right know is which plug is cylinder #3

I think its center in the rear, but not 100% sure

can you confirm?

Thanks in advance...

 

yes. That is cylinder 3.

 

Rather than replace the plug I would switch the plug and coil pack to a diff position. It may be a little more work but it should isolate the issue. Swap the #3 plug with a diff cyl and swap the #3 coil with another coil(don't use the same cyl for plug and coil). when you retest the car you should be able to tell if it's a plug or the coil. You might also want to mark the suspect coil and plug.

 

WOW,

Now that is a F'en damn good idea!!!
I will have to try that tonight, as I didnt get to it last night.

Thanks

 

z32 has it right. just remember that the rear coils are different from the front. you can swap the plugs into any cylinder you want. this method worked like a champ for me, i finally tracked down my misfire after 2 years.

 

There is no way I could go 2 years with this spitting and sputtering every time i accelerate

 

im betting he had a bad coil..

 

it sucked, but it was only bad when i would get on it. it took me that long to finally get a specific cylinder code. swapped that coil, drove like a d!ck for two days and got the new code. smooth sailing ever since.

 

I have an ohm meter, and intend to test it when I get home, then swap the plug for a new one, and swap the coil to a new cilinder if its ok. I figure that should be the best course of action, and if it was the plug it will already be replaced...

Dave

 

Ok...

I replaced the spark plug & swapped coil #3 with coil #1 re-installed and car runs great again... no sputter, no lights...

I figure I'll give it a few days, then have the codes read and cleared, give it a few more days, and get them read again for good measure...

thanks for everyones help...

was gonna test the coil, but ohm meter was dead again!!! Grrrr... I swear every time i take it out its dead... WTF!!

the only thing left is the knock sensor now...

 

NEW symptom,..

It started sputtering again last night!?! and the CEL was blinking, but didnt stay on
got the codes checked at lunch at autozone, and the used this genaric looking tester and only got the knock sensor code...

do you guys think it could be the knock sensor causing the misfiring, or is the coil def bad?

also is it possible he cant see the misfire code with his POS computer? I have a friend with an expensive snapon computer, would that give me more info?

I'M LOST!!!

I ordered a coil, which will be in tomorow so I would like to know fore sure, so if its not the coil I can return it and get the sensor...

HELP AGAIN...
I feel like this is never gonna end!!!

 

well, since you already oredered the coil go for it. It is very likely the coil, and yes the knock sensor code will be trigered if you have a misfire. That's almost a given, it picks up that misfire like it would a knock.

What is failing in the coil is a transistor, and semi-conductors most always fail intermitantly. It will work just fine cold, then after it heats up it will stop working. This is a common failure senario.

 

shouldn't I see the cylinder misfire code to though?

I can still return the coil if its not that...
BTW i got it for $68 for a $99 coil at advanced auto...

 

you have a 99, which are prone to coil failures. so thats my guess as to what it is. plus you said you recently changed the plugs, so unless the gap was wrong its pobably not a plug. and usually, a blinking CEL means its a severe misfire and you shouldnt drive with it like that. although you said the CEL went off? so im kind of confuzzled...i say replace the coil and report back.

 

I have been thowing $ at this car for a month now chasing problems without researching them thuroughly... I would rather spend the time to figure it out than spend another $1000 & replace ten more parts to find out its a $4 spark plug...

Dont mean to be rude, but I need answers not opinions...

Thanks

 

so... check the spark plug if you're so concerned that it might be the problem. See if it's gapped correctly, look for cracked insulation. If those things check out, then it's not the plug. Flashing CEL says misfire. Also those crappy scanners that autozone uses, don't seem to always show you all the codes. Either that or they just read you the first one.
Use a screw driver and check for yourself! it's not hard.

 

the set screw is busted off... I am going to a friends ina n hour to use a snap on scanner...

will se then I will know if its the coil... who knows I might be able to get him to test the coil as well...