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I think my car is misfiring.
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KtoLV
Novice
Feb 23, 2012, 6:20 PM
Post #1 of 13
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I think my car is misfiring.
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Hi. I found your forum through Google. I've read a few threads and want to thank you guys for lending a hand whenever you can.
I have a 2004 Chevy Malibu Classic. 4 cyl 2.2 L. The car has about 140k miles.
A couple of weeks ago, my wife's car started sounding like it was misfiring. Admittedly, I had not paid enough attention to it the last couple of years. It would run, but it had absolutely no power. I couldn't get it over 10 mph.
I changed the spark plugs first as I thought that would be the cheapest and easiest thing to rule out. It did not change anything. I have a shade tree mechanic that came over to look at it. We found the catalytic converter glowing red hot under the car. We took it out. I got another one, but I don't want to put it in until I get the engine burning fuel properly. It would run better after the catalytic converter was out, but it has the acceleration of a 50cc motor scooter.
A couple of days ago, I had ordered fuel injectors for the engine. I changed them out today. I thought that would surely do the trick. The car has 140k miles. I had run a couple of cans of Techron through two different gas tanks of fuel with no results. I had read that those bottled fuel injector cleaners were good, but they were no miracle worker. While it seems to be running marginally better, it still has very little power and isn't completely burning gas.
I'm curious as to what I should look at next.
Any help would be greatly appreciatted. If there is any information that I have not provided that one thinks would be helpful, please let me know.
Thanks.
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Feb 23, 2012, 6:30 PM
Post #2 of 13
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Re: I think my car is misfiring.
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Your converter isn't the problem. it's the raw fuel that the engine is dumping into it that is making it glow. You may have a bad coil but you need to replace the wires first. They deteriorate faster than the plugs these days.
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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
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KtoLV
Novice
Feb 23, 2012, 6:41 PM
Post #3 of 13
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Re: I think my car is misfiring.
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Thank you very much for the reply Hammertime. I did forget to mention that I did replace the wires when I replaced the plugs.
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KtoLV
Novice
Feb 23, 2012, 6:42 PM
Post #4 of 13
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Re: I think my car is misfiring.
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What is a coil?
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KtoLV
Novice
Feb 23, 2012, 6:47 PM
Post #6 of 13
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Re: I think my car is misfiring.
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Sorry. I googled it. I was actually surprised how easy it was to replace the injectors.
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Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky
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Feb 23, 2012, 7:43 PM
Post #7 of 13
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Re: I think my car is misfiring.
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I don't think that this one has wires, but it does have boots. Ecotech has the coil over plug design that is housed in a cover on top of the engine. If it is skipping, you should be getting a check engine light along with some misfire codes. Don't know why your replacing the injectors because if the converter is glowing, you definitely have a spark or compression issue.
Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.
(This post was edited by Discretesignals on Feb 23, 2012, 8:01 PM)
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KtoLV
Novice
Feb 23, 2012, 8:30 PM
Post #8 of 13
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Re: I think my car is misfiring.
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Thanks for the input Discretesignals . Lack of gas compression could be causing a misfire?
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Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Feb 23, 2012, 8:37 PM
Post #9 of 13
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Re: I think my car is misfiring.
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Well, lack of gas, too much gas, no/intermittent/weak spark, low compression, or high intake manifold pressure when the throttle is closed can cause missing. I don't think it is a fueling (gas) because you stated your converter was overheating. As was stated by HT, unburnt fuel that gets into the exhaust is what causes the converter to glow. Unburnt fuel could be because of a no spark, low compression, or retarded ignition advance.
There should be a misfire code(s) stored that might tell you which cylinder(s) is skipping. ECOtech use compression sensing ignition, so it is important to have good compression.
You can also pull plugs to see which ones are gas fouled or not burning. That might clue you in on which cylinder(s) you should be concerned with.
Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.
(This post was edited by Discretesignals on Feb 23, 2012, 8:46 PM)
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KtoLV
Novice
Feb 23, 2012, 8:43 PM
Post #10 of 13
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Re: I think my car is misfiring.
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Thanks again. I've got the board bookmarked. I'll check back in when I'm able to find out something.
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KtoLV
Novice
Mar 6, 2012, 7:01 AM
Post #11 of 13
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Re: I think my car is misfiring.
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I would like to say thank you to you guys. It was the ignition coil. The one on this car actually comes in two parts. The first part is called the ignition control module. The 2nd part is the ignition coil. The control module is the one that was bad. It cost me about $80 at the local auto parts store and about 5 minutes to put it on. The car is running smooth again. Thank you very much for your input guys. I don't think that I would have been able to fix it if it weren't for the replies here.
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Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Mar 6, 2012, 5:40 PM
Post #12 of 13
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Re: I think my car is misfiring.
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Thanks for the follow up. Someone in the future may have the same problem and see this thread, so follow ups are a good thing.
Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.
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techforfree
User
Mar 7, 2012, 7:19 PM
Post #13 of 13
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Re: I think my car is misfiring.
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2004's should have misfire counters that can be seen with most scan tools ,if your converter is that hot you definatly have a misfire , find what cyl.is misfiring
and diag.that particular cyl.spark plug,plug boot,coil pack and injector along with at least 100 lbs compression are all needed..most auto zones or parts houses have a scanner to help finding the faulty cyl. good luck
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