Welp, it's acting up again. This is the second time this has started acting up. Just like the first time, I changed the plugs, wires, distributors, and rotors but unlike last time, the misfiring has not gone away. Instead it's very clear.

A few things to note is that it misfires the most under load (ie: while driving), but also misfires subtlely while parked. I hooked a timing light to all the wires just to make sure they were firing and they were. Spark plugs are all gapped at 0.044.

I've got till sometime tomorrow morning to sort this out and I'm beat. Don't have time for the usual question and answer, so just give me the best youve got. So, I'm looking at you Aussie's to give it your best.

 

Start the car and pull the plug wires off of the distributor one at a time. If the problem gets worse when you unplug one, it is not misfiring on that cylinder, so move onto the next one. If you pull a plug and nothing changes, you now know that the problem is on that cylinder.

Now that it is narrowed down to a certain cylinder you can check to see if it is getting fuel. The easy way to do this is to get a long screwdriver and hold it against thel injector. While holding it against the injector, put your ear up to the screwdriver and you should hear a very audible clicking noise. If all of them are clicking you are actually going to have to do some labor.

Pull the fuel rail. Check the injector(s) for any clogs (not the shoes).

What happened to my crazy car was one of the injector drivers inside the ECU failed, meaning I had to buy a new ECU. A used on from a junkyard runs around $400, on here (if you are lucky enough to find one) you can find them for under $100, and at the dealership they are $1200.

 

I did do that last night seems like I heard the magic clicking on all. I was thinking about changing the fuel filter today. any other ideas?

 

I would actually pull the spark plugs one by one with wires attached, ground them against the block, try to start the engine, and make sure each one is sparking.

 

The only problem with that is, to access the sparkplugs (on the SC3's atleast), you have to remove the throttle body (not to mention the rest of the intake system). So in order to start the car, you'd have to reinstall all that stuff each time

 

Rest assured that I know that. I have that process down to such a science that I can have it off in less than 20 minutes.

He doesn't need to start the engine to see if the plugs are sparking, he just needs to crank the engine. Here is a word from the wise, the car can and will start with the throttle body removed.

 

anything ever come of this thread, my car doing the same crap, nothing happening in the number 5 cyl. replaced plugs, wires, dist cap and rotor, fuel injectors, and fuel filter. still runs like **** and shakes. checked that the injector is getting pulse and it is.