Engine Cylinder misfire

Welcome to 2CarPros.

It will run on 7 cylinders, but it obviously will have a misfire. I'm not sure how she checked, but here is a link that explains how to check. Also, it could be related to the coil pack itself of it is only one cylinder.

Please keep in mind, if you have no spark to one cylinder, it can allow raw fuel to enter the catalytic converter and damage it. Therefore, we need to find the problem before something more happens.

___________________

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-test-an-ignition-system



Try checking using that technique and let me know what you find.

Here are a few links you may find helpful when checking:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-use-a-test-light-circuit-tester

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-use-a-voltmeter

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-check-wiring

Let me know what you find.

Joe

Warren, "And it started to shake about 4 days ago." is the key to why the plug is missing. It did one of three things, The plug worked loose in the cylinder head and was blown out of the head, the center porcelain section of the plug came loose and was blown out or the most common reason is that the threads in the head failed and the plug blew out.

That would cause the shake and "missing plug". Why it didn't have a flashing check engine light is odd, have her look at the dash while the bulb check happens when the key is first turned on. Does the check engine light come on?
As to repairing it, If the threads in the cylinder head are okay I would just replace all the plugs. Being very careful not to over torque them as the threads in those heads are very easy to strip. If the threads are damaged then it is possible to use a kit to repair the threads. You can get the repair kits at many parts stores along with the tools as a loan a tool kit.
If the plug itself came apart either through rusting or other then removing the left over pieces and replacement should do the trick.
This isn't an uncommon thing on some Ford engines from 1998 to about 2002. The reason is that the threaded section of the head that retains the plug has only 4 full threads in the plug holes.

Hello and thank you for taking the time to answer. @Steve W. Yes the check engine light does come on. In fact that didn't come on until we got home. And when it did come on, It stayed on sold (none flashing) And yes i find that to be very odd that it didn't flash at all. @JACOBANDNICKOLAS She just said she removed everything and looked into the hole where the spark plug would be and didn't see anything. She will check on it again this afternoon and i will let you guys know what she finds..

Welcome back:

Follow the procedure I attached and see if there is spark. Also, have you retrieved the diagnostic trouble codes related to the check engine light being on?

Let me know.

Joe

Update: Well after taking her car in to get it service we discovered that the so called missing spark plug was still in there but the top half was broken off. There's a spark plug in there she just wasn't able to see it very well. And yes there was error codes.. The first one was a P0113 and the 2nd one was a P0102. Now after getting her spark plugs replaced today she still says that when she is at a stop light and getting ready to go the car runs fine.. But as soon as she steps on the gas the car still hesitates to go. Also, the repair guy told her while he was changing her spark plugs there is some oil leaking into one of her cylinders where the spark plug is at the back of the motor on the driver's side.

Welcome back:

First, the oil leaking isn't actually into the cylinder. He may have confused you. What happens is the o-ring that seals the spark plug tower can leak allowing oil to enter the tower. That can eventually lead to a misfire.

The codes you have could be related to the hesitation. The P0102 is related to the mass air flow sensor (MAF). Some basic things you can check is to first make sure it is connected. Also, check to make sure there are no air leaks near it.

The other code, P0113 is related to the intake air temperature sensor (IAT). Interestingly both of these components are near each other and work together. So again, check to make sure it is securely plugged in and there are damaged wires going to it.

I attached two pics. The first shows the MAF. It is mounted on the air inlet tube (between the air filter box and intake manifold). The second pic shows the IAT. It is on the side of the air filter box.

Let me know what you find. I believe it is one of these two that are causing the hesitation.

Take care,
Joe

Okay, i will keep you posted on this matter and my van as well.

Welcome back:

Sounds like a plan. I will keep my eyes open for your reply.

Take care,
Joe

Update on the Town car: Well as of now all of the spark plugs have been replaced as i said earlier and the check engine light was still on when we came home. And we both looked at each other and said something isn't right. With the spark plugs replaced that light should have went off but it didn't. So we drove it home and looked under the hood and discovered the repair guy didn't even reconnect the mas sensor and the intake air temp sensor back up at all. Plugs where just sitting completely disconnected. So after discovering they where unplugged and everything we decided to clean everything up before plugging things back up with some CRC mass air flow cleaner and then see what will happened.. and clear the codes too. And so far the service engine soon light has not come on so far and it no longer stutters when she hits the gas. My mother is so happy but. Time will tell if this fixed the problem or was it just the spark plugs was bad etc. Oh yeah, the repair guy told her he fixed it some kind of way temperately so the oil wouldn't leak back into that spark plug tower. Now what he did i have no idea. We didn't stay and watch what he did. etc

Thank you for all of you help with my mother's town car.. As I keep saying. this is a great web site. Keep up the good work guys! :-) If anything comes up about the town car i will let you guys know about that too.

Not sure myself what he would have done as a temporary fix, cleaned it very well and applied some sealer would be my guess. Thank you for keeping us informed, we get a lot of people that just vanish after they get an answer. We will be here if you need us. Thank you for using 2CarPros. Tell a friend or 100 about us.

That's what i was thinking too. Time will tell though. So far the car is running good etc. And you are welcome.. I figured if someone takes the time to give you an answer at least a person could do is stick around. And who knows if you stick around longer then that you just may learn something new for a newer problem you might have too etc. And not to worry i plan on telling everyone i know about your site. I think it is a great site.. and it is free too. You can't beat that at all.

Nice to hear from you again. Glad to hear it is still running good for you. Stay in touch if you need help with anything.

Take care,
Joe

troubles are no spark at ignition coil number four, five, six, and eight.
I already check and simulate the following.:
ignition coil.
crankshaft sensor.
cam sensor.
spark plug.
Check it if there is open or any short circuit along the lines in between PCM and connectors of ignition coil, fuel injectors, but the line are okay.
Same trouble occur no spark at cylinder numbers four, five, six, and eight.
compression test it, okay.
the only problems is no spark at coil number four, five, six, and eight.

is this a common trouble for vehicle TC?
This is new for me.

Thanks

Hello,

It sounds like the coil drivers inside the PCM are bad I would get a used one and swap it out. Below is the location.

Check out the diagrams (below).

Please let us know what you find.

Cheers, Ken

Thank you so much for answering my question it has made me feel enlighten. however, I already did it to swapping from same model but it will not work due to immobilizer system block but i suspect the PCM.
May I ask something if possible, is the PCM repairable?

It could be but only a re-builder can tell you that. When you switched the PCM the security light flashed?

thanks Mr Ken..

I believed so that what happened during swapping of PCM..
What I did is I take the following parts from the troubled unit and install to other good unit,...
Immobilizer Ring... Immobilizer control module... key ignition unit... and the result the security light keeps flashing that why the engine won't start...
May Question is .. It is possible to switch the the immobilizer unit from other vehicle with the same model for just a reference to know if the pcm is really in trouble?

Not really because the ring is just the antenna which delivers the chip frequency to the computer key. This is why the car must go to someone that can program the key in. Should cost about $130.00

How to check for spark? having misfire number three.

Hello,

This could be caused by a few different things, but I would check the ignition system first. I have included these links for you below. Go through them and get back to us with what you find out.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/engine-misfires-or-runs-rough
https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-test-an-ignition-system
https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-test-a-fuel-injector

Thanks,
Alex
2CarPros

Unbolt that coil with a 7mm socket hold the end of the boot near a metal stud and it should put out a one inch spark. Easiest way to check it. Also, make sure there isn’t any coolant in the hole when you pull out the coil. Let us know what you find and we can go from there!

Another thought, you might be able to use digital multi-meter, see if you can get inductive reading, each coil, engine running. You don't unplug anything or pierce anything, you just touch the coil. You might get a reading of .5 volt not even a full volt. The point is, if you get a reading bouncing off zero, that's where you start testing, at that coil. Different makes and models may have slightly different readings. Just a thought.

multiple cylinder misfire, no codes, cylinder contribution test shows skip on different cylinders every time i drive, only skips under light throttle going up hill, has coil on plug 4.6, coil or plugs help it

check the basics. i would look at the plugs and coils. how many miles are on these items??

the injectors may also be an issue. they need to be professionally cleaned every 50k

Roy

injectors are clean and pass flow test, coils and plugs are new

ok, start with a compression test

Roy

compression is good and timing chains are not stretched

I have same troubles TC 1999 multiple misfire cylinder #4 , 5 , 6 , and 8
what is causes of this troubles
is this a common trouble to TC model 1999?
I already check and simulate the following..

# Spark test at all cylinders... 4,5,6,8 NO SPARK
# Simulate ignition coil and spark plug and fuel injectors.crank sensor, cam sensor
{same troubles occur no spark at cylinder 4,5,6,8}
# Continuity check wiring ign. coil terminals---OK
#Simulate pcm, same trouble occur misfire 4,5,6,8

compression is oky too..
NO codes given

please guide me and asking for any idea..

thanks

Do you have voltage to the ignition coils??

does the check engine light come on with the key on, engine off??

did you check the wires back to the PCM?

Roy

The number of cylinder no spark are #4, 5, 6, and 8...
I already did switching the following...
spark plug...ignition coil.... fuel injectors.... and still problems occurs no spark at ignition coil 4,5,6,8..
I do compression test and the result is good compression..
I do check short to power and grounds..result is oky too
what is next things to do?

OK, did you verify power to the coils that are not firing???

what voltage did you have a t the coil with key on???

Roy

I had a code that read misfire in cylinder 1, it usually misfires once the engine is no longer cold.

I replaced my spark plug for cylinder 1 and the check engine light and misfiring completely went away and the car drove new. Three days later, the code came back, and it was in fact cylinder 1 yet again. I have checked the gap and it is perfect.

I am hoping to get rid of my misfire before something serious happens.

Thank you very much for your time,
Adam

Switch the two ignition coils between cylinder number one and one other one, erase the fault code, then see if the misfire code sets for the other cylinder. If it's still for number one, switch two injectors and try again.