QuestionMark
Today while driving to work I heard a weird noise coming from the engine, then the car lost some power briefly and the service engine light came on.
I drove back home after work and the service engine light was still on.
I stopped at "Advanced auto parts" and they hooked up their little computer and told me "Cylinder 4 misfired".
I came home did a little reading online about misfiring cylinders and went to look at my car.
I removed each plug wire and inspected the spark plugs (Spark plugs still attached to engine), the one all the way to the left seems fouled with black and white residue (Is left cylinder when facing car #4 on Escort 97?).
I tested that wire (Where the plug is fouled) starting the car with that wire off the plug and holding it close to metal and I see sparks (letting me know wire is good I guess).
I don't have the tool to remove the plug so I will buy one tomorrow along with a new plug and see if that fixes the problem.
I have a weird question that I hope you can answer:
I had a complete tune up done 4 months ago and I noticed that the wire tip (The part that connects to the plug) looks different that the other three where the plug got fouled.
I mean the shape of it is different, it looks much older and dirtier than the other three wires that work correctly. Is this normal?
I mean shouldn't have the mechanic replaced all 4 wires and wire tips (Forgive me for calling them wire tips I don't know what the part at the end of the wires that connects to the plug is called.) ?
Shouldn't they all look the same?
I removed one of these three newer looking wires and started my car and I got so many more sparks than that older crappy looking one it was scary.
I am tiping towards paranoid a little maybe, thinking the guy might have left an old one knowing it would fail and make more business for himself.
I figure I would ask you as you might know some tricks that car challenged people like me don't know.
At any rates thanks a lot
Patrick
Answerfirst facing the car looking into engine compartment the plug all the way to the right is cyl 4- (drivers side of car)
yes if you had a tune up with wires then all four should have been replaced-if one is misfiring at tip of plug where wire connects then it will be black/grey looking because it would be burning-if when you pull a plug out it is a bosch platinum plug or champion replace all four of them with motorcraft-ngk or autolite plugs and not nec. platinum either
if you have a burnt wire replace all four of them with preferably motorcraft-look the plugs over real good and make sure they aren't cracked anywhere-
yes i think you are probably paranoid, of all the techs i know even those who do shoddy work (these are the ones that usually don't mind if customers bring their own parts even cheap ones) don't intentionally leave things to cause other problems-there are some that probably need more training and some that shouldn't be working on others vehicles but what keeps these guys busy is customers hunting the cheapest price they can find. but i still don't know any that purposely cause things.
check your plugs and wires and follow up if you still have a problem by the way pulling a plug wire off and letting it spark can take out a module if you force the spark to jump to far because it puts to much of a load on ignition system thats why i don't want you to put bosch platinum plugs in it to much resistance- believe it or not.
