I just swapped plugs and my car won't start. It started a couple of times but sputtered out and sounded like it wasn't running on all cylinders. I've checked fuses, plugs, plug wires etc. WTF?? I just changed the freakin spark plugs!! I've tried to reset the ECU several times and nothing is unplugged. Please help, I need my car to get to the in-laws place for xmas eve!!

 

u sure you didn't short any fuses out while doing the spark plug swap...
...pretty hard to screw up a spark plug install...u sure you're not missing anything out?

 

did you unplug the coil packs while installing the plugs and possibly forgot to plug them back in?...i would try to install the old ones in and see if it starts back up!!!

 

Are you sure you put the right plugs back in ?

 

more info needed:
kind of plugs
tools used for install
...were all bolts accounted for?
...u checked fuses yet?

 

Yes, I've pulled ALL fuses to check them. Yes, the coils are plugged back in. I'm well versed in car maintenance but I just can't figure out why this is happening. I'm using some iridium plugs from O'Reily, not NGK. I tried some regular old copper plugs from Autozone gapped to .28 and they didn't work at all. The car will start but it sounds like it's running on two cylinders. I'm going to pull the plugs to get a better look. My theory is that the plugs are the incorrect gap but I can't regap iridium plugs withought murdering the electrode. Not only that but I've tried two sets with different gapping. I don't see how I could have screwed up the coils, I mean you just pull 'em out and put 'em back on. I feel like such a retard here. Merry Xmas to me.

 

Put the old plugs back in.

 

i gap my iridiums just fine without killing them... get a different gapping tool and a feeler gauge to check the gap

 

ur plug wires arent swapped are they?

 

try gapping to the proper spec = Spark plug gap: 0.7 - 0.8 mm (0.028 - 0.031 inch)

.28 is too large

https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/sh...d.php?t=118252

 

i would hope that he forgot the .0xx when he typed it... if he has any car sense, im sure he did....i bet its something different, or something not connected properly. should be something simple with just a plug install

 

check those connectors on the coils again.

 

Okay, just spent about an hour fiddling with the plugs. Pulled the Autozone specials and it looks like the gap was somewhere around .050 (yes, I missed a decimal point earlier). I re-gapped them to .028 and the car still ran like crap. I put three of the beat up NGKs back in (I murdered one of them while checking the gap after pulling them out the first time) and it ran slightly better but still sounded like a golf cart. I'm going to run to the stealership in the morning to get some new plugs from them. Can the brand of plug really make that much of a difference?? Maybe they gave me the wrong plugs, who knows. I checked them side by side and they looked the same. The only difference I noticed was that the NGKs used the larger spark plug socket (5/8 I believe) and the Autozones used the smaller socket. I will report back in the morning. All the connections are good. Thanks for the input guys. Live and learn I guess...

 

good luck, i,m sure it is something very minor or overlooked. I,d bet a set of stock plugs (dont touch the gap) will probabely fire that bad boy right up.

 

think you had that backwards... the stock size is 5/8's ... i believe the plugs you have are 13/16ths... if your plugs that were in there were the big size, they shouldnt have been the stock plugs... i wouldnt think that size of the plug would make all that much difference at all, i would think the electrode gap, the type of plug and as long as it isnt one of the ones from the ix you would be fine, but you never know