alright. many of you may know that i have had several problems with misfire on my lancer(5 different occassions thus far). i have been able to correct the misfire in all of the cases....ironically, EVERY single time i have been arcing do too a bad boot on the ignition coil. i have replaced both boots on the coil packs 2x's. i have also been running with the Magnacore wires (there was obviously no performance gains but i have never arced in either of those cylinders since i installed the wires). so that is my history of misfire is laid out, here is my problem:

recently the car started misfiring again. mainly under load conditions between 2800-3700 RPM's and ONLY when the engine is running hot. i have checked my plugs and they are not fouled, scorched, etc and they are still properly gapped. i used to use NGK Iridium IV's and they seemed to burn a little hotter. after problems with them i tried using all different types of base-line plugs that ran about $5 a peice (auto-lite's, bosch, etc)......still the same problem. so are my questions i was hoping some of you bigger guys could help me out on:

#1 is it possible that the car is burning too hot?

#2 if i regap the plugs to about .46-.48 (as opposed to the .41-.44 oem settings) will it help me eliminate the misfire? i am aware this will make the initial start up of the car a bit rougher and do the same to the idle. the question is will that work?

#3 should i go about replacing the boots on the coil packs again since they are obviously not insulating properly? or is it time for new ignition coils?

any help is appreciated. thanks.

mark

 

Replace Magnacore wires with stock wires, replace plugs with stock NGK's, stock gap. Enjoy.

 

tried that already. the stock wires are running worse than the magnacores. i put baseline plugs back in there and it's still acting up. i'm running out of ideas here. i haven't played with the gapping at all yet. it is still at factory settings. that's why i'm getting so confused.

 

Can you post some pictures?
Also try to see if the spark plug holes are clean. On the bottom, where the spark plug screws in, clean the walls and the thread. A lot of times some dirt will get in there and that will affect the gap.
If not that, try using one step colder plugs.


EDIT: I have been looking thru some old stuff. The most common problem of arcing is the moisture/oil in the spark plug wells. Triple, double check them. Use compressed air to clean them out.

 

i can try to post pics by friday. tomorrow is a busy day with school. did you want plug pics or pics of the coils + boots....and what you are saying about using compressed air. are you saying to remove the plug from the chamber and then blast it with air?

 

Are they colder temp range plugs? Generally speaking don't you gap DOWN to prevent misfire?

 

i thought i read that it was gapped up. you are probably right though. i was a little tired at the time. i'm going to check the plugs again today and take pics for greg. any advice on the air trick he had talked about?

 

No trick, just make sure your spark plug wells are clean. If moisture/oil got in there, it could cause problems.

 

so i blast it while the plug is out of the car? will that cause any damage?

 

No, if it's oil it will just be recycled. Water/moisture......I guess there is no way it could cause damage, it will burn out before it will even reach the piston.

If you are concerned about it, take a long cotton swab or some piece of cloth and clean the wells.

 

alright. thanks. i'm starting in 5 minutes. i'll take some pictures. i wonder what my plugs will look like this week hahaha.

 

If you are using a higher octane fuel switch to regular, unless you have a EMU or a piggy that would require a higher octaine. Other then that, change your plugs.

 

Danno, i run 93 octance cause it's the only thing higher than 91 in NJ. i have a PB ECU v 1.0

needless to say i was a little angry tonight. i had to make a drive before i pulled out the plugs. the car started misfiring terribly. much much worse than earlier. so i go home and let the car cool off a bit, pull the coils + wires off and find that again the same pack is arcing. the chambers did indeed have some dirt in them, but most unsettling amount of oil that was leaking into the chamber!!! oil was leaking through 3 of the 4 gaskets on the chambers. when i removed to plugs i found that they were pretty clean and in decent shape still.....that was until cylinder 4. this is the cylinder where the arcing was taking place (as usual). i took several pictures for greg. the plugs where autolite platniums from a week before x-mas (about 1200 miles on them). all 4 plugs where BURNT at the base of the porclein (not a residue...burnt!!!!) so yeah. here are some pics. more will follow in the next post.

 

now here are the interesting parts. cylinder 4 plug was CRACKED enough to put a flat head screw driver in it. the boot on that plug was pretty burnt as well.

i replaced the boot with a spare i had laying around, removed the valve cover and sealed the spark gaskets with RTV silicone, and replaced the plugs. i got a set of NGK V-Power plugs. the guy said they are one step colder. i think they were $2.13 a plug or something like that. the car is running much smoother. no more misfire. no oil in there anymore either. i'm hoping this is the last time i deal with this. my 6th misfire problem since July 2005.

mark


EDIT: the NGK's are copper. none of that Iridium stuff.

 

so far the colder plugs are working out a little bit better.