CEL Flashing - pulled codes...Help!

okay I have been lurking on this site for awhile, and have done numerous searches (thanks guys!) but know comes the time for my question:

I have a 2005 TB V6 - yesterday the CEL began flashing, the code pulled was PO301 cylinder 1 misfire. I have changed out the plugs and the ignition coil for this cylinder and I am still getting the code. The truck is still running crappy as well. You can tell there is a misfire. Can someone please tell me what I am missing!?

Thanks...

:duh: :thx

Probably the pcm is not sending a signal to the ignition coil but that rarely happens could well be a bad connection somewhere along that line. Btw are you sure you have a v6? Because the rest of us have an I6.

sorry my mistake I6...still kinda new at this stuff :o

now the reader is throwing out a random misfire. You can definitely hear that the truck is sputtering.

This code only identifies that a misfire is present in cylinder #1, doesn't tell you which system.

I don't know how much you spent on the parts, but it sounds like it wasn't diagnosed properly :duh: Now that you have a random misfire, It's quite possible that your problem is in the fuel system...something possible clogging fuel injectors.

You will need to do a cylinder balance test, check the fuel pressure, check for a leaking injector, etc.

What kind of gas do you use? When was the last time you changed the fuel filter? Have you run any injector cleaner through your tank in the past?

Something to start with http://www.unixboard.de/vb3/images/smilies/sm-nachdenk.gif ...p.s. please fill out your profile info!

profile updated...:D

First off...Thank you to everyone that has been helping me along. It is MOST appreciated.

okay so I was up pretty late last night. Started moving things around (per my search results) to see if the misfire would follow the coil. Well now I am back to a P0301.

as far as the fuel goes, I fill with mid-grade. The fuel filter hasn't ever been changed; better get that done. I have 47K miles on it.

so I should begin to look into my fuel system. sounds like a logical next step. I will do some searches to figure out what I am doing and get on it.

Will post back later with an update.

profile updated...:D

First off...Thank you to everyone that has been helping me along. It is MOST appreciated.

okay so I was up pretty late last night. Started moving things around (per my search results) to see if the misfire would follow the coil. Well now I am back to a P0301.

as far as the fuel goes, I fill with mid-grade. The fuel filter hasn't ever been changed; better get that done. I have 47K miles on it.

so I should begin to look into my fuel system. sounds like a logical next step. I will do some searches to figure out what I am doing and get on it.

Will post back later with an update.
05's fuel filter are in the tank(sock) i thought??? pro correct me if'n im wrong.
safety FIRST! tie up your hair if you have any, remove necklaces and loose clothing.
now
cyl. #1 is closest to the pulleys soo. take a LONG screwdriver or other hard long object like a wood dowel and place it dirclty on the fuel injector for the #1 Cyl now fold over your trogas ( the little flap of skin you use to plug your ears and rest the object firmly against the trogas you will hear all sorts of noises but you should hear a very definate TICK TICK TICK. if you get to hear the injector working then try and test the one for #2 the same way and compare the volume of the sound.
this will indicate a few things: ECM talking to injectors and injectors receiving
the signal and working mechanically ( DOES NOT mean fuel is getting through)
and the wiring is ok between the ECM and the injectors.
let us know what you find and good luck
josh ( formerly from turnersfalls mass Wicked)

Here is something not sure if this is your problem but it was mine. My truck was doing the same thing, so i took it to the dealer and it was a problem with the weather stripping on the cowl end. Water got in all my coils and made the truck missfire. Just a thought not sure if that was is the problem.
Jon

Here is something not sure if this is your problem but it was mine. My truck was doing the same thing, so i took it to the dealer and it was a problem with the weather stripping on the cowl end. Water got in all my coils and made the truck missfire. Just a thought not sure if that was is the problem.
Jon
defiantly something to check on jon, good call.

i believe however she has changed the coil for the #1 hole, so this would rule out the problem on this cyl.

someone posted a picture of a misfiring plug- and it was caused by the water getting into the spark plug hole. the sparkplug looked rusty- you could tell there was rusty water signs on it.
replaced this plug and the water getting in. and the misfire went away.

i believe however she has changed the coil for the #1 hole, so this would rule out the problem on this cyl.

That is correct, the coil was changed in #1. I am going to pick up some of the fuel injector cleaner that has been mentioned here several times..I believe Chrevron? I figure that we will do this one step at a time.

Thanks guys for all the suggestions..keep em' coming.

The code is still the P0301 and the truck is still seems to be sputtering

If the light starts flashing, STOP THE TRUCK!! Do not drive while the light is flashing, you can/will destroy the cat :duh:

as far as the fuel goes, I fill with mid-grade. The fuel filter hasn't ever been changed; better get that done. I have 47K miles on it.

Mid-grade meaning 89 octane? The truck will run best (& cheapest) with 87 octane (unless you have a tune that required 89)

The type of gas I was referring to is the brand; some brands add more detergents than others, and some are just garbage...they'll gum up all of the components in your fuel system (including the valves). Check out this website for more information of gasolines and detergents! (http://www.toptiergas.com/index.html)

Next easyest step for you may be to perform the diagnosis that Jozuah described...If that's OK, you will need a fuel pressure tester to run some more checks on the fuel system :yes:

05's fuel filter are in the tank(sock) i thought??? pro correct me if'n im wrong.
safety FIRST! tie up your hair if you have any, remove necklaces and loose clothing.
now
cyl. #1 is closest to the pulleys soo. take a LONG screwdriver or other hard long object like a wood dowel and place it dirclty on the fuel injector for the #1 Cyl now fold over your trogas ( the little flap of skin you use to plug your ears and rest the object firmly against the trogas you will hear all sorts of noises but you should hear a very definate TICK TICK TICK. if you get to hear the injector working then try and test the one for #2 the same way and compare the volume of the sound.
this will indicate a few things: ECM talking to injectors and injectors receiving
the signal and working mechanically ( DOES NOT mean fuel is getting through)
and the wiring is ok between the ECM and the injectors.
let us know what you find and good luck
josh ( formerly from turnersfalls mass Wicked)

You are correct...'05 filters are in the tank :yes:

Great description to test the electrical cirsuit of the injector :thumbsup:

Here is something not sure if this is your problem but it was mine. My truck was doing the same thing, so i took it to the dealer and it was a problem with the weather stripping on the cowl end. Water got in all my coils and made the truck missfire. Just a thought not sure if that was is the problem.
Jon

This is a concern with a #4 cyl misfire, the cowl seal leaks water on the mid-rear end of the engine. Unlikely a cause of cyl #1 misfiring :no:

Mid-grade meaning 89 octane? The truck will run best (& cheapest) with 87 octane (unless you have a tune that required 89)

The type of gas I was referring to is the brand; some brands add more detergents than others, and some are just garbage...they'll gum up all of the components in your fuel system (including the valves). Check out this website for more information of gasolines and detergents! (http://www.toptiergas.com/index.html)


Sorry about that...I fill up with a combo of Shell and Exxon. Both are pretty easy to come by up here. I will have to check around for some of those other retailers. Thanks!!

As far as the mid-grade thing, its something my dad said to me a long time ago and always did. :weird:

I will be doing the test that was suggested in a few hours. I will post back after that.

Shell's a Top-Tier, should be OK with that :yes:

Okay, so we know it's a 2005 4.2L. Concern started with P0301 = Cyl 1 misfire detected. So you changed out all 6 sparkplugs and the #1 coil alone. The misfire seemed to be isolated with #1, but now moved to a P0300 = random misfire dectected. What brand of replacement sparkplugs did you use? Could the rest of the coils not be seated properly? FWIW, I have never seen a fuel injector cleaner or top tier fuel fix a misfire. You would be wasting you cash running mid/hi octane as well.

Joel

Okay, so we know it's a 2005 4.2L. Concern started with P0301 = Cyl 1 misfire detected. So you changed out all 6 sparkplugs and the #1 coil alone. The misfire seemed to be isolated with #1, but now moved to a P0300 = random misfire dectected. What brand of replacement sparkplugs did you use? Could the rest of the coils not be seated properly? FWIW, I have never seen a fuel injector cleaner or top tier fuel fix a misfire. You would be wasting you cash running mid/hi octane as well.

Joel

Not talking about fixing the concern...just to get an idea of possible fuel system deposits which could have caused an injector to fail :yes:

:thumbsup: Good point about the new plugs and coil installation; haven't some other members had problems with certain plugs?

Well if its the problem i suggested fuel injector cleaner will not work.....Ill look to see what my code was and let you know!!

I have never seen a fuel injector cleaner or top tier fuel fix a misfire. You would be wasting you cash running mid/hi octane as well.

Joel
:iagree:

:offtopic: Actually i was taught in automotive school by a visitor/rep from EXXON that American fuels are WAY to clean nowadays to use injector cleaner, ever.

he stated that only in Europe and third world countries was there a real "need" to clean injectors or the fuel system IF the fuel system is maintained as it supposed to be in the service manual of said vehicle.
he also stated that we should continue to buy the fuel system cleaners cause EXON makes most of them along with SHELL oil company!

interesting fact there huh ...:offtopic:

he also stated that we should continue to buy the fuel system cleaners cause EXON makes most of them along with SHELL oil company!

True that the US has the cleanest fuel (due to EPA regs). but Exon is not a top fuel gasoline...check out the link I previously posted for more info.

True that the US has the cleanest fuel (due to EPA regs). but Exon is not a top fuel gasoline...check out the link I previously posted for more info.

QuikTrip
Chevron
Conoco
Phillips
76
Shell
Entec Stations
MFA Oil Company
Kwik Trip/Kwik Star
The Somerset Refinery, Inc.
Chevron-Canada
Aloha Petroleum
Tri-Par Oil Company
Shell-Canada
Texaco
Petro-Canada
Sunoco-Canada

this is a perfect list, thanks for posting that useful link
i have no companies here that are top rated sadly only chevron and they are 10 more cents a gallon for fuel i cant pay that.
Quick trip is not only great fuel, their pop is made with filtered water !!
joshua

thanks for posting that useful link
i have no companies here that are top rated sadly only chevron and they are 10 more cents a gallon for fuel i cant pay that.
joshua

No problem...I have the same problem by me; Shell's the only 1, 10 cents more and 8 miles further than any other http://www.extremefunnypictures.com/comment/sad_smile.gif

Well, I gave in and had it towed to the dealership. Nothing I was doing was working...so verdict is:

There was NO power to the coil. They found a few wires in the harness had broke.

so now my truck is back....yeah!

Thanks to everyone who tried to help me out!

can you tell us what their price breakdown was?
diagnosing time and $ and repair time and parts cost.....

I guess for this one- you did as much as you could do-

wire broken? so the wire broke on its own? weird.

But glad youre back on the road.

Well I can't really give a cost breakdown because after it was towed to the dealership I was told that it was the coil pack. Which I already had changed. So they call and check to make sure that the coil pack was covered under my extended warranty (which I didn't think I still had) but they came back and told me that I was all set and that I had a $100 deductible. cool. So I wait a bit and the mechanic tells me that he changed the coil pack and after he started the truck back up it threw the CEL light again. Same code. That is when he determined that it was some type of electrical problem. So they gave me a rental car and sent me on my way. The next day, in the afternoon, I went to pick up the truck. They told me that everything was covered and all I owed was the $100. Cool again. I'll take that!

Anyways - I was without the truck for a total of 2 days, mostly because they were trying to find where in the wires the problem was.