lost cylinder #5!!

vash · vash's Garage

ok, my car started missing. new cap, rotor, plugs. i used an old motorcycle trick to find the missing cylinder. started the rough idling beast and stuck my head under the car with a spray bottle of water and flashlight. very obvious which cylinder doesnt sizzle when i spray the exhaust manifold.

so far the score is; cliff=10+, car=zero. i am basically undefeated, but ignition is my kryptonite. help me, please. at least i know which cylinder to look at.

cliff

Zeke · 02-07-2004, 03:50 PM

Try the plug in another cylinder? Some (a very few) are DOA.

vash · vash's Garage

really zeke? ok i will, i have more plugs maybe i will just stick a new one in. wonder if it matters if it is not a platinum plug? probably not, just as a test.

i hooked a timing light to #5 and i am getting strobe, so something is happening. time for a break.

cliff

Early_S_Man · 02-07-2004, 06:57 PM

Cliff,

No need to look for trouble with gasoline spraying in your engine compartment, yet!

Pull the #5 spark plug wire off the #5 plug and the distributor. Check for end-to-end continuity with a multimeter ... the lead should measure 3000 Ohms or 4000 Ohms, +/- 10%, depending on whether you have a resistor end at the distributor, or not. The Beru connector can also be intermittently open. If the spark plug connector is bad, ity can be unscrewed from the wire and replaced individually.

Since your dead cylinder caused a cold exhaust ... my bet is that you will find a bad #5 Beru connector!

Steve@Rennsport · 02-07-2004, 07:02 PM

Great advice & suggestions from Noah and Warren!

I would just follow up with a suggestion that if your plug wires and connectors are bad, install the Magnecor 8.5mm ones which are FAR better than any Beru or Bosch stuff.

These take care of these issues, once & for all.

onewhippedpuppy · 02-07-2004, 07:44 PM

WHAT DID I TELL YOU! You fix something for free, and now your car is pissed!

That sucks, sounds like you have enough suggestions to keep you busy tomorrow though. If it's ignition, don't mess with new Beru plug ends, just go with the Magnacores as said before, that's on my short list of upgrades. The day I bought my car, it was only firing on 5 cylinders, it turned out a nearly invisible crack in one of the Beru ends had moisture from a car wash in it, PO swapped it out and we were good to go, but how long until that happens again? Good luck, hopefully this fix will be just as cheap.

vash · vash's Garage

thanks everyone. i pulled the spark plug wire and took out my multimeter and realized i had no idea how to test the wire. i tried the beeping function to check for what i thought was continuity. i'll do what you said warren, seems way more intellegent than what i was trying. opps. and i did check the fuel spray and the runner nuts. both ok. for some reason i took a mirror and looked at the spark plug hole. (maybe that dogfood in the engine thread) and i found the rubber boot thing that covers the spark plug hole in the valve cover smashed in there. i took it out and i got spark, but i dont think that is it, because it still runs like crap, better but still crap. oh well, i resorted to drinking a couple of beers, and i will revisit tomorrow. with multimeter. magnacor for sure!

Early_S_Man · 02-07-2004, 08:32 PM

Cliff,

Sometimes the CDI unit can generate enough Voltage to jump accross the gap in a bad Beru connector ... especially when cold, but some Voltage and energy will be lost in the process.

To test the wire end-to-end, put the multimeter to the resistance function ... on a 20,000 Ohm or 20K Ohm range. Hold the test leads and wire under test so that the test probes or clips are making positive contact with the brass ends that insert into the distributor cap and clip onto the spark plug. If you get an infinite reading, or indication of an open -- just like when the clips are unattached, then the wire is open. Unscrew the spark plug connector and repeat the test -- just on the spark plug end.

vash · vash's Garage

thank you warren! learned something today. so what i was doing with the buzzer did absolutely nothing? '(i got no buzz)

cliff

Superman · 02-07-2004, 09:06 PM

Listening to Warren is wise, I've discovered. Cliff, it is not unusual for Beru connectors to leak (short) out the side. Obviously, you will not see a spark if this is happening. If ANY fuel is getting into that cylinder but it is stil dead, then your ignition system IS the problem. They are finicky.

A timing light, hooked to each ignition wire, can help with information. but it won't find a Beru that is shorting against the head. Copper is better than platinum, IMHO. Bosch and especially NGK are your best bets. Don't pay more than $1 per foot for bulk ignition wire. The Berus and distributor-end connectors just screw off. If you have the later style bronze screw ends, then I sent you a PM about that.

In the olden days, ignition was always the number one suspect. Nowadays, fuel systems compete with ignition systems for First Place. But if you've seen a nice spray from that injector, then your problem is ignition. As simple as that.

vash · vash's Garage

Beru are the stock ones right?
and yes super, warren is one of the ones i always listen too. there are others too, they know who they are.

i got a good sunday list going tomorrow, right after i get all domestic and clean the house. haha.

cheers everyone, thanks.

cliff

Superman · 02-08-2004, 06:31 AM

Warren and I tend to use some tried-and-true troubleshooting methods, and as a consequence, we seldom replace parts unnecessarily. If I had an ignition problem, I'd measure the ignition wires' resistance. If one is not passing electricity, it gets disassembled (the ends unscrew) and the wire and the ends are tested individually. Individual lengths of wire only might cost as much as $3-$4. Distributor ends cost about $5, but I've never heard of them failing. Beru ends are around $20.