Help diagnosing car problem. Misfire in past and now car turning over but no start.

[Deoxyribonucleicvitriol]

Yesterday I drove my car to church and it got there fine... It's fine on gas... fine on oil (doesn't leak... as you know :P). ...but when I got in and tried to start it to get home... it just kept turning over but never started.

Since I bought the car a few months ago I've had no problems at all except that it's thrown a couple of codes. I got one code on the drive home (it was a misfire... and it only happened because I "christened" the car by going 100)... and the 2nd one more recently, which quickly went away (I don't know what the code was for).

I suspect bad plugs/wires/coil packs. Would this make sense considering the misfire and the trouble starting the car?

I've been wanting to replace plugs, wires, and coil packs anyway because of the misfire but now it's a necessity that I get it working.

The mechanic here (AC Delco) is wanting to charge me 60 bucks to run compression checks and stuff... but should I just tell them to forget it and replace the plugs/wires/coil packs?

I'm going to get a friend to drive me back to church later today to see if I can't get the darn thing started.

Thanks :)

Also, what is a reasonable price for getting new plugs, wires, and coil packs as well as the installation?

[Firehawk N Wv]

Re: Help diagnosing car problem. Misfire in past and now car turning over but no start.

Did you get the codes checked when they were thrown? If its not on now I beileve you cna have the history of the SES light to see what it was. Bad plugs wouldnt throw a SES light but wires and bad coil pakcs will. Start with your wires and plugs to see how that goes. If that dont work then change out your coils.

plugs - $35-45 a set depending on what u get
wires - $30-60 depending on brand
coils - $around $30 for stock replacements and about $50 for MSD

[Deoxyribonucleicvitriol]

Re: Help diagnosing car problem. Misfire in past and now car turning over but no start.

Thanks! Man I'd hate for it to break again though... I might just get the coil packs replaced too to be safe.

Makes me feel good though :). I'll just tell them to forget the tests if they want my business :P.

[Shodown]

Re: Help diagnosing car problem. Misfire in past and now car turning over but no start.

Did you get the codes checked when they were thrown? If its not on now I beileve you cna have the history of the SES light to see what it was. Bad plugs wouldnt throw a SES light but wires and bad coil pakcs will. Start with your wires and plugs to see how that goes. If that dont work then change out your coils.

plugs - $35-45 a set depending on what u get
wires - $30-60 depending on brand
coils - $around $30 for stock replacements and about $50 for MSD

Actually, fouled plugs can trip the SES light cuz the car will misfire, thus the code lights up.

Those are EXTREMELY expensive plugs too!! :eek: Just get NGK TR6 or TR55, they are like $1.98 per plug. Yes TR6's are usually used for FI or nitrous cars, but they will work just fine on a N/A car too. :)

I would also check the ICM as well, that could have gone bad and needs replaced. They range from about $130-$150 at any autoparts store.

[Deoxyribonucleicvitriol]

Re: Help diagnosing car problem. Misfire in past and now car turning over but no start.

Pardon my ignorance, but what is an ICM and why might my problems indicate that it could be bad?

EDIT: OH YEAH! I just remembered! My car also died while it was idling at a stop light the other day but it restarted fine. Does this narrow it down at all?

[slow6]

Re: Help diagnosing car problem. Misfire in past and now car turning over but no start.

ignition control module
can go out if it gets wet or too hot (which probably isnt the case)
but bad ICMs can cause misfires

[Firehawk N Wv]

Re: Help diagnosing car problem. Misfire in past and now car turning over but no start.

Yes as Showdown said u cna get regular NGK for about 2 bucks a plug, but if you wanted something better like the NGK Iridium plugs then it will cost you about 35 bucks. I doubt its you ICM but it could be. Try changing the least expensive parts first then check the ICM.

[Deoxyribonucleicvitriol]

Re: Help diagnosing car problem. Misfire in past and now car turning over but no start.

I was just going to get the regular AC Delco plugs since I don't do anything special with my car.

OH YEAH! I just remembered! My car also died while it was idling at a stop light the other day but it restarted fine. Does this narrow it down at all?

What about this though? ^

[slow6]

Re: Help diagnosing car problem. Misfire in past and now car turning over but no start.

thats a good question
I tried to look it up in my Haynes and it doesnt say anything
My car was dying alot, it was because of my MAF
My MAF was giving bad AFR ratios
I'm not saying your AFR could be off, but its a possibility
Hard to know without a tuning system like mine

[Deoxyribonucleicvitriol]

Re: Help diagnosing car problem. Misfire in past and now car turning over but no start.

Got a friend to drive me to church. It started and I drove it back to campus (yay! I don't have to get it towed!) but it misfired again on the way back.

Yikes... It was a horrible feeling when it misfired. How much engine damage do you think it's causing?

I'm taking it to the shop tomorrow. Thanks everyone!

[slow6]

Re: Help diagnosing car problem. Misfire in past and now car turning over but no start.

just a few misfires? no damage
its probably wasting some gas, misfiring
I had a huge misfire problem before I rebuilt and no damage occured from the misfire
but I've heard that if you just keep on letting it misfire and misfire for a long time that it can cause damage
I dont know what could be damaged, lets find out

[Deoxyribonucleicvitriol]

Re: Help diagnosing car problem. Misfire in past and now car turning over but no start.

Thanks everyone!!!

I got my car back from the mechanic today... He said cylinder one had misfired 127 times. Got him to replace it with AC Delco iridium plugs and AC Delco wires (none of that cheap crap :D). No more misfires and it runs smoother than when I bought it.

I floored it onto the highway to test it and man it felt good. Didn't skip a beat hehehe.

Thanks again!