Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Engine miss-firing after plug & wire repalcement

Hello all - I've been in the garage for the last 3 hours trying to fix a porblem that I have created and have finally given up Maybe someone can help me? I replaced the original spark plugs and wires on my E0 SVT per the directions in the How-to FAQ. However, when I went to start up the car, it was struggling to keep idle and running very rich. I assume this is due to a cylinder or two not firing. Not knowing what to do next. I systematically replaced each wire and plug with the original that I just removed to no avail. I now have all the original plugs and wires in place but still experience the cylinder miss-firing. Any suggestions???

Did you do the plugs & wires one at a time?

If not, are you positive they are on correctly! The cylinder numbers do not crisscross. They run 1-3 & 4-6 down each side respectively.
The coil is marked for tower number and firing order.

Worst case scenario is to pull the plugs and see which ones are not firing. It will be fairly easy to tell...

Might even reset the PCM for good measure too...

I can almost guarantee that the connections on the coil pack are wrong. Mine were staggered weird, like 1 2 3 across the bottom row and 5 4 6 across the top. I mixed them when I R&I'ed the intake manifold. Got quite a scare when the engine didn't run right after putting it back together.

Unfortunately, I replaced all of the plugs first, then the wires, so it is possible the wires are not connected in the proper order. The coil pack is marked (as you are looking from the front of the car reading left to right) 3-2-1 in front and 4-6-5 in back. These are connected to the cylinders in with the understanding that the cylinders are arranged in this manner: (again looking from the front reading left to right) 3-2-1 on the back side of the engine and 4-5-6 on the front. Can anyone confirm this for me??? Additionally, how do you reset the PCM? Thanks everyone!

WARNING!!! Do not run your car if the spark plug wires are crossed!!! I really messed up my car doing the same thing many months back. Missing firing cylinders dump raw gas into the pre-cats and cause a melt down! It only took ten minutes and the manifold was glowing red. And yes, I indeed did cross wires.

Plugged cats can ruin your engine. Fortuantely I was able to dump my '95 SE for minimal loss and pick up a '98 SVT.

Ford counts cylinder number 1 from back right. Make sure the wires from the coil pack match cylinders according to firing order. The coil pack is marked.

Firing order is as follows: 1-4-2-5-3-6

Double check how Ford counts number one cylinder. I know it is from back right to front but still double check with someone on the rest of the cylinders.

Crossing spark plug wires used to be a common simple mistake but no more! The can wreak havoc. Trust me.

This is a link with a diagram on how Ford counts cylinders and how to identify cylinder number one. All Ford engines, whether mounted horizontally or longitudally, are counted the same. The front of the engine is always coming off the crank/balancer.

http://www.pro-flow.com/eficonver.htm

Once you know how to count cylinders, match the coil pack wireds to the cylinder following the firing order I posted above.

Oh yeah. Reset the computer by diconnecting the battery for five minutes.

Correction:

Cylinder number one is back bank, on the left, not right.

Sorry.

Thanks for the info WeberCarbs. I had wires 1 and 3 crossed, but did not run for more than a few seconds. Reset the computer and now ALL IS WELL!!! Next time I need to pay closer attention to the wires when replacing them! Thanks for all of your help!!!!!!!!!