Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting MISSFIRING

Yah I have 2 sets of OEM Ford wires and now a set of Blue Ford Racing wires sitting in my garage.

I swapped back to a set of OEM wires and I still had a few misfires..

As soon as I turned the key I had a crazy idle that was all over the place.. ranged from 500rpm all the way to 2500rpm all at neutral before I even attempted to drive it.

What controls the idle like that? is there some sort of sensor going out? I'm pretty sure that the wires and plugs are fine on the car.. I didn't swap the coil pack but I made sure that I routed and pressed on everything really well.. infact probably better than the Ford Racing ones were on originally.

Help.. Day 3 of not being able to drive the car is approaching.. The sudden spastastic jerks when attempting to drive makes me want to cry

The wiring order is correct.. I paid attention to the coil pack and how the Ford Racing wires came out and then double checked with my Haynes manual.

I've got a CEL for O2 sensors not working and we've already swapped both upstream sensors with brand new Motorcraft ones.. light went out for about 5 minutes and the engine got super quiet.. light came back on and the engine got loud again.

The shop told me to take it back, which I shall but right now I'm waiting on some parts to arrive from Bill Jenkins before it goes back..

As far as the misfiring and idle problem, I'd like to get that taken care of before as I need to drive it to the shop.. I'm going to swap the coil pack later after work tonight for 5hits and giggles.. if that doesn't fix it then I think its time to test the fuel pressure.

another question, my magnecores seem to touch towards the end near the coil pack..i hear that sometimes when wires touch they seem to give out current to the other wire or somthing like that..could that be my problem or not with the magnecores?

I thought they were made from a material specifically designed NOT to do that. I'd have to double check on that. I know mine are touching a BIT by the coil. Maybe try to separate them a bit more?

alright so I took out the new plugs again cause I didnt gap them yesterday. After I gapped them, I applied that boot non-stick stuff onto the plug and inside the boot head..Drove the car around, no low end missfire..although Im not 100% positive, but I did feel power, so im gettin close..

I swapped plug wires back to the OEM ones on Tuesday night.. Last night I swapped coil packs.. removed the battery and checked all my grounds.. Found 1 ground sitting in some standing water - removed it and attached it to the negative battery terminal as it was a ground that was attached to 2 areas of the car - as in a ground grounding itself?

Anyways I got in the car - started it up and the idle was kinda all over the place yet.. CEL was gone -- drove it a few blocks, misfired -- drove it a bit more - took it to the gas station and threw in another 1/2 tank of good premimum gas -- started it up, drove a block, misfired and CEL came back on. Kept driving and in a few more blocks it misfired BAD - really BAD.. it was almost impossible to drive, attempted to give gas harder and it did not help - I had to just put in the clutch and coast to the side, turn it off and back on.. then drive away. When it misfired bad I could smell rotten eggs really strong. Got the car home after a few more misfires and kept it running.. I noticed that the exhaust seemed to almost "rattle" a bit now and shake under the car with it running.

Talked to the person who helped me rebuild everything and he thinks its the fuel filter.. we forgot to change it and the past owner confirmed that the car sat for over a year before I bought it from him (spun bearing)

We gut the cats and built mil eliminators and replaced both upstream sensors due to a code stating that all O2 sensors were not working.

I'm seriously at a loss right now.. I agree that the fuel filter should have been changed immediately but if that doesn't do it, what next?

Beside the fuel pressure test how can you tell your fuel pump is going? I own a return Cougar and this car is also return.. I never had the fuel pump problems of the 2000 up Cougars that I've heard of so I have nothing to reference.. Wouldn't the car just stop running? I had a Saturn SC2 a few years back and I thought I ran outta gas as it just died, I was low - but definately not low enough to run out.. we added a can of gas and it was still dead.. towed it to the dealer and they said it was the fuel pump. Wouldn't the same deal apply to this car? It sputters like all hell and bucks when it misfires but when it does run good its smooth and has normal power.

One step at a time. Try the fuel filter first.

Goonz, I think you solved your problem, there is more power and a nice steady acceleration when all is well!