Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting plug wires??

Hi all,

My car is giving me a lot of hesitation while accelerating through the lower RPM's (before secondary valves open). I had it into the dealer this morning and they just informed me that I need a new set of plug wires--the wires are arcing out. They said they didn't detect the hesitation when they drove it (not surprising)...but has anyone had this problem? They told me how much they wanted to replace them there and I said "no thanks". Recommendations? On there now I've got the "Double Silicone" wires from Autozone, went on about 40k miles ago....seems like I could do better. I don't necessarily care to spend crazy cash on super duper shielded high performance stuff...just want a good set of wires that isn't going to sting my wallet too bad.

Any ideas?
Thanks,
Steve

although I have a zetec I had this problem just a few months ago. one day I started getting alot of hesitation, or sputtering when trying to rev the engine. new plug wires fixed the problem. I beleive most people get the Ford motorsport 9mm wires, there was something about them being about $40 from someone, but I don't recall

You can get the ford motorsport wires for about $50 which is about the same as the AZ double silicones IIRC. The ford motorsports are 8mm so the covers wont fit back on the wire looms. (But show need covers?) They are built really well and will probably last 100K!
Try http://www.bat.com or other places on the web.

my ford wires are 9mm (zetec) check out www.batinc.net not ww www.batinc.net not www.bat.com (unless you think your car will run better with some fresh tobacco).

Well I swapped out the wires--no change. Better way to describe the problem...in any gear, accelerating through the lower (<3400) RPM range (easiest to detect in 4th gear, around 2000-2500), it almost feels like the car is bucking--erratic hesitation & studdering. As soon as it hits 3400 it smooths out and takes off. Why is it that mechanics can't seem to verify 90% of the problems I bring my car in for?

And what the heck is wrong with my car??

has the fuel filter replaced recently? that could possibly be the problem. Does it seem to get better/worse depending on the amount of fuel you have? If so, fuel pump could be a possibility.

-neal

Might be running rich prior to the secondaries opening and/or the plugs are marginal. I would check all the intake hoses for leaks and clean up the TB and EGR passages behind the TB if it hasn't been done. How are the fuel and air filters?

Have you considered the Throttle Position Senson? It is cheap to replace.

I have one on order for my 95 V6 ATX that has been having problems like this for many months. I have replaced the plugs, wires, coil pack and oxygen sensors, checked the EGR system and verified it being clean and functioning. The problem always goes away (for up to two weeks) and then always comes back again.

I will fill this forum in on whether this works or not but my theory is that the TPS can read incorrectly making the engine think the car is decelerating instead of accelerating. This would mean the engine is leaned out instead of getting more gas.

I guess it could also be the wiring. Hopefully not.

- Randall

im in the same boat- I was told that I need a new fuel pump - I said ok but well hold off a bit- I dont have the cash on hand to fix it-
but mines the very same way - almost like its down a cylinder or two below the secondaries right?

I have had this same problem for over a year now, and have replaced coil, plugs, and wires to no avail. But today...I think I have solved the problem.

I pulled the wire to the MAF sensor, on the recommendation of a friend and wise technician, on the suggestion that the mixture patterns that are learned by the car may be skewed if the MAF has gone bad. This can lean-out the mixture at lower RPMs and richen the mixture at higher RPMs. This seemed to explain my low RPM missing and hesitation, as well as my sub-par fuel economy around town. I don't pretend to understand how the stuff works, but it made sense to me.

Anyway, went to my car this morning and unplugged the MAF (this is supposed to default to a preset mixture program based on RPMs, not on the learned behavior). It worked! No more hesitation. So, I am going to try to clean out the MAF tonight. If that doesn't work, I'll pick up a new one.

Hope this helps!

PS: This also explains why the problem went away temorarily every time I worked on my car. Disconnecting the battery clears the memory for the mixture program. After a short while, the car would learn the bad mixture patterns again, and start the problem up again.