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Old 01-10-2006, 06:42 PM   #1
Brupp
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Default CEL cylinder four misfire.

This has been a continuing problem for me and I was just looking for a little more advice on it. Everytime I go on a long road trip my check engine light comes on, and flashes from time to time. I've taken it in to have the code read and it always says cylinder four misfire. I've changed both plugs and wires. It appears that the CEL flashes when I am at around 3000 to 4000 rpms in fifth gear, and it seems to me that its usually when I let off the gas because I am going to fast or going down a hill. Also it's usually towards the later part of the road trip so the engine has been running for anywhere for 4 to 10 hours. My owners manual says that if the CEL is flashing then the misfire is happening right then, but I've tried accelerating while the CEL is flashing and can tell no difference than normal, the car picks up and accelerates just fine.I was just wondering if theres anything else I should do for this, or if maybe this is just a fluke.
Thanks so much for your help.
Bryan
98 outback
154,000 miles
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Old 01-10-2006, 06:57 PM   #2
Master2192
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Ok, you changed plugs and wires....

Have you checked the coil pack?
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Old 01-11-2006, 10:43 AM   #3
EastsideLegacy
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I had same problem and it was the timing.
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Old 01-11-2006, 12:36 PM   #4
Mike1967
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I had the same problem recently and it looks like it ended up being clogged fuel injectors.

I was getting a mis-fire code on 2 of my cylinders....I also had a rough idle that was very irritating.

I put in new Japanese plugs and installed new wires....but the problem did not go away.

I took it to a local oil change place and paid to have the injectors cleaned. My idle problem is gone and my check engine light went away. Car also has better acceleration.
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Old 01-11-2006, 04:36 PM   #5
kastkc
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Yeah, I would say injectors or Coil Pack. The only thing is when my coil failed, it was noticable. Cylinder #4 misfire.
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Old 01-11-2006, 04:44 PM   #6
SleepinCreppin02
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i know that the 2002 wrx gets cel lights when you replace the flywheel with a lighter one but if its a stock flywheel i dont know
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Old 01-11-2006, 04:56 PM   #7
Mike1967
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kastkc
Yeah, I would say injectors or Coil Pack. The only thing is when my coil failed, it was noticable. Cylinder #4 misfire.
That is a good point.

I would think that the engine would being running badly if it were the coil or a bad spark.

On my car I was able to fix the problem by having the Injector Service performed. But my engine still ran strong. I was getting a check engine light and a very very rough idle when stopped at a red light....but when I did not perceive any major issues when I had the accelerator engaged.
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Old 01-11-2006, 05:09 PM   #8
Hayes
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First try a bottle of Techron fuel system cleaner CONSENTRATE. Get the bottle for "up to 20 gallons and follow the instructions.
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Old 01-11-2006, 08:31 PM   #9
Patrick Olsen
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Master2192
Have you checked the coil pack?
There are only 2 coils in the coil pack, so 2 cylinders fire off each coil (once near TDC for the power stroke and once near TDC before the exhaust stroke). 1 & 2 fire together, and 3 & 4 fire together, so if the coil pack is the problem you'll normally see misfire codes for a pair of cylinders. The one exception would be if the problem was with the #4 terminal on the coil pack, which would obviously affect only that cylinder. kastkc, what was the problem with your coil pack?

With that in mind, Bryan, sometimes people say they can see their coil pack sparking to ground (through the spark plug boot) if they pop the hood in a good, dark location.

Another possibility, albeit one that's pretty unlikely, is a bad valve. You said this has been going on for a while - how long? I had an exhaust valve that apparently wasn't adjusted right, and over time it began to trigger a misfire code (due to very slight loss of compression in that cylinder), and then I could actually hear it as the valve started to get cut by the exhaust gasses. Eventually it burned through and the car sounded and performed like absolute crap, at which point I had to get it fixed. For the first few months, I kept getting the #2 misfire CEL light, but other than the CEL there was no noticeable effect on the car's performance. I even did 2 open track events with it that way. I tried replacing the coil pack (the dealer told me it wouldn't fix it, for exactly the reason I posted above, but I did it anyway) - no change.

The unfortunate thing is that it's tough to diagnose it - you'd have to get a compression test and leak-down test done (I say it's tough because it's not something most of us can do ourselves, and I hate to give my car to the dealer for anything). With as many as you've got, it wouldn't surprise me to see a mechanical issue beginning to develop.

Pat Olsen
'97 Legacy 2.5GT sedan
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Old 01-12-2006, 06:28 PM   #10
Brupp
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I have been getting the CEL with this code for about a year now, off and on. Originally I was getting terrible acceleration at low RPMS like if I went around a corner in second gear it would just stutter when I would attempt to accelerate, so I change the plugs and the CEL went away and it accelerated just fine....for a little while. Then again it started to stutter probably a month later so I changed the wires which temporarily fixed the problem again.
Since that time I haven't noticed the hesitation in acceleration, it is only there minimally I would say, which for the amount of miles I have is understandable.
How much does it cost to have the injector service done? Also is it any danger to the longevity of my cars life for me to drive it under these circumstances?
Thank you guys so much for your help, otherwise I would surely be lost on this and be forced to pay a bunch of money to a dealer or just go without the car being fixed. Hopefully this will give some more info on the problem. Thanks again.
Bryan
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Old 01-29-2006, 06:34 PM   #11
Brupp
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I finally got a few free moments, so I ran my car by shucks and borrowed their code reader to see what the problem codes are that are keeping my CEL on. I sat in my car as the computer performed the tests, and I saw the codes for cylinder 3 and 4 misfires pop up, after the test was completed. However, upon taking the computer back into the store to a clerk who had no idea what she was doing, she told me she only saw the cylinder three misfire code. I think that it really is both though, she just didn't know how it worked. I think this would narrow it down though to probably being the coil pack since both of those cylinders run off of the same coil. How hard is it to install a new coil pack and how much do they cost? If I can park in a dark place and see no spark does that mean the coil is bad? I will give that a try, any more info you guys can give me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much for your help.
Bryan
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Old 02-03-2006, 11:17 PM   #12
Brupp
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Default coil

How hard is it to change a coil pack? I'm pretty sure that is the problem, so thats the direction im headed. Thanks so much guys.
Bryan
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Old 02-04-2006, 10:16 AM   #13
Patrick Olsen
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It takes all of about 30sec. The coil pack is held onto the intake monifold with 4 10mm bolts, obviously the 4 spark plug wires are plugged into it, and then there's a wiring harness that goes over to the passenger side of the throttle body. Remove bolts, unplug wiring harness, remove plug wires from coil pack, then reverse to install the new one. Very simple.

Pat
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