1999 Pontiac Firebird misfire

Tiny
FIREBIRD19_99
  • MEMBER
  • 1999 PONTIAC FIREBIRD
  • 6 CYL
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 116,000 MILES
They told me my car was misfiring on multiple cylinders and they told me it could be the injectors coils or the plugs and wires but I replace the plugs and wires last year so how do I know what is wrong. They misfires get worse at higher rpms if I keep them low the car feels fine until I step on the gas.
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 AT 1:42 PM

8 Replies

Tiny
TOOOMANYTOYS
  • MECHANIC
  • 513 POSTS
If the misfire occurs when engine is under a load. I would begin with checking the spark plugs and wires. Just because they were done last year doesnt mean they didnt arc out somewhere. A good way to check is to power brake the car while sparying water on the spark plug wires. If you an see them arcing or the miss gets worse, you have isolated the problem. Is the check engine light on?
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Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 AT 1:48 PM
Tiny
RASMATAZ
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Hi firebird19_99, Welcome to 2carpros and TY for the donation

Engine misfiring can be caused by the following, worn or fouled spark plugs, a weak spark (weak coil, bad spark plug wire), loss of compression, vacuum leaks, anything that causes an unusually lean fuel mixture (lean misfire), an EGR valve that is stuck open, dirty fuel injectors, low fuel pressure, or even bad fuel.
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Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 AT 1:50 PM
Tiny
FIREBIRD19_99
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How do you power brake the car?
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Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 AT 1:53 PM
Tiny
TOOOMANYTOYS
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You hold the brake pedal tightly, put the vehicle in drive and acceleate slightly to put a stationary load on the engine. You only want to do this for 20 seconds at a time to prevent transmission damage.
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Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 AT 7:47 PM
Tiny
FIREBIRD19_99
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  • 4 POSTS
Is there a way to check the coils and injectors?
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Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 AT 11:25 PM
Tiny
RASMATAZ
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You check the primary and secondary winding resistances of the coil and resistances of the injector solenoids.
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Wednesday, February 10th, 2010 AT 5:38 AM
Tiny
FIREBIRD19_99
  • MEMBER
  • 4 POSTS
Can I check the spark plugs by disconnecting each spark plug from the coil one at a time and see when the car runs smooth at idle; that way I know which ones bad?
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Wednesday, February 10th, 2010 AT 6:42 AM
Tiny
TOOOMANYTOYS
  • MECHANIC
  • 513 POSTS
Yes you can check it by doing that, but the car will run worse when a good cylinders is disconnected. It will run the same when you find the dead cylinder. Once you find which cylinder it is. You can then swap parts from one cylinder to another to see if the mis travels
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Wednesday, February 10th, 2010 AT 11:37 AM

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