Spark Plug Problem Solved?
I woke up on the floor in the hallway. Apparently I woke up earlier, but what I was doing, I have no idea. I remember having dreams about trying to fix my Dodge Neon 2000. I figured it was as good of time as any to take a look at the engine of my car. I surfed the net to see if there was any help on how to replace spark plugs. There were a few places, but then I found one tutorial showing how to replace spark plugs with lots of step-by-step pictures similar to what my engine looked like.
It appears that I was heading in the rite direction earlier. It is just that I wasn’t looking deep enough. Down in each hole where the tubes (spark plug wires) came out of are the spark plugs. The wires from the tubes attach to something called the distributor cap. I started to get ready and went through my tools. I soon found out that I lacked an extension to reach down far enough.
I took the trip over to wal-mart and made sure I parked in an area with plenty of light. I picked up an extension set for ten dollars and also a gap measure. The book next to the spark plugs had two different gap measurements for my car. .35 and .40. I’m not sure what measurement to go with.
The short drive to the store left my engine very hot. I had to go through with it anyway. I replaced each spark plug one at a time. Once I got the first spark plug loose, I was confused as to how to get it out. I then figured that the tube might have some kind of clamping on it and pushed it down on the loose plug. Sure enough I felt the snap and was able to pull it out. The plug was hot and I had to grab it quick and throw it on the ground.
One of the middle plugs had a lot of oil on it. A seal somewhere down there must not be set rite. Another plug came loose, but I couldn’t get the tube to snap into it. I looked down and found that the top was setting against the wall of the shaft. I was able to put the socket back down there and line it up.
The last two plugs were very tight when trying to unscrew them. After I got them unscrewed, the socket came off of my extension. I continued to try and connect it back and pull it out, but it just kept coming off. I ended up tightening the plug ever so slightly and was able to pull the socket out with the extension.
So everything is replaced and I get in my car. I turn the key and the car isn’t shaking. I don’t hear any pops either. Oddly enough, the engine light is still on. I drive away listening carefully. I was excited that I could accelerate again. I could stop at a traffic light or stop sign and not have to worry about anything. That excitement was short-lived.
Half way home, I started hearing popping sounds (cylinder misfires) again. As I got closer to home, I heard them more often. Since the engine improved after I replaced the spark plugs, I’m thinking that I’m on the rite track. It could be a number of things now. I may need to set the gaps to .35 rather then .40. It could be that the spark plug wires themselves also need to be replaced. The seals might need to be replaced as well.
As long as the car keeps running, I can still make it into work. I don’t know if I’m damaging the car or not and I’m running out of cash. This adventure tonight came to about $40.
- Socket Set $20
- Socket Extension $10
- Gap Measurement $2
- Four Spark Plugs $8
The good news is that $32 of that is tools that I don’t need to purchase again.
I don’t know how accurate those engine-light scanner tools are. My guess is that it would just tell me that something is wrong with the ignition system, and it would be up to me to look over everything to find the problem. Of course, that is what I’m trying to do rite now. I’m clueless about cars, but at least I have the benefit of information and technology to help me along the way. I might be wrong about my current diagnosis of the problem, so the tool may be useful after all in finding a different problem.
I found some codes that would be helpful in determining what cylinder is causing problems if I had the tool and the problem is a cylinder misfire. Then I would just look at a specific spark plug, wire, and rubber seal rather then all of them.
P0300 Random/Multiple Cylinder Misfire Detected
P0301 Cylinder 1 Misfire Detected
P0302 Cylinder 2 Misfire Detected
P0303 Cylinder 3 Misfire Detected
P0304 Cylinder 4 Misfire Detected
P0305 Cylinder 5 Misfire Detected
P0306 Cylinder 6 Misfire Detected
P0307 Cylinder 7 Misfire Detected
P0308 Cylinder 8 Misfire Detected
P0309 Cylinder 9 Misfire Detected
P0311 Cylinder 11 Misfire Detected
P0312 Cylinder 12 Misfire Detected
Related items to the engine light:
ECM - Electronic Control Module
MIL - Malfunction Indication Light
DTC - Diagnostic Trouble Code
OBD II - On Board Diagnostics system version 2
Repair Information & OBDII Trouble Codes
The stored trouble code can be retrieved with the special scan tool by the technician. The code itself does not tell exactly what part to replace, it only gives a direction where to look for - the technician has to perform certain tests specific for each code to find the exact cause of the problem.