Cant figure this out, ignition coil? plug wires?

[jerseybrewing]

Hi all,
I am at wits end on this one, hoping this forum can help before I resort to taking it to the dealer (off warranty too!), gulp

I have a 2003 dream cruiser.

My car started stuttering a few weeks ago for no apparent reason when driving, could only limp home and had to keep my car at a few specific speeds to keep the engine from shaking badly, like a really bad wheel alignment.

I checked the error code, had a p300, p304, and p351. All pointed to a cylinder failure in #4, likely needed a new ignition coil.
I replaced the plugs and wires, problem went away for 2 days, then happened again. replaced the plug and it was ok for a day.

I replaced the ignition coil, was ok for a day, started again!

Now after my car engine gets warm, seems to happen randomly. If I shut the car off for a second and restart, it will go away even when the engine is hot, but never for more than 5-10 mins then starts again.

If it were a bad coil, it should always misfire I would think? I am not a mechanic, just trying my best to take care of my PT. No oil on the plug, either when I take it out.

Any thoughts on what it could be?
Thanks in advance
John

[coco1476]

Hi and welcome to the forum

I've had the same problem on my PT...just like you, i changed the plug and wires 3 times, air filter, check for bad connections in the electrical area and like you, the car was running good for a couple of days and then it started again, i have a 04 cruiser na with 95000 kms and i had it for a year now and it still the same, i tried asking questions on this forum and never got a reply that could fix the problem. Realy hope you'll get good help, and i'll keep watching your post to see if you get lucky and this way... i'll get lucky to
Good luck to you.

[CREWZIN]

Don't know if this will help you guys but I found this on PT Do-It-Yourself.net ..........

I have a 2001 LE PT with 14ok miles. Prior to the current issue (about 2 months ago) I changed the plugs, wires and ignition control. This seemed to stop all the problems we had at that time. Yesterday while driving at 40mph in the city, the car seemed to lose all of its get up and go. It just lost power all of a sudden; I thought we were going to stall right in the middle of traffic. I pressed the gas pedal to the floor and kept it there. Eventually the car seemed to respond. When we stopped at a traffic light it seemed to run a little rough, but later that also smoothed out. The same loss of power happened again later that night and my wife experienced the same problem the next day on her way to work. We stopped at Auto Zone and had them check the codes which were P0351, P0401, P0300 and P0420. – Ronald, from Missouri.

You have a variety of faults occurring at the same time. I suspect that at least two are related however without physical access to the vehicle and additional troubleshooting with a DRB scan tool and diagnostic manual that is only a guess. For instance, a P0300 and P0351 DTC can be caused by an EGR issue (P0401).

P0401 - EGR System Failure - Required change in air/fuel ration not detected during diagnostic test.

P0300 - Multiple Cylinder Misfire

P0351 - Ignition Coil Primary # 1 Circuit - Peak primary circuit current not achieved with maximum dwell time. Possible causes include:

Ignition Coil
ASD Relay Output Circuit
Ignition Coil Driver Circuit Open
Coil Control Circuit Shorted To Ground
PCM

P0420 - 1/1 Catalytic Converter Efficiency - Catalyst 1/1 efficiency below required level. (This fault can also occur when you have a new upstream 02 sensor and a aging downstream sensor.)

Additional troubleshooting will be required to isolate the issue.

[quicksilverdon]

You might have an intake manifold leak. When it's acting up, spray WD-40 along the intake manifold seam near # 4 - if it smooths out, you need a new intake gasket.

[jerseybrewing]

It was a wiring problem, coil and spark plugs/plug wires were fine. Cost about $300 to get fixed at my mechanic, mostly to figure it out.

[VanillaGT]

I had a similar problem but no diagnostic codes. At higher rpm my PT would stutter. And the check engine light came on with no codes. I found the problem and she is screamin again. Three of the plug wires had corrosion inside the plug wires at the coil, bad. Also, the terminal ends on the ignition coil were rusted. This solved my problem. I have never seen rust inside a terminal boot, unless its been underwater. Im pretty sure that my PT has never been submerged (although it does resemble a bathtub)

[CREWZIN]

Originally Posted by VanillaGT

Three of the plug wires had corrosion inside the plug wires at the coil, bad. Also, the terminal ends on the ignition coil were rusted.

This is the EXACT reason we tell everyone that comes to the forum to put dielectric grease on both ends of the spark plug wires. Not only does it help make good contact but also stops moisture from getting inside and creating rust.

We also tell everyone to use Anti-seize on all the threads of each plug so months/years later they will come out without any problems. Metal plugs and aluminum heads tend to mate together after a period of time. Not good.

[Reaves]

I have a 2001 pt limited and I was having the same problem. But what I need to know is what a HZ test is and how you perform it and how to do the Duty cycle test.

[CREWZIN]

Reaves,

I may be missing something here (had a long work day) but I read over all the posts and where does it mention an HZ and Duty Cycle test?

[Reaves]

My shop teacher told me about it. But I think he was a little on his paint thinner.He has been sniffing to much of it. But i figured out the problem it is that the pcm isnt running the driver to the coil on ignition wire #2 which controls plugs number 2 and 3.