I had misfires tonight. Turned the car off for a few minutes, turned it back on a few times, and eventually it started up and ran fine. Also, had the windows down and smelled something, but couldnt describe it. Like an oily exhaust - but thats not it either.

So, the car finally started smoothly and drove fine. Got home and vagcom'd it:

p0420 (bank 1 under efficiency - somewhat routine - happens every few days. I believe it is related to an after-market CAT that the previous owner installed. Already replaced the pre-cat o2 sensor).
P0322 (engine speed sensor. The car didnt start the other day, started fine on the second try. this is happened several times and I'll definitely clean or replace the engine speed sensor)
p0300
p0302

So - my immediate plan of action is:

1. check plugs to make sure they are dry and gapped correctly. I might replace them - but I checked the plugs (with a mechanic) 2 weeks ago and he said they looked fine.

2. Not sure how much work it is to move a coilpack - but trading coilpacks from cylinder 2 and 3 seems like a good idea.

By the way - how tight do you tighten spark plugs? Someone told me finger tight plus a quarter turn. does that seem right? (I do have a spark plug socket and 12" extension).

Am I missing anything obvious at this stage?

By the way, two past incidents that might be relevant:

1. had to replace the oil funnel boot 2 weeks ago. It's possible that some crumbs of plastic fell down into the oil. Changed it - but still vaguely worried.

2. The first night that I had the car (early March), the engine misfired. Took it back to the salesman on Monday morning. It was running fine. He checked the codes (I didn't know about vagcom yet) and told me it was the plug on cylinder 2. He took out the plug, cleaned it and told me to let him know if it happened again. It's been running good ever since.

I'm not really worried yet - but help/advice would be appreciated!

Thanks!

 

bumpo

 

Yeah, sounds like you got it. Swap the coil packs around to see if the misfire moves (very little work, remove the engine cover with the 3 screws and they are the thing that sits ontop of the plug, swap the connection too obviously), if that doesnt make them shift, then swap the plugs. That might be a little loose for torque, what would be ideal is to look up the torque specifications and use a torque wrench on the plugs, you dont wanna overtighten them on an aluminum block, thats for sure. I clear the code and see if the engine speed sensor comes back. That below efficiency could also be a result of the misfires. The oil funnel isnt related.

 

Make sure that after you get it running correctly that you clear the codes...that created a problem for me in the past.

 

Thanks guys. I already logged and cleared the codes. (I wish vagcom would log the mileage! Also wish it formated the data a little differently.)

CEL has not come back on, but I had to try twice to start the car today (no CEL, but the EPC came on for the next cycle/trip), so I suspect that I'll find a p0322 next time I vagcom it. Also, the car stalled (for the first time in my experience) tonight. AC was on full, I was totally stopped, preparing to make a sharp left turn, and had the wheels turned pretty far. Again, no CEL and (to my surprise) no EPC when I turned the car on again.

I'll vagcom it in the morning. I kind of wish our cars would keep a count of how many times each error has occured. It would be nice to know if I have 1 or 2 P0322 errors. (If I have 2, then the second was from the stall).

Thanks

 

If you go to measuring blocks with your VAG, you can find a misfire count for each individual cylinder real time; that way you can see if its missing before it throws a code. The stalling would probably be related to the engine speed sensor if anything, not really the misfires.

 

OK. Found and cleared the P0322 code.
switched coil packs between cylinders 2 and 3.
After a short stop at the mall, I got more flashing check engines. I had the computer with me, vagcomed it, and found p0300 and p0302.

So - switched plugs between 2 and 1. Also, while I was at it, I checked the gap. Cylinder 2 was a bit wide at .048 (more or less), and cylinder 1 was around .042.

Regapped them both to .032 and we'll see what happens. To the best of my knowledge the car is stock. (maybe an after market CAT or turbo, but no chipping or other enhancements).

Of course, various people have had success with various gaps, so this might not have solved my problem - but time will tell.

Thoughts? advice?

 

dude, your issue i can almost guarantee is your speed sensor, change that and everything else should be fine


second, why would someone change the turbo(upgrade) but not reflash the ecu? do you have a boost guage? most people won't even yank the cat for a t/p unless they tune the car



you need to learn more about your car, and if you don't have a boost guage that is the first thing you need

 

replace engine speed sensor first, then clear the codes and see if the misfires continue, if they do it looks like coil pack since the code moved to a different cylinder, right?

 

.48? Holy crap dude....thats alotta gap. Are you chipped?