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huge problem. three cylinders not firing

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Old Nov 22, 2010 | 07:47 AM
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Default huge problem. three cylinders not firing

here's what i got.
2006 touring. garrett twin turbo kit, rc 750 injectors. pistons rings. some head work. but besides all that. a month ago it was running fine. the cel came on and i ran the obd2 scan. gave me a p0300. so i got new 1 step colder iridium plugs. reset the cel and a week later it came back on but was flashing this time. i also noticed that it starts up fine, but if i shut the motor off and say 15-45 minutes later i try to start it up again it smells and sounds like my motors flooded.

so this is all the things ive done so far. checked the injectors, got them flow tested and cleaned. they were all good. the spark plugs are all new. thought it would be my ignition coils but i swapped all three passenger side coils with the drivers and no difference. this is how i found out that all three cylinders on the drivers side was not firing. i pulled each coil out one by one while the car was running. all three on the passenger side made the car run like crap. all three on the drivers side made no difference. even if i disconnected all three coils on the drivers side at the same time!. and like i said i swapped them and did the same check by pulling them while idling and same outcome.

please if anyone can help i would be very thankful. my friend that works at ford said it might be the camshaft position sensor. any suggestions?
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Old Nov 22, 2010 | 07:56 AM
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if the car smells of fuel it's an ignition issue, not a fuel issue in all liklihood

coils are quite prone to going bad after awhile, particularly on an FI setup give the extra heat (vented hoods help alot), however, if you swapped them side to side and still the same result, I would check the cam position sensor for that side (positioned on the head, directly below the valvecover, pretty much dead center of the head casting. It's a bit of a PIA to locate (has a bright yellow plug). Even something as simple as it getting wet, or the connector not making full contact can cause this. You may also want to check the wiring harnesses for the coils themselves and make sure they are working properly
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Old Nov 22, 2010 | 08:12 AM
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Originally Posted by Z1 Performance
if the car smells of fuel it's an ignition issue, not a fuel issue in all liklihood

coils are quite prone to going bad after awhile, particularly on an FI setup give the extra heat (vented hoods help alot), however, if you swapped them side to side and still the same result, I would check the cam position sensor for that side (positioned on the head, directly below the valvecover, pretty much dead center of the head casting. It's a bit of a PIA to locate (has a bright yellow plug). Even something as simple as it getting wet, or the connector not making full contact can cause this. You may also want to check the wiring harnesses for the coils themselves and make sure they are working properly
is the cam pos sensor fwd or aft of the engine? sorry forgot to mention that i had a coil tester light and all the coils are good. guess ill switch the camshaft position sensors and see if the problem goes to the other side. thanks for the reply.
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Old Nov 22, 2010 | 10:19 AM
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ok i dont think i can swap the camshaft position sensors around. they look different from another. the one on the drivers side has an angled connector. and the passenger side is straight. unless they are made that way for maintenance convenience. i have no idea so i dont want to mess with it. i also did a resistance check with both of them and they were identical. should i still just buy one for the drivers side?
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Old Nov 22, 2010 | 10:38 AM
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I think he meant to swap the coil packs from one side to the other, but if you tested them all and they are good, it most likely would rule this out.

What are you using for an EMS?
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Old Nov 22, 2010 | 10:41 AM
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the CPS is on the back side of the head, firewall side. They are different left to right so they can't be swapped (I think the plugs differ)

also, sounds stupid, but have you done any work related to the intake manifold lately?
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Old Nov 22, 2010 | 10:55 AM
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Originally Posted by Z1 Performance
the CPS is on the back side of the head, firewall side. They are different left to right so they can't be swapped (I think the plugs differ)

also, sounds stupid, but have you done any work related to the intake manifold lately?
no work was done to the intake manifold. but since both ohm readings were the same do you still think one could be bad?
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Old Nov 22, 2010 | 02:22 PM
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Originally Posted by ddc665350ztt
here's what i got.
2006 touring. garrett twin turbo kit, rc 750 injectors. pistons rings. some head work. but besides all that. a month ago it was running fine. the cel came on and i ran the obd2 scan. gave me a p0300. so i got new 1 step colder iridium plugs. reset the cel and a week later it came back on but was flashing this time. i also noticed that it starts up fine, but if i shut the motor off and say 15-45 minutes later i try to start it up again it smells and sounds like my motors flooded.

so this is all the things ive done so far. checked the injectors, got them flow tested and cleaned. they were all good. the spark plugs are all new. thought it would be my ignition coils but i swapped all three passenger side coils with the drivers and no difference. this is how i found out that all three cylinders on the drivers side was not firing. i pulled each coil out one by one while the car was running. all three on the passenger side made the car run like crap. all three on the drivers side made no difference. even if i disconnected all three coils on the drivers side at the same time!. and like i said i swapped them and did the same check by pulling them while idling and same outcome.

please if anyone can help i would be very thankful. my friend that works at ford said it might be the camshaft position sensor. any suggestions?

Anyone noticed this
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Old Nov 22, 2010 | 03:40 PM
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i forgot to mention, did a compression check and they're all good.
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Old Nov 23, 2010 | 05:00 AM
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mid - I did notice it, but nevertheless if the problem is new and hasn't been present before, it sounds like it is in something ignition related. That is why I asked if the plenum had recently been removed as sometimes those leaks can be tough to spot and can cause some funky misfires

As far as the ohm tests, there is a range that is acceptable, though I have not found it to always be reliable. I had coil issues back on my car about 2 years ago, and ended up having to replace them even though resistance readings were in spec. However if you tried to start the car with the coil 'loose' to look at the firing, it was very sporadic and not quick like it was supposed to be. Swapping them out for new ones solved it instantly.

Just to clarify, what was the result when you moved the driver side coils to the passenger side?
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Old Nov 23, 2010 | 02:53 PM
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Originally Posted by Z1 Performance
mid - I did notice it, but nevertheless if the problem is new and hasn't been present before, it sounds like it is in something ignition related. That is why I asked if the plenum had recently been removed as sometimes those leaks can be tough to spot and can cause some funky misfires

As far as the ohm tests, there is a range that is acceptable, though I have not found it to always be reliable. I had coil issues back on my car about 2 years ago, and ended up having to replace them even though resistance readings were in spec. However if you tried to start the car with the coil 'loose' to look at the firing, it was very sporadic and not quick like it was supposed to be. Swapping them out for new ones solved it instantly.

Just to clarify, what was the result when you moved the driver side coils to the passenger side?
the results were the same. the drivers side cylinders did not fire or make a difference when i pulled the coils or disconnected them when the engine was running.

im thinking about just buying the cam sensor and just changing it out. i dont know what else it could be. if thats not it, im just going to go with a stand alone system.

the ecu was reflashed a couple years back and hasn't given me any problems. but if the coils, plugs, and cam sensors are good. i would think it would come down to the ecu. any other suggestions?
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Old Nov 23, 2010 | 02:57 PM
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FYI- the ecu was reflashed by technosquare.
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Old Nov 24, 2010 | 05:26 AM
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a standalone system is not likely going to help, and they start at $6k, give or take - and they still fire the same coils and use the same harness that you're current ecu does.

I know on my car, when the cam sensor was bad, the car wouldn't start at all....it would simply crank. Same when my crank sensor went bad (all 3 sensors have now been replaced on mine, fairly common issue)

you need to figure out the root cause...get the factory service manual out and start going through it is the best suggestion I can offer at this point

Last edited by Z1 Performance; Nov 24, 2010 at 05:28 AM.
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Old Nov 24, 2010 | 04:47 PM
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What about the VTC sensor? Could that be the cause? I really don't know what it does but it looks like there's one for each bank.
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Old Nov 24, 2010 | 06:43 PM
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Through all this you are only getting a P0300. There are only a couple of reasons that one bank won't fire. Ground, cam, crank or some combination of those signals.

Scan for codes again, even if your CEL is off, you can have a stored code.
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Old Nov 24, 2010 | 09:43 PM
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Originally Posted by Sharif@Forged
Through all this you are only getting a P0300. There are only a couple of reasons that one bank won't fire. Ground, cam, crank or some combination of those signals.

Scan for codes again, even if your CEL is off, you can have a stored code.
i ran the scan two nights ago, last night and tonight. still just the same code p0300. engine light is on when i start the car and immediately blinks/flashes.
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Old Nov 25, 2010 | 09:28 AM
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I've never seen a VTC go bad fwiw - it's a very simple, mechanical device, triggered by oil pressure
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Old Dec 5, 2010 | 03:34 PM
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ok. i finally got a day off to work on my car. change the cam sensor out. but still, the cel blinks a couple seconds after startup. i reset the code. and it immediately came back on, blinking. p0300. same code as last time. some please help i want to drive her again.
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Old Dec 5, 2010 | 03:37 PM
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possibly a bad/clogged injector(s), check timing
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Old Dec 7, 2010 | 02:12 PM
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Originally Posted by Z1 Performance
possibly a bad/clogged injector(s), check timing
I already checked the injectors and they're all good. How do I check timing?
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