Help engine is sputtering

[crsh2]

My dad had my car for 3 days and looks like his been driving
it hard which i have not done cuz is only a month old to me.

This morning when i press to accelarate from traffic the
engine light came on, it was okay for about 2 mins and then
the idle became rough and the engine starts to sputter.

should i take to dealer or independent mechanic?
Or how much should i pay for them to give me the code from the
check engine light

please help

[SpEeDy230]

Hmmm.......I smell MAS

[Rocky]

The splutter is what we all call 'limp mode'. When thecar ttiggers the CEL, in most cases it make the car go into 'limp mode' until you turn off and restart ther car. Take the car in to get the codes pulled and repost the codes so that people can give you some direction, don't wanna see you get ripped off by the dealer.

[202rules]

Originally posted by Rocky
The splutter is what we all call 'limp mode'. When thecar ttiggers the CEL, in most cases it make the car go into 'limp mode' until you turn off and restart ther car. Take the car in to get the codes pulled and repost the codes so that people can give you some direction, don't wanna see you get ripped off by the dealer.

Man, my car just started doing this today too, a lont time ago, I had a missfire in my car that used to cause this, it also caused the car to make this big thump sound whenever it's rolling at say 20 mph and when I hit the gas to accelerate I get no responce until I hear this big thump sound (actually sounds like backfire).

Today this all came back again, I'm gonna get the error codes read sometime tonight.

Hey crsh2, don't pay money to get your error codes read, go to the nearest autozone, they'll read it for free.

[crsh2]

Originally posted by 202rules
Man, my car just started doing this today too, a lont time ago, I had a missfire in my car that used to cause this, it also caused the car to make this big thump sound whenever it's rolling at say 20 mph and when I hit the gas to accelerate I get no responce until I hear this big thump sound (actually sounds like backfire).

Today this all came back again, I'm gonna get the error codes read sometime tonight.

Hey crsh2, don't pay money to get your error codes read, go to the nearest autozone, they'll read it for free.

Went to some german mechanic shop and pull the codes for $65
P0300 engine misfire.

he recomended to change the plugs and all the coils $300

I then took the car to my cousin and it was the cyclinder #6 coil
is the culprit. when we pull the coil the engine idle stays the same and no sparks from the coil like it others.

He order the part will come it tommorow. I'll keep your updated
thank you again

[202rules]

Originally posted by crsh2
Went to some german mechanic shop and pull the codes for $65
P0300 engine misfire.

he recomended to change the plugs and all the coils $300

I then took the car to my cousin and it was the cyclinder #6 coil
is the culprit. when we pull the coil the engine idle stays the same and no sparks from the coil like it others.

He order the part will come it tommorow. I'll keep your updated
thank you again

That's the same thing that's happening to my car today man, a missfire in Cylinder #6, the spark plug is new and shouldn't do this.

So you had the car running while you were taking the plugs out? :confused:

Dang man, I'm gonna call my mechanic tomorrow and tell them I need a wire test, I hope I don't need to change the wiring harness :(

Hey by the way, do you ever get that sound I was talking about? It usually happens when I'm exiting a turn when I step on the gas.

Good luck with your car!

[crsh2]

Originally posted by 202rules
That's the same thing that's happening to my car today man, a missfire in Cylinder #6, the spark plug is new and shouldn't do this.

So you had the car running while you were taking the plugs out? :confused:

Dang man, I'm gonna call my mechanic tomorrow and tell them I need a wire test, I hope I don't need to change the wiring harness :(

Hey by the way, do you ever get that sound I was talking about? It usually happens when I'm exiting a turn when I step on the gas.

Good luck with your car!

No Sound. Just sputtering from 0-25mph other than that any other speed is not a problem at all.

took the coils out 1 by 1 while the engine is running. Each coil we took out seem to have an effect on the engine except #6

So to make sure its just the coil we took coil #2 and put it to cylinder#6 and coil #6 to cylinder #2.
Now cylinder #2 has no spark.

my Cousin was able to order the coil out of state and its suppost to come tommorow.

Heres the link importec.com i have order a couple or stuff from them and you get it in a couple of days.

http://catalog.eautopartscatalog.com/importec/wizard.jsp?partner=importec&clientid=importeccatalog.com&baseurl=http://www.importeccatalog.com/&cookieid=19C1BCFN1&year=1996&make=MB&model=C-280-001&category=F&part=Ignition+Coil

i'll post tommorow let you know how it work out.
please do the same

thanks

[202rules]

Originally posted by crsh2
No Sound. Just sputtering from 0-25mph other than that any other speed is not a problem at all.

took the coils out 1 by 1 while the engine is running. Each coil we took out seem to have an effect on the engine except #6

So to make sure its just the coil we took coil #2 and put it to cylinder#6 and coil #6 to cylinder #2.
Now cylinder #2 has no spark.

my Cousin was able to order the coil out of state and its suppost to come tommorow.

Heres the link importec.com i have order a couple or stuff from them and you get it in a couple of days.

http://catalog.eautopartscatalog.com/importec/wizard.jsp?partner=importec&clientid=importeccatalog.com&baseurl=http://www.importeccatalog.com/&cookieid=19C1BCFN1&year=1996&make=MB&model=C-280-001&category=F&part=Ignition+Coil

i'll post tommorow let you know how it work out.
please do the same

thanks

Thanks man, I'll try that too.

[Rocky]

It's prolly not the coil. The coil ends are a common problem with these motors cause they run hot. $10 bucks a piece you need 3. Change those first before you change the coil packs.

[crsh2]

Originally posted by Rocky
It's prolly not the coil. The coil ends are a common problem with these motors cause they run hot. $10 bucks a piece you need 3. Change those first before you change the coil packs.

It's Fix!!! :) Thanks for the advice on the on the coil end but it is the coil pack. I did wonder about the coil end but my cousin said
that the coil pack is what gives the conductivity and not the rubber end.


IT's all fix and im happy again..


202rules any luck with your car

to make sure its the coil pack switch the other ones arround and see.
you might wanna take Rocky's advice as well might be cheaper that way..

let us know the outcome pls

Thanks

[plod412]

:( Very interesting reading the thread guys. I have exactly the same problem as described by crsh2 i.e the backfire sound when accelerating. The question is I had a diagnostic test which indicated the Air Mass Meter as faulty - replaced it - still the same! I have since been told it might be the dreaded wiring harness? Surely a diagnostic test would have picked up a misfire?? Just seems strange that I have exactly the same syptoms? Just trying to find a solution that won't require a remortgage!
Thanks!
John Moore

[Rocky]

Originally posted by plod412
:( Very interesting reading the thread guys. I have exactly the same problem as described by crsh2 i.e the backfire sound when accelerating. The question is I had a diagnostic test which indicated the Air Mass Meter as faulty - replaced it - still the same! I have since been told it might be the dreaded wiring harness? Surely a diagnostic test would have picked up a misfire?? Just seems strange that I have exactly the same syptoms? Just trying to find a solution that won't require a remortgage!
Thanks!
John Moore

The wiring harness ties all the engine electrical together. A bad wire can set off any code that the wire is connected too. Just because the code was tripped does not mean that part is bad, it could be the wires crossing from losing it's insulation and causing faulty codes to show up.

[plod412]

THANKS FOR THE SWIFT REPLY. DO YOU THINK IT WOULD BE PRACTICAL/WORTHWHILE TO DO A PHYSICAL TRACE OF THE WIRING HARNESS CONNECTED TO THE AIR MASS METER? I APPRECIATE WHAT YOU ARE SAYING ABOUT THE WIRING HARNESS BUT SURELY A MISFIRE WOULD SHOW UP ON THE DIAGNOSTIC TEST?
CHEERS,
JOHN MOORE

[Rocky]

I don't understand your question about a misfire and diagnostic test.

Even if the car is not misfiring, a bad wiring harness can cause a misfire code to trip or any code as a matter of fact.

Put it this way, if the MAS was perfectly good, you could get a bad reading because of the wires.

Check the wires too see if the insulation has gone bad...and not just the MAS, the wires that go into the coils and stuff. The engine harness connects EVERYTHING not just the MAS.

A misfire can happen in quite a few places. Can be bad coil, coil ends etc.

[202rules]

Originally posted by Rocky
I don't understand your question about a misfire and diagnostic test.

Even if the car is not misfiring, a bad wiring harness can cause a misfire code to trip or any code as a matter of fact.

Put it this way, if the MAS was perfectly good, you could get a bad reading because of the wires.

Check the wires too see if the insulation has gone bad...and not just the MAS, the wires that go into the coils and stuff. The engine harness connects EVERYTHING not just the MAS.

A misfire can happen in quite a few places. Can be bad coil, coil ends etc.

I think he's saying that no missfire codes showed up in the diagnostic test, although I'm not quite sure what else could make the engine sputter, probably several things that a newbie like me doesn't know about :D

[crsh2]

Originally posted by plod412
:( Very interesting reading the thread guys. I have exactly the same problem as described by crsh2 i.e the backfire sound when accelerating. The question is I had a diagnostic test which indicated the Air Mass Meter as faulty - replaced it -
Thanks!
John Moore

Hello plod412 the first diagnosis i did was with an indepedant german mechanic and he plug a gadget in the right side of the
engine and the gadget had all sorts of LED's and i was looking at
the codes that pop up and diffenately said 1and 3 multiple engine misfire.
I then took it to my cousin he had nology OBD II and this diagnos said cyclinder #6 misfire but all also said Cloop air meter fault.
so he sprayed the MAS sensor with carburator cleaner just to be sure.

I Heard nology OBD II will give you exact problem even if its an
oxygen sensor.

Best of luck hope you find the problem cuz i sure hated how my car was idling a few days ago.


202rules how's your car?

Is it Fix?

[202rules]

Originally posted by crsh2

202rules how's your car?

Is it Fix? [/B]

I just nabbed an OBD II scanner from checkers (they'll let me keep it for a couple of days) and I swapped the coil ends of cylinders 6 and 2. But I couldn't get the missfire when I turned the car on, the thing is this problem will happen every day, but not necessarily every time I start the car.

So I'm gonna check the codes tomorrow when it starts doing it and see what cylinder missfires, if still 6, I'll swap the coils, if it's still 6, I'll check the spark plugs, if still missfires, then it's probably my wiring harness :(