Engine misfire

[glitch]

The engine warning light came on in my 2003 Focus this morning and having plugged it into a fault reader (or whatever you'd call it) the fault code seems to indicate that cylinders 2 and 3 are misfiring, so that presumably means there's a problem with the spark plugs, ignition leads, ignition coil or all of the above.

When it comes to replacements, there seems to be a massive difference in price on all the parts. The spark plugs range from £2 to £15 a piece and the ignition coil ranges from £26 to £55 depending on who makes it.

Is all this stuff much of a muchness or are there any brands/models to avoid like the plague?

 

[Firestar_3x]

Some Spark-plugs will last 10-12k and some will last 40 - 50k, so thats why you see a slight price difference.

With stuff like coilpacks, the cheap jobs tend to fail sooner, personally i'd only buy the proper ones.

Have you got coil on plug or have you got a single coil pack and HT leads?

 

[glitch]

Some Spark-plugs will last 10-12k and some will last 40 - 50k, so thats why you see a slight price difference.

Any brand recommendations?

With stuff like coilpacks, the cheap jobs tend to fail sooner, personally i'd only buy the proper ones.

Have you got coil on plug or have you got a single coil pack and HT leads?

It's a single pack and HT leads.

So presumably one of these and this or similar.

 

[Firestar_3x]

NGK plugs get good ratings and are cheap to change every 12k, i know its not the same car but i've been using them for ages and means you get fresh plugs every service. For example VW wanted £45 + VAT for a set of plugs.

 

[dalin80]

It will be the coil pack, change plenty of them. Might want to do the leads and spark plugs at the same time though as a poor spark can damage them.

 

[glitch]

NGK plugs get good ratings and are cheap to change every 12k, i know its not the same car but i've been using them for ages and means you get fresh plugs every service. For example VW wanted £45 + VAT for a set of plugs.

Sounds a sensible choice. Ta muchly.

It will be the coil pack, change plenty of them. Might want to do the leads and spark plugs at the same time though as a poor spark can damage them.

Any of these you'd particular recommend?

NB. Only reason I'm linking to ECP is I get their vans driving past my office almost hourly and know a couple of drivers so I can ask them to drop the bits off.

 

[dalin80]

We fit genuine ignition parts, had too many troubles over the years with 3rd party stuff.

 

[Overlag]

Did the car display any of these problems or are you just going by what the ecu says?

 

[glitch]

We fit genuine ignition parts, had too many troubles over the years with 3rd party stuff.

But surely someone makes the OEM stuff for the manufactures? So is there a more cost-effective option that plumping for OEM and potentially paying for the branded box?

Did the car display any of these problems or are you just going by what the ecu says?

I thought I'd included that in the OP, but it seems to have vanished while I was writing the rest of the text.

The car started chugging along like a traction engine and there was a noticeable vibration coming from the engine bay. Definitely felt like a cylinder or two wasn't firing and there was a noticeable smell of unburnt petrol coming from the exhaust.

 

[Overlag]

you didn't say the car showed any problems, just that the engine light came on, unless i missed it. Both my fiesta's have done this, and changing the plugs helped.

 

[VFR_KID]

You not be easier getting a spark plug tester and testing the HT leads and such first.

Try

http://www.ehow.com/how_2060386_test-spark-plugs.html

Or you could touch it if you feel really dumb