100K miles check engine light came on
02-08-2018, 04:38 AM
#1
Thread Starter
100K miles check engine light came on
A question for those who have racked up the mileage on their S2000's and maybe even for those who have not.
The check engine light came on a while ago. Misfire #2 cylinder. Car was running fine though. Rick had already planned on some maintenance at 100K so he had the shop tech change out the plugs and I think a coil pack, whatever that is? Next up, the idle air throttle control (or whatever it is called) acted up again. In the past he was able to free it, (Thanks Emil for that info) this time he decided to just replace it. When this happened in the past, as long as the revs were up, it wasn't a real issue though it did need attention ASAP. He ordered the part which was coming in the next day. Drove the car home at night and it was not running well at all. Check engine light came on. We had the car towed to his shop. He had the part replaced, code cleared/re-set and car runs fine. Check engine light came back on.
I did find a long drawn out thread on the forum about CEL. I think next up is to switch out the igniter (spelling?) from one cylinder to the other, and it's likely time for a valve adjustment. The car has had a slightly rough idle, for a while. Just wondered if any of you with the high mileage vehicles have other suggestions?
The check engine light came on a while ago. Misfire #2 cylinder. Car was running fine though. Rick had already planned on some maintenance at 100K so he had the shop tech change out the plugs and I think a coil pack, whatever that is? Next up, the idle air throttle control (or whatever it is called) acted up again. In the past he was able to free it, (Thanks Emil for that info) this time he decided to just replace it. When this happened in the past, as long as the revs were up, it wasn't a real issue though it did need attention ASAP. He ordered the part which was coming in the next day. Drove the car home at night and it was not running well at all. Check engine light came on. We had the car towed to his shop. He had the part replaced, code cleared/re-set and car runs fine. Check engine light came back on.
I did find a long drawn out thread on the forum about CEL. I think next up is to switch out the igniter (spelling?) from one cylinder to the other, and it's likely time for a valve adjustment. The car has had a slightly rough idle, for a while. Just wondered if any of you with the high mileage vehicles have other suggestions?
02-08-2018, 04:50 AM
#2
There is a litany of things under CEL.
First off before swapping parts you have to read the CEL codes and follow their guidance.
You can spend an inordinate amount of money swapping in parts before you hit the underlying problem.
First off before swapping parts you have to read the CEL codes and follow their guidance.
You can spend an inordinate amount of money swapping in parts before you hit the underlying problem.
02-08-2018, 05:04 AM
#3
Thread Starter
Given the mileage, it was time for some of those new parts anyway. This was the third time the idle throttle thing acted up. Wasn't wasting time "freeing" it up. It had not caused a CEL the last two times, so it may be unrelated to the issue. I'm sure Rick will look into the code guidance, we aren't into tossing money away by parts replacement either...
02-08-2018, 05:11 AM
#4
First,tell Rick to read the cell code,to find out,wich cylinder is misfiring.Then,he can start switching coilpack,from this cylinder,to another good one.I would change all four coilpacks.( 100 k.miles )
Plugs have been changed,so,rule that out.
Plugs have been changed,so,rule that out.
02-08-2018, 05:28 AM
#5
Thread Starter
Thanks!
02-08-2018, 05:48 AM
#6
My misfire problem ended up as a bad fuel injector.
Even sending it out to be cleaned (sent all 4), did no good.
Had to replace the fuel injector.
Way to test it to see if it is the injector, pull the injector and move it to a different cylinder. See if the code follows it. Takes maybe 20 minutes to pull the fuel rail and swap the #2 cylinder injector to a different cylinder.
Same can be done with the coil pack for the cylinder misfiring.
Since both the coil pack and fuel injector are somewhat expensive, find out which it is before starting to replace parts.
Even sending it out to be cleaned (sent all 4), did no good.
Had to replace the fuel injector.
Way to test it to see if it is the injector, pull the injector and move it to a different cylinder. See if the code follows it. Takes maybe 20 minutes to pull the fuel rail and swap the #2 cylinder injector to a different cylinder.
Same can be done with the coil pack for the cylinder misfiring.
Since both the coil pack and fuel injector are somewhat expensive, find out which it is before starting to replace parts.
02-08-2018, 06:10 AM
#7
Just a tip. A CEL tells you only what the car THINKS is out of whack. It never tells you exactly what is wrong with the car. Some proper troubleshooting is what tells you that. Part swapping due to a CEL is generally the most expensive way to try to fix an issue. 100k is definitely not time to expect to swap coil packs. I have cars with 270,000 miles on stock coils. My S2k is at 135,000 on stock coils. To be honest, none of my Japanese cars needed any parts replaced at 100,000 miles besides wear/maintenance items, and I own 4. I have not replaced coils on any of them.
The recommendation to swap other coils to that cylinder is a good one to see if that makes a difference. If not, I would not change the coil packs, no reason to. I believe on the S, like many other cars, it uses the signal from the crank position sensor to tell if there is a misfire (crank slows down for an instant). Being always on the same cylinder, that may not be it.
Injector would be another item to look at.
If you cannot find anything wrong with spark or fuel, then look at compression. A head gasket, head or valve can cause the same issue.
Are there any other codes set at all along with the misfire code? If so, what are the actual codes (the number) ?
The recommendation to swap other coils to that cylinder is a good one to see if that makes a difference. If not, I would not change the coil packs, no reason to. I believe on the S, like many other cars, it uses the signal from the crank position sensor to tell if there is a misfire (crank slows down for an instant). Being always on the same cylinder, that may not be it.
Injector would be another item to look at.
If you cannot find anything wrong with spark or fuel, then look at compression. A head gasket, head or valve can cause the same issue.
Are there any other codes set at all along with the misfire code? If so, what are the actual codes (the number) ?
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02-08-2018, 06:46 AM
#8
Thread Starter
Thanks for the suggestions. I said ignitor, I may have meant injector....I also might not have relayed info correctly, I'm a girl. 
Any and all suggestions are appreciated. I don't believe there were any other codes in addition to the misfire, and I don't know the actual code #. Rick might.
Any and all suggestions are appreciated. I don't believe there were any other codes in addition to the misfire, and I don't know the actual code #. Rick might.
02-08-2018, 08:55 AM
#10
Thread Starter