my car was running great monday night and tuesday morning i went to start it and it ran like crap. the check engine light came on, and the cat got very hot and started smoking. So i ran a odb2 scanner on it and it showed up a random cylinder misfire -P0300- code, I changed the plugs and the crankshaft sensor and it didn't help, i also disconnected the cat after the down pipe to see if it was plugged up, by looking in it, it looks good and it didn't run any different with it unhooked, I pulled the throttle body and cleaned the idle sensor, also removed the intake manifold and the valves looked good, i also removed the valve cover and the cams looked good, the timing chain is still tight and all the valves and retaining clips are in good shape, the motor has oil and fires right up but is misfiring very bad, any other ideas???? By the way its a 2003 cavalier with the ecotec, full exhaust, and aem cold air intake, no internal mods , any help would be great
It could be a whole bunch of things...
Inspect the following components:
The vacuum hoses and seals for splits, restrictions, and improper connections
The crankcase ventilation system for vacuum leaks
The PCM grounds for corrosion and loose connections
The exhaust system for restrictions
The fuel for contamination
The IC module for proper spark control
i couldnt find any loose ground wires, and the vac lines seem in good shape, how do i test the ic module?
check your fuel filter and not sure on the ecotec but to test the coil pack on the 95-2000 2.2,you need an ohmmeter and check the resistance between the primary terminals and the secondary on the underside of the coil according to the Chiltons manual
15.2@89mph 2.171 60ft. 9.830 1/8 R.I.P. "LULU"
i cant find a chiltons manual anywhere , i dont even know if they make one for the 03 ecotec
I bought mine off Ebay or look for a Haynes manual
15.2@89mph 2.171 60ft. 9.830 1/8 R.I.P. "LULU"
jared peshek wrote:i couldnt find any loose ground wires, and the vac lines seem in good shape, how do i test the ic module?
When my control module went out, which happened to be yesterday, I lost two cylinders. The car gave me issues cranking, but finally started afterwhich is sounded like a machine gun.
My first thought was a spark plug or plug wire... maybe even a clogged catalytic convertor because the resonator was glowing red from the heat after driving it home.
Driving it home was the fun part... 5,000 rpms to maintain 50mph on some of the small hills.
The check engine light started flashing immediately after cranking it and after turning it off and restarting it remained solid.
I had my brother in law check the computer to find that it threw the same code with a misfire on cylinders 2 and 3.
Had the dealership tow it in around 10:30am and was fixed by 11:45am today.
The hilarious part of it is... the car only has 19,700 miles on it.
________________________________________________________
You're no good to the group if you never make it there.
Bob wrote:When my control module went out, which happened to be yesterday, I lost two cylinders. The car gave me issues cranking, but finally started afterwhich is sounded like a machine gun.
My first thought was a spark plug or plug wire... maybe even a clogged catalytic convertor because the resonator was glowing red from the heat after driving it home.
Driving it home was the fun part... 5,000 rpms to maintain 50mph on some of the small hills.
The check engine light started flashing immediately after cranking it and after turning it off and restarting it remained solid.
I had my brother in law check the computer to find that it threw the same code with a misfire on cylinders 2 and 3.
Had the dealership tow it in around 10:30am and was fixed by 11:45am today.
The hilarious part of it is... the car only has 19,700 miles on it.
Bob, what control module are you speaking of? There seems to be many to choose from. If at all possible, could you list the part#. I'm having the same problem as the guy who started this thread.
Sounds like a bad cat to me... I've seen cars with low kms like that clog up the cat for no apparent reason.
"I count him braver who overcomes his
desires than him who conquers his enemies.
For the hardest victory is the victory over self." - Aristotle
Bobs talking about the ignition control module on the IDI cover... Whichs sounds like the problem.
What probably happen is your control module went out and is firing the plugs all in the wrong cylinders at the wrong time (or maybe not in some at all), thus causing the multi- misfire and the hot cat. The hot cat is due to too much fuel going into it that your cat cant handle. (I mean its only meant to burn off what the engine doesnt).
Hope it helps...
...They just HATE it when you ...POINT - LAUGH - then DRIVE OFF AND AWAY-!...
sound ignition related to me to
i have a 96 2.4 cav. I have the exact same symptoms as you guys are chatting about here. My cat is running hot, very noisy, loss of power, check engine like is flashing and the fan comes on. After spending $150 for a scan (which threw out PO300) , cylinder pressure test, exhaust test, transmission tests and control module test, the smart asses at midas came to the conclusion that i have bad fuel injectors. We even tested the spark plugs.
What do you guys think?
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The Chronicles of Dust
View the website and read the Novel.
http://dustnovel.webs.com
I would take a look at the coil packs, And wiring harness to them.
Well took it in to get the Fuel injector cleaning and the ride is the same. Runs abit smoother but after a while its back. So the only option left is to take apart the ICM and see what is wrong. I got the spark plugs out and i can see that cylinder 1 and 4 are wet and 2 and 3 are dry. The boots are fine and so is the small wires inside the boots. So that is not a problem. From what i can tell there is no power going to the spark plugs 1 and 4. If there was there would not be a miss fire. I have also noticed that the bleed cap from the cooling tank was left open. strange.
What should i look for when i take the ICM apart?
---------------------------------------------------------
The Chronicles of Dust
View the website and read the Novel.
http://dustnovel.webs.com
The ICM still sounds like the main problem.
The ignition coils (coil pack) are a good call too but it would be a strange that both 1&4 went at the same time
(again I could be wrong)
Theres really nothing to look for as for the ICM problem. When it goes bad, it goes bad. (its electrical, it can fry at any time). Just from what is being said, as in your description of the problem, it sounds like the ICM. The coil inside the boot can very well be any issue too. It acutally makes contact with the ignition coil and plug. If no contact, no spark.
Give'em a try and let us know whats going on.
Hope it helps...
...They just HATE it when you ...POINT - LAUGH - then DRIVE OFF AND AWAY-!...
I don't see where anybody has said to check the compression. GM (and other) are terrible about blowing head gaskets. Maybe you checked it and neglected to mention it?
I THINK I FOUND THE PROBLEM. Makes sense. The COIL #1 is the problem. Both my 1 and 4 cylinder is dead. By dead i mean its not getting any power. This means one thing, coil pack #1 is cracked thus allowing moisture to get in. The way it works is this:
Coil pack 1 takes care of cylinders 1 and 4 and coil pack #2 takes care of cylinders 2 and 3.
Just ordered the coil pack and will do an install in about 2 hours. I'll let you know how it goes.
---------------------------------------------------------
The Chronicles of Dust
View the website and read the Novel.
http://dustnovel.webs.com
PROBLEM SOLVED. My ride now works better then before. Whoowhooo.. So anyway, it was the Coil #1. That coil controls cylinders 1 and 4 but to be safe i changed both. Midas, Canadian Tire and GM Goodwrench are idiots. They wasted my time and money. It was people like you from this Forum that helped me get to the bottom of this. Many thanx....
im out
---------------------------------------------------------
The Chronicles of Dust
View the website and read the Novel.
http://dustnovel.webs.com
jared peshek wrote:my car was running great monday night and tuesday morning i went to start it and it ran like crap. the check engine light came on, and the cat got very hot and started smoking. So i ran a odb2 scanner on it and it showed up a random cylinder misfire -P0300- code, I changed the plugs and the crankshaft sensor and it didn't help, i also disconnected the cat after the down pipe to see if it was plugged up, by looking in it, it looks good and it didn't run any different with it unhooked, I pulled the throttle body and cleaned the idle sensor, also removed the intake manifold and the valves looked good, i also removed the valve cover and the cams looked good, the timing chain is still tight and all the valves and retaining clips are in good shape, the motor has oil and fires right up but is misfiring very bad, any other ideas???? By the way its a 2003 cavalier with the ecotec, full exhaust, and aem cold air intake, no internal mods , any help would be great
I had the same problem with a friend's 2003 Grand Am with the ecotec and I replaced the complete top cover which contains the coils and ICM and it was good as new. I got the replacement coil cover set from the wreckers for $60.
I just wanted to thank Bob, AllFlawless and Mr. Magnum you all saved me a ton of money and time THANK YOU!!!!
