P0304? or a sign of a bigger problem?
jadecker
10-20-2006, 04:04 PM
Hi everyone,
I have a 2002 3.1 V6 Malibu. It has been working fine up until Thursday morning when my car just refused to start. It cranks but does not start. First I thought it had to do with the theft deterrent that disables the fuel injectors. I did according to what the owner’s manual says and switched it to the “ON” position for 10 minutes until the “Theft” light turns off. I did that and still no change, car did not start. I left the car alone for about 4 hours, came back to it and I tried it one more time and the engine cranked about five times and the engine started. I stopped and restarted the engine several times and the engine started every time. I think that ruled out the theft system. I restarted the car several times through out the day and started with no problem each and every time. Although when I throttle the engine I could hear a ticking sound in the engine that was not there before. When I would accelerate and let go of the gas pedal the engine sound more like a diesel engine making a clacking sound. This morning I decided to take the car and when I started the “Check Engine” light came on. Up until this point the car never had a DTC, diagnostic trouble code. I took it to Autozone to have the code read and on the way there the car seemed to shake a lot like it was misfiring. Well the guy hooked it up to the machine and it cranked out P0304, misfiring in cylinder #4. This explains the idol roughness. I decided to change the plug to see what happened. I did change all the spark plugs with new ones about 5K miles ago so they should still be good. Can this cause the car to not to start? Or is this a sign of an ignition coil, or module going bad? I did picked up a new plug and see how it goes. Any suggestions greatly appriciated.
I have a 2002 3.1 V6 Malibu. It has been working fine up until Thursday morning when my car just refused to start. It cranks but does not start. First I thought it had to do with the theft deterrent that disables the fuel injectors. I did according to what the owner’s manual says and switched it to the “ON” position for 10 minutes until the “Theft” light turns off. I did that and still no change, car did not start. I left the car alone for about 4 hours, came back to it and I tried it one more time and the engine cranked about five times and the engine started. I stopped and restarted the engine several times and the engine started every time. I think that ruled out the theft system. I restarted the car several times through out the day and started with no problem each and every time. Although when I throttle the engine I could hear a ticking sound in the engine that was not there before. When I would accelerate and let go of the gas pedal the engine sound more like a diesel engine making a clacking sound. This morning I decided to take the car and when I started the “Check Engine” light came on. Up until this point the car never had a DTC, diagnostic trouble code. I took it to Autozone to have the code read and on the way there the car seemed to shake a lot like it was misfiring. Well the guy hooked it up to the machine and it cranked out P0304, misfiring in cylinder #4. This explains the idol roughness. I decided to change the plug to see what happened. I did change all the spark plugs with new ones about 5K miles ago so they should still be good. Can this cause the car to not to start? Or is this a sign of an ignition coil, or module going bad? I did picked up a new plug and see how it goes. Any suggestions greatly appriciated.
Blue Bowtie
10-20-2006, 06:09 PM
IT could be due to any of several things, either ignition, fuel, or compression related. Since you are looking at #4 (the middle one in the front) it would be easy enough pull the plug for a quick inspection and gap check. Take a good look at the plug wire while you're there.
jadecker
10-22-2006, 10:33 PM
Today I replaced the spark plug on cylinder 4 with a new one and the car started right up. The check engine light came on for about 2 seconds after starting up and turned right off. Light never came on again. Ran the car that day and the engine light never came one. I don't know sounds too easy. I'll keep an eye on it and see what happnes.
tractorboy
10-24-2006, 04:48 PM
what kind of plugs did you get,,, i would only use DELCO and i would recommend replacing ALL the wires also. If they are the IR plugs you have to be carefull of the center elctrode, it will crumble really easily.
jadecker
10-24-2006, 05:42 PM
Hi and thanks for your response. I just bought the cheapest Champion plugs Autozone had. I'll get the number or type I got. I should i've gotten the acdelco platnium? At this point I think the car has ran about 5k since the plug change back in july.
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