Plugs/Wires

[Hungrycat7]

Hello All:

I am currently driving a 2000 SLE. It has been a great car but right now I am experiencing my first problem. When I reach an incline or want to accel quickly the car starts to putter out. If the incline is steep it becomes difficult to get the car above 45mph. This has been happening for about 10 days now. It seems to be worse in the morning and when it is raining. The Service Engine Soon light has only come on once. I was able to scan it before it turned itself off. It was a cylinder 1 misfire. The car is still struggling yet the light has not come back on. I checked for vacuum leaks and found nothing. My next step will be to replace the plugs and wires. I was hoping for some help as where and what I should be looking for. Also does anyone know where I can find a video or instructions for changing the plugs. I am mostly just worried about how I am going to get the rear plugs out and back in. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

P.S. Favorite plugs and wires for the SLE 3800?

[GTP Dad]

AC Delco plug wires are your best bet. Although most of the aftermarket wires will work well. You didn't say how many miles were on your vehicle but if it is more than 100K and you have the original wires they need to be changed along with the plugs. Stick with platinum plugs but stay with the single electrode plugs the dual and quad electrodes are just gimicks. Finally, to get to the rear plugs you can use a ratchet and a socket along with a universal that will allow it to move in various way. You shouldn't have any problems removing them just take your time.

I would also have the catalytic convertor checked as it could be plugging up and causing you issues with trying to climb hills. It chokes off the engine and will cause you to lose power.

Last but not least since you are removing the plugs anyway I suggest a compression check to make sure everything is good internally. You can rent a compression tester from a local parts store for a few dollars.

[Hungrycat7]

Thank you for the advice. . . The car is about to turn over 80K miles. Tomorrow will be my first day off in a while so I will be changing the plugs and wires. I will check the compression as well. Is it possible to test the fuel injectors?

[GTP Dad]

Change the plugs and wires for now and see if the car runs better. This will eliminate them as an issue. If the misfires continue then we can work on fuel flow from the injectors later. One thing to check is to see if the plugs are wet or very white when they are removed. That will indicate the condition of the fuel system either lean or rich.

[bsansa]

I had the same problem. Put a set of NGK TR55 plugs and NAPA Belden wires in and problem all gone.

[Hungrycat7]

Well I will be doing the plugs and wires on Wednesday so hopefully that will help the problem. Now that the rain has stopped and the weather has warmed up the problem seems to have solved itself. Bonnie just decides to malfunction whenever she feels like.

[Hungrycat7]

Well, plugs/wires have been changed. Ran a bottle of fuel injector cleaner through, replaced the air filter and fuel filter. Bonnie is certainly running much better but I am still experiencing the same problem. I am now beginning to think I have a transmission issue and I was hoping to get some feed back. Car accelerates just fine from a stopped position with no problems. If I am above 30mph and hit an incline everything is fine until I try to accelerate up the hill. The car feels like it is missing. This has been happening for almost a month and I have only gotten one Service Engine light. It was on for about 20 minutes, scanned it, cylinder 1 misfire. The light turned itself off and has not come back on since. The most recent thing I have noticed is upon hard acceleration. On the interstate and trying to squeeze in somewhere, hammer the gas. Every thing is fine at first but if I stay on it she will not shift. The tach just stays right below 6000. Once I get off the gas, the car shifts back into Overdrive and acts normal. Sorry for the long message but I am lost at this point. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

P.S. The car shifts perfectly under normal driving conditions. (IE: flat straight surface with no hard accelerating.)

[procaddytech]

Sounds excactly like restricted catalytic converter symptoms.

[Hungrycat7]

Well that is good news. . . I was starting to worry that I may have some transmission problems. I will be checking the catalytic converter on Wednesday. I will be keeping my fingers crossed. Thank you for the advice

[Hungrycat7]

I have finally solved the problem. Had the 2/4 Coil arching. Thank you for the advice everyone.