Strike 3 - Spark plug and wires question

[PhlatulentPhreddy]

Well here goes for 3 strikes. I have had several occassions where the car has misfired and I get the engine light flashing. It turned out that it was a misfire and I changed the plugs. Now I changed the wires and the other day (Thanksgiving Naturally) the car wouldn't start. On Friday morning I put a little pressure on the plug wires so they were contacting well. The car started up and the engine light stayed lit. The station said the code was a misfire and reset it. My question is thus: If this happens again how do I turn off the engine light? Will it go off of it's own accord or do I need to unplug battery or something else? Also this happens usually when it's raining or damp outside. It's happened to me 4 or 5 times over 5 years but not being a car freak I don't know whether it's a major or minor problem. Has anyone else experienced anything like this. Have NGK plugs (regulars) and OEM wiring. Any suggestions?

[PhlatulentPhreddy]

Thanks for all the help. You get what you pay for.

[mazdatech]

if this is a recurring problem and your tune up is in good condition and the motor is a sohc(not that the dohc wont have the same problem just not as often seen) and the car keeps coding the same cylinder ie.p0303 #3misfire Than i would reccomend checking your warrenty status if you have any coverage If no coverage than I recommend having a reputable shop perform a compression test and a leak down test to determine the integrity of your motor If it fails the test or tests than I would conclude that your cylinder haed needs to be removed and sent to a machine shop to be repaired

[civic16]

if your getting misfires it could be a lot of things plugs,wires,distibutor, dist rotor, dist cap lot best way to tell is when it misfires

[mazdatech]

can we clarify something here if this is on the accent forum i am assuming that it is an accent hmmmmm let me check nope no cap no rotor no distributor i reccomend giving correct advice rather than guessing so what year make and engine do you have? i dont see one listed in your info.

[twospirits]

In whos' profile? Both PhlatulentPhreddy and civic16 have models listed. maybe civic16 is referring to his vehicles' setup.

TS out

[mazdatech]

oops missed that you are right its a 2000 accent but like i said thier aint no cap rotor or dist on an accent but you are right civic must be telking about his setup. but anyone that says if you mix an oil in your car it will foam and seize the motor is obvisously missing on a few cylinders....

[PhlatulentPhreddy]

Thanks for the replies. I changed plugs and wires and all and it just seems that the wires sometimes get loose and that throws a misfire code. I'm gonna get a code reader so I don't have to bother the Sunoco guy every time this happens but hasn't happened in 5,000 miles so I think all is okay. Car is a good car have had for 5 years. Quirky though. The little things. Like the shifter cable breaking and having to wait 3 days for Hyundai to repair it and I told them to give me and oil change too and they charged me over $40 for the oil change. Doesn't give me that warm inside feeling if you know what I mean. It's kind of like I got over but I"m still waiting for the other shoe to drop since I've had a lot of silly problems with the car. None major though like retooling the cylinder heads thank God. Thanks for the replies people. Happy motoring.

[mazdatech]

Glad to hear it was not the worst case scenerio!