2001 Taurus PO301 problem

[rsk412]

I really hope you guys/girls can help. My 2001 Taurus (just under 100K miles) is chugging when it tries to accelerate up hills. I've changed the air filter, PCV valve and had my brother change the fuel filter, plugs, and wires. It's still giving me problems. It also idles rough when I first turn it on and sometimes at stop lights. Before I had my brother change the plugs and wires I had the codes checked and Advance Auto Parts said it was a PO301...Cylinder 1 missfire. My brother cleared the codes (disconnected the battery) after he changed the plugs and wires, but it came back on several days later. Same PO301 code. Up until this point, the money I've been spending has been routine maintenance issues that needed to be addressed, but now I'm at a point that I'm looking at replacing parts that don't get replaced unless there's a problem and I don't want to just randomly buy a lot of parts. I've had a few people suggest replacing the ignition coil, but someone else told me that's probably not it...that I should replace the distributor cap and rotor button. I've heard of a distributor cap, but not a rotor button.

Anyway, can anyone help??

[mwt878991]

It doesnt have a cap and rotor.

I would go back thru it and make sure everything is on correctly. Plug wires sometimes don't get seated all the way when they are installed.

It sounds like a bad coil pack to me.

Mike

[rsk412]

Mike,
Is a coil pack the same thing as the ignition coil? That's probably a stupid question, but I want to make sure.

Thanks for your help!
Becky

[shorod]

Older cars, such as those with a distributor cap and rotor, had one coil to fire all spark plugs. Later designs incorporated one coil per every two cylinders. Both cylinders on the same coil would fire at the same time, one cylinder on the power stroke, one on the exhaust stroke. Since there was one coil per two clinders, multiple coils were assembled into a "coil pack." Your V-6 engine will have a coil pack consisting of three coils.

I would generally expect that if you are getting a P0301, you would also get a code for a second cylinder, maybe P0305, if you have a faulty coil pack. The code won't get set for a single misfire, multiple misfires over a short duration would need to be experienced, therefore I'd expect the paired cylinder to also have a misfire code.

I would suggest starting by making sure quality spark plug wires were used and the connections at both ends of the wires are clean and secure, starting with cylinder #1. While inspecting the wire, you may as well remove the spark plug and inspect it as well. Note the appearance of the plug. The misfire could be caused by no spark, low compression, or improper air/fuel ratio.

-Rod

[brokenantimatter]

What engine?

Ford standarized coil on plug for the duratec in 2000?

Anyways the misfire could be caused by improper exhaust flow/circulation.

[rsk412]

Rod,
I used double platinum plugs and good wires because I drive 100 miles a day round trip to work. I need to be able to rely on the car. I will check them, but I'm not sure exactly what I'm looking for. My brother put them on for me and I've never taken any off in the past so I don't know what to look for to figure out if they're not connecting properly. Can you give me more information?

Also, the engine is a V6 3.0. It's not the 24-valve engine. Does that help any?

[shorod]

Oooh, unfortunately the double platinums are not recommended for very many cars. They have been found to cause various problems, and rarely improve performance. That COULD be part of your problem, but I wouldn't swap them with single platinum plugs just yet.

Describing how to verify plug wires are connected securly is going to be tricky if you haven't worked with them before. Basically, you should hear and feel a slight snap as the plug wires are properly seated. At the coils, the plug wire boots probably will have plastic retainers that help insure they are snug. You need to make sure there is no corrosion on the conductor surfaces of the coil and spark plug wires. Hopefully, your brother used dielectric compound when installing the new plug wires to reduce the risk of corrosion.

-Rod

[rsk412]

Rod,
I asked my brother and he said he did use the compound and that everything snapped in properly. What can I do next? Oh, and the only code it's showing is the PO301. Nothing else. :-(

I appreciate you taking all this time with me.

[shorod]

If you send me a private message with an e-mail address for you that can accept PDF attachments, I'll e-mail you the troubleshooting steps for the P030x family of codes.

It would certainly be worth making sure the plug wire for cylinder #1 is in good condition and that the connections are clean. If there was corrosion in the coil tower for cylinder 1, it is possibly your brother did not notice it, and that could be why you still have a misfire on that cylinder.

-Rod

[mwt878991]

Originally Posted by brokenantimatter

What engine?

Ford standarized coil on plug for the duratec in 2000?

Anyways the misfire could be caused by improper exhaust flow/circulation.

They used the COP in 2000 but went back to the coil pack for 01,02,03,04 and I believe did the COP again in 05.

Don't know why they went away and back to it.

Mke

[corning_d3]

I'm guessing it's an EGR problem.. Just a guess, though.