cylinder 1 not firing

[GhostToast]

ok i did my research and i'm not a complete noob but here i am in these forums anyway, in hopes that someone can help me out.

running a 93 2.0 laser, non turbo, 2WD. was passing a car in 5th, lane about to end...pushed a bit more gas, passed the car but noticed (at like 85 mph) that it seemed i had a loss of power.

along with this was stuttering, very much like one cylinder was not firing. this seems to be the case as when the wire plug is removed from the first cylinder (one nearest the DOHC), the car operates no differently than is now symptomatic (which is to stutter, shake a little, especially until after 3k rpms...at which point the problem is still there but less noticeable. it also wants to stall a little in cold idle). so we replaced all 4 spark plugs. no change.

we think that the wire still shoots cause when it was half unplugged and the engine running, it was arcing out onto the chassis.

my thoughts are that perhaps its the injector, but i'm afraid to spend that much money on a whim. it also seems strange that this is sort of like something i blew while operating under more stressful conditions than everyday driving.

oh btw the first plug was the dirtiest too. the one that seems to not be firing. more blackened.

any thoughts?

 

[95blackGsTurbo]

Sounds like your plug wire is grounding out before it can get to the spark plug. Best thing to do it put it in the garage at night with no lights and start it up and see if the spark it jumping anywhere. If you suspect it's bad don't even touch it with bare hands. Other than that if the injector was bad the plug would either be ghost white or pitch black if it was dumping fuel.

 

[GhostToast]

well, it was pretty black. i guess i'll try changing the wire( might as well do them all, right?) and see where that takes me.

the wire plug for cylinder 1 was strange too, not like the others. when i pulled it out, the metal tubule that holds onto the spark plug coupling pulled down with it, bringing the metallic connection clear down to the end of the rubber housing. when putting the new plug in and replacing the wire where it belonged, that metal tubing pushed back in with a click...as if it were designed to do that.

perhaps this should indicate that it's a bad plug, but it almost seemed designed to do this.

this metal near at the edge of the rubber housing is what was causing the wire to arc out onto the chassis, cause the other half of the wire was still plugged in. but hey, wire's are cheap. i'll start there. thanks for the input and any other suggestions would be appreciated. i'll update after i replace wires.

 

[kevindj4u]

Honestly, in my opinion, if you are going to change the wire, you might as well getr 4 brand new ones, buy a distributor and a rotor, and replace the spark plugs. It's really not to bad, all that plus 4 new plugs cost me about 80 dollars for my car. I did it because my car would miss really bad from a stop. I threw that stuff in, and haven't had the problem since. But if you still have this problem after all of this, I would check the ignition coil and make sure there isn't a crack and it is shorting out. Hope this helps.

 

[majik2k5]

There's an easier way than buying new plug wires without testing them.

Take the plug wires from cylinder 1 and cylinder 2 and swap them. Then start it and unplug the wire from cylinder 2. If it doesn't run any differently, then you can suspect your plug wires. If it does run differently, then your problem lies elsewhere.

 

[DiamondStarM]

A datalogger will tell you what cylinder is misfiring. Like majik said with the plugs and wires, do the same with the injectors and see if the misfire moves to a different cylinder.

 

[GhostToast]

well i replaced the wires. no difference. a friend said i might have dropped a valve. this scared me greatly as i had almost ruled out such permanent damage. sigh...this sucks. i am about ready to take it in and have the expensive mechanic do a compression test since i dont know how to do that. that will tell me whats up.

 

[DiamondStarM]

did you check the injectors, just go to www.vfaq.com and read the compression test steps, its a very simple test and is something you should learn (like the boost leak test) if you are going to be modding your dsm

 

[majik2k5]

Compression tests are simple, and you can pick up a compression tester at your local Advance Auto for around 25$ if that.

The VFAQ should cover your questions about a compression test. If not, PM me or post back here and someone can tell you how. I also have some random pictures of a compression test I did not too long ago I can send you.

 

[GhostToast]

zero compression. looks like this car is done for. damnit.

thanks for the tips guys. fun while it lasted but i dont think i'll be getting another mitsu. I've had too many heart-breaks in my driving career being loyal to the colt, conquest/starrion, eclipse. =(