ignition issue only when cars left outside in the cold!

[FIBA M - EC17PSE]

So i left my car out of the garage for a week as its normally garaged and it had a misfire problem when i put it into drive. But it goes way when i drive it a little and does not do it again for a few days if i dont drive it BUT this does not happen at all when its in the garage! Now when i bought this car i was told about this issue but i never saw the problem as its inside most of its life so never got round to fixing it but now i want to.

Now for a fix i was thinking coil packs and ptu as i was told i might have a small crack in the coil pack and its letting in moisture. Does anyone have another idea on what it might be keep in mind it starts fine without misfire when its garaged.

 

[FIBA M - EC17PSE]

So just to add I changed my spark plugs today and they has dry carbon build up on the outer rim but not the electrode so I am thinking its an ignition issue so coils and ptu are being changed to see if that fixes it. Didnt miwfire today even thought its still outside but its a little warmer,

I also tried the wd40 check on the coils and did not even flicker or anything. So am I replacing the wrong part?

 

[92AWDHX40]

Maybe your coolant temp sensor is going bad since its having a hard time cranking.

 

[FIBA M - EC17PSE]

Its not having a hard time. And when logging temp reads fine. It starts great and idles ok for a bit then everynow and then you can hear a misfire and then in drive it does it more but does not stall (close) but not stall then its fine when driven? Ive got all these sensors to replace anyway but at the moment they read ok.

 

[We're on Boost]

Have you tried reading codes? You don't need a scanner to do that, would be worth a try. Take a look at post #42 in this thread:

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/maintenance-repairs/473253-losing-power-sputtering-cels-need-help-3.html

The thread above was kind of a epic bad-cold-running thread so you might find some other helpful things in it, although it was for a 1997 non-turbo.

You have 2 coolant temp sensors by the way, one that runs the gauge, and the other goes to the ecu. If you are logging temp with ecmlink V3, I would imagine it is reading the one that goes to the ecu, and that is the one that really needs to work right, so you're probably ok there, just wanted to mention it.
I would say try reading codes.

In post 43 Abob posts a link to the decoder table he used to decode the codes. This was on a non-turbo web site but I'm pretty sure these codes are the same for your car (OBD-II).

 

[FIBA M - EC17PSE]

I went to read the 1 time it did throw a cel but as soon as I drive it then its gone and its not done it since. I will try again when im with the car tomorrow as its still iut the garage at the moment so hopefully will do it again. I will be doing another compression test to rule out a possibly head gasket as i Remember reading that can have an effect aswell but the basic tests show no water to oil or smoke so it seems fine but will test anyway.

Just cant seem to figure out why it inly does it when parked outside for a few days only and not in the garage even after a few weeks of not moving?? Will read through that thread over the day

 

[We're on Boost]

If you have a multi-meter that reads ohms you could try the coil check like we did in that other thread. If you want to do that I could post the ohm info for your car, which is a little different than for the car in that thread. I suppose the best time to do that test would be when you are actually having the problem, because electrical problems can come and go - intermittent - makes life more difficult.

Can you verify that the dsmlink V3 is reading the coolant temp sensor that goes to the ecu and not the other one? Maybe another V3 user can help us out with that, I know not much about dsmlink. If you have air conditioning you would actually have 3 coolant temp sensors, according to the Chilton manual, the 3rd one going to the AC system. But only the one going to the ecu would affect running quality.

Since it is so easy to check for codes, I would try checking for stored codes even if your CEL is not on.

 

[FIBA M - EC17PSE]

I think im being strayed off track with this, its not any of them sensors otherwise it would be constant but its not it is only when left outside in cold weather. I dont have my dsmlink ecu in at present as I still dont properly know how to calibrate and tune it all.

Ive been given ideas that its a connector thats loosong its seal so damn could get in and cause this. So im going to check all ignition connectors and grease them up with the electrical grease.

 

[We're on Boost]

It could very well be a connector. I had an intermittent connector on my power transistor. Usually when it is an issue with the coil, power transistor, or their connectors, it will affect 2 cylinders.

 

[FIBA M - EC17PSE]

Yeah I agree. I check all the items around there last night in the dark and found the right coil is arcing out so im guessing uats my issue when moisture gets in there when its outside and causes me to misfire. It gets a little brighter as I rev it but its done this for about 10 years and as its in the garage all the time I never see this issue but now I do im going to reppacebthe coil packs.

I hope this is the issue as after that its all connectors Off to clean and grease up

 

[We're on Boost]

Wow! That's pretty cool. Nothing better than actually being able to see the problem. Well, hopefully that is the problem!

 

[FIBA M - EC17PSE]

Yeah I hope so too. Im going to order a new coil pack next week. Hopefully it does the job and I no longer need to worry if I leave the car out side anymore

 

[FIBA M - EC17PSE]

So i changed my coil pack OEM and new ignition leads NGK! was fine over the last week and then today I heard it again misfire! its so slight its barely noticeable and does not seem to do it as much as it did but im thinking the coil pack was not fully gone!

so now im stuck as to what to look at as a possible cause! remember it does not play up when driving and pulls hard without any bucking or anything and sensors all work. only thing i do need to change is my knock sensor as i found that to be melted so thats being ordered but should not be the cause of the misfire right?

anyone got anything else as I dont!

 

[We're on Boost]

Is the recent misfire only when the car is warming up from cold, like before?
I don't think the bad knock sensor would cause it to misfire.
Has your car been in England ever since it was new? If it was in the states, where was it? I'm thinking about corrosion of the electrical connectors. Here in western Washington the climate is not much different than in England, and still, I did have 1 connector go bad when the car was about 17-18 years old. I don't think that was corrosion as much as it was just the female parts losing tension with age so they didn't grip tight enough to work right anymore.
But in Florida for example, near the water, corrosion can be gruesome there, because of the salt air.
When my dad retired, he and mom moved to the Florida coastline just north of Tampa bay. He went down there with a 1968 Camaro. Some of the Camaro's sheet metal rusted from the inside out.
And then there's the rust belt - Wisconsin, Michigan, etc. Hooeee!

 

[FIBA M - EC17PSE]

Its mainly when starting from cold yes. Its garaged all the time but a connector could be an issue but ive chexked most for tightness and so forth. It was a Texas car for 2 years then came to England in 99 and 9 years its been garaged prevoius UK owner had it garaged most of the time aswell so its a well stores car.

Im replacingbthe knock sensor anyway as its over due and im going to do a compressiin test again as its 1 years old now from thebkast time I did one and will also do a leak down test to check its not valves that are not seating correctly.