Check Engine Light Question
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Check Engine Light Question
Hi guys, I've got a 97' F150 with the 4.6 and my CHECK ENGINE light came on in the dash tonite. It blinked 6 or 7 times and now stays on. The truck has 50,000 miles on it and I checked the gauges and all seems to be okay. Does that sound like some kind of sensor going bad or needing cleaned? I have to admit I don't know much about the modular motors and electronics. I'm a Mustang 5.0 guy.
Well, before I took it down to my friendly $$$ neighborhood Ford dealer I thought I'd ask if there are any suggestions as to what I might do to fix this problem. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Bill
Well, before I took it down to my friendly $$$ neighborhood Ford dealer I thought I'd ask if there are any suggestions as to what I might do to fix this problem. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Bill
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turbo TED, Great idea! Man, I forgot all about Autozone doing it for free. My scanner for my 5.0 won't work on this truck and I thought I was gonna' have to buy a new one, or go to Ford. Thanks for the comeback, turboted. I really appreciate it. I'll get back to you... Bill
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Well, I went to Autozone and they ran a scan on my truck. It pulled up a code P303. The guy said it was probably a firing problem in cylinder #3. He said if I hadn't changed the plugs recently (I haven't) that it might be a bad plug. If that doesn't fix the problem he thought it might be a coilpack.
Bought new plugs and came home to change them. I was really surprised at the difficulty in reaching/changing them. My neighbor is a shadetree mechanic and I might ask him to do it for a couple bucks. Are there any secrets in changing them? Man, they are hard to reach!
Thanks, Bill
Bought new plugs and came home to change them. I was really surprised at the difficulty in reaching/changing them. My neighbor is a shadetree mechanic and I might ask him to do it for a couple bucks. Are there any secrets in changing them? Man, they are hard to reach!
Thanks, Bill
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Do a search here; somebody was nice enough to post a procedure. It is a pain, but not really difficult if you're used to the tight conditions on modern cars.
Not sure if the 97's had the COP (Coil On Plug), but if so, I would suspect that. They've been a weakness, and 50K is rather early for plugs to be bad enough that they would set a DTC.
Not sure if the 97's had the COP (Coil On Plug), but if so, I would suspect that. They've been a weakness, and 50K is rather early for plugs to be bad enough that they would set a DTC.
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The 4.6 doesn't have COP but the plugs are still a pain to change. The same thing happened to my 5.4 at about the 50k mark, the same code came up. It was not the plugs. It was a hose for the EGR. Took some time to find too... Good luck.
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pcollins8872, Thanks for the information. I haven't changed the wires and plugs yet. Pretty much everyone I've talked to doesn't think it's the plugs. Hate to hear that it might be something other than the wires or plugs. I may have to bite the bullet and take it down to Ford. Thanks again for responding. I appreciate it. Bill
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when the guy at autozone scanned the vehicle ,was it running ? or keyon engine off?
just asking because ,there maybe other DTC's in the memory that could lead to other things happening before the misfire code came up.
Rich
just asking because ,there maybe other DTC's in the memory that could lead to other things happening before the misfire code came up.
Rich
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Funny, the guy at the Autoparts store read the code and told me it was probably the plugs. Then it started dying at idle occasionally. I finally gave up and took it to the dealer, their much better equip showed codes for lean burn on each cylinder bank. There was a split in a hose - I had gone over them inch by inch, and had decided it was an egr valve. I took it in, it was just a hose. Took them a while to find it too! It's been fine for a year now. 67k and the plugs are still fine...
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FortyFords, Now that you ask me that, I'm pretty sure it was running when he plugged in the analyzer. I'm not positive that he didn't plug it in and run a scan before he started it. I guess I didn't know there would possibly be different codes in memory that wight come up. I might run back up there today and have them re-scan it, switch on and then running.
Thanks Rich and pcollins for the responses. I appreciate your help. Bill
Thanks Rich and pcollins for the responses. I appreciate your help. Bill
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My son replaced the plugs and wires about 8,000 miles ago, with no problems at all during that time. Then about 1,000 miles ago, the "check engine" light came on and stayed on. I rechecked the wires and checked for vacuum leaks, and found nothing wrong. AutoZone ran the codes and we first got a code P300, which is a "random multiple misfire". Not much to go on. They reset the computer and a couple weeks later the "check engine" light came on again. A code P303, "plug 3 misfire" popped out of the computer. I checked plug 3 and found nothing wrong. The weird thing is that this afternoon the "check engine" light went out, and has not come on again after about 50 miles of driving.
My son-in-law, a Ford mechanic, had previously told me to run some injector cleaner through the engine because he thought the number 3 injector was clogged. Turned out he was right. I ran Lucas injector cleaner through three tanks of gas and the "check engine" light mysteriously went out this afternoon. This may be of help to you if your "check engine" light comes on again and you get a code P303.
Tom Norman
My son-in-law, a Ford mechanic, had previously told me to run some injector cleaner through the engine because he thought the number 3 injector was clogged. Turned out he was right. I ran Lucas injector cleaner through three tanks of gas and the "check engine" light mysteriously went out this afternoon. This may be of help to you if your "check engine" light comes on again and you get a code P303.
Tom Norman
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