97 F-150 4.2 4x4

Last week I posted a question with my codes that came up about O2 sensor. I just finished putting in a new sensor and cleared the codes with my scanner and fired up the truck for the first time with the new sensor in. It sputtered for a few seconds and then seemed to be runnig fine. I let it idle for a minute or two to warm up and when I put it in reverse to leave for a test run it started sputtering and almost stalled and was running really rough in gear. Put it in neutral and revved it up a bit and seemed fine put it was still not runnig right. Put it back in drive to come back up the driveway and same thing, sputtering and running really terrible and if you gave it quite a bit of gas it was backfiring. Put it back in neutral and was revving it up to try to clear it up and I went to check under the hood while it was idling looking for anything that looked out of place. I just happened to look at the new sensor I had just put in and just behind it the catalytic converter was cherry red. Any ideas what is causing my problem. My check engine light did not come back on after a cleared the codes before I fired it up. Please help. I need my truck back on the road asap

 

I just came back in from looking at it again. It seems to be idling smooth and is fine in gear while idling. As soon as you push the throttle ever so slightly it starts. I got the check engine light to come on and it was flashing. Got a code P0030 multiple cylinder random misfire. Checked the wire and I got a zap through a couple of the boots. Could bad wires give me the symptoms I have. It is a very damp and foggy day here and I know that if you have a weak wire or something in the ignition they tend to act up when it is damp. Please help me

 

99.95% chance your cat is clogged, dont run the engine again until you cut it off or replace it. If you run it like that you will just cause more problems.

 

The truck was running fine before I changed the O2 sensor. How would the cat become clogged and the symptoms appear after doing an O2 sensor? I drove it yesterday and it ran fine but the weather was dry yesterday. Today it is very foggy and damp and when I checked the plug wires it gave me a zap on a couple of the plug wire boots. Could a faulty wire or 2 cause it to misfire enough to make the cat go red from the unburned fuel being dumped in. How do I check for a plugged cat? Thanks for the help so far.

 

Yes bad wires will give you many problems. Definitely replace all the plug wires.

 

I was going by the cherry red cat, my old truck was running the same way with the bad cat (also red hot). Once I cut the exhaust off in front of the cat it woke right up.

 

Thanks to all for the help. I just came in from checking and regapping the plugs and I put a new set of wires on. I didn't put in new plugs because these plugs and wires are only a couple months old. I guess I got a bad set of wires to only last this long. It is running like a dream again. For now anyway. If the cat was good, would it have been damaged from the heat?

 

You probably shortened the life of the cat a little. Normally if the cat is not doing its job you will get a check engine light.

 

Thanks. Now I have another question. The O2 sensor that I replaced was the original factory sensor and the truck has 260,000 kms. Althought there is no code for the other sensor on the drivers side should I replace it too. It is also the original. Or should I just leave well enough alone until it throws a code?