All Motorcraft.

 

and you've swapped out the wire in question, with another to see if its not just a bad wire?

 

Sorry, just re-read the thread and saw that you had swapped the wires and still get a miss. I wasnt trying to be condesending in any way, just always good to eliminate the easiest and cheapest fix first. So heres another question, when you did the wire swap, did you check for arc in a completely dark garage? You might have two issues causing this mis-fire, but just make dam sure that you have eliminated a bad plug wire first, before pulling the heads or anything else major. What Im saying is that you could have something else causing a miss, along with an arcing wire, and maybe when you swapped out the wires, you didnt check it in a dark environment... see where Im goin?

 

What I did was swap cyclinder 5 wire (the one that gave the misfire code) to cylinder 6 to see if the code would return with a cylinder 6 misfire. It threw no code though. Now as I write this I realize the wire that we pulled off the 5 piston that showed signs of arcing was 1 week ago on the 6 piston. So now I'm back to no more info then I started with other then on eof the wire boots thats presently on 5 has signs of arcing. I wished I would have thought of this while my bud was with me to check some other things. Thanks for your help Typhus

 

Yesturday, Tuesday, it threw another code. Will get it checked today at lunch. I think a new set of wires is in my future. Think I will go with the 9mm Ford Racing wires.

 

This last code is a number 6 cylinder misfire. This is the same plug wire that originally was on the no. 5 cylinder when it gave me the no 5 cylinder misfire code a couple weeks ago. I wonder what prompts it to act up like it does. It always misses but sometimes it feels like it's missing on a couple cylinders and thats when it throws the code. I guess it could be missing on multiple wires. No evidence of arcing at all on the boot.

I pulled the other boot off to look at it again, the one that looked to be arcing. It turned out to be old silicone on the side of the boot. I could rub/peel it off. Prolly end up goin eith the ford racing wires and hope for the best. They're 9mm instead of 8mm for $76.00.

 

Asbestos in the hole :-)

 

Yea, she warned me about that, I hit it anyways.

 

Still have not bought wires. These last 2 weeks we've been BROKE! Anywho, last week when the check engine light came on I had it checked. Only code in there was number 6 misfire. Dude wouldn't clear the code so the light remained on. Yesterday it was running very very bad. Took it to another zone and had it checked- yep more codes- No 5 and 6 misfiring and got the P0174, oxygen sensor. Dude tells me the 174 code means it's running lean The ford forums tell me it’s lean on the 2nd bank (drivers side); an indication that the injectors might be messing up. A lean reading would be consistent with an injector starving a cylinder. It seems to me if it was spraying the gas and not firing it then the code would be for a rich mixture-if it ain’t burning gas the reading should be rich, if it’s not getting the gas then the mixture should be lean, right? He also said that sensor may be creating the misfire. I doubt that as this is the first time this code has entered the picture. Any thoughts on what he said? This week I plan on getting those 9mm Ford Racing Plug Wires but given this new info and the fact we never verified the injectors are working do you think it’s worth my while to pull the fuel rail off that side and watch them spray?
I pulled some of the wire boots and inspected them. I really can't see any swelling or distortion in any that I pulled, including 5 and 6. They look perfect to me now that I rubbed that silicone off it.

Any words of wisdom?

What are PIDs in the dignostics world?

I’m gonna inspect very closely the vaccuum lines and spray some carb cleaner around the intake and see if it’s leaking. I know the PCV valve rattles good. Prolly check the O2 sensor resistance too on each side of the engine. Would be great to check fuel pressure. I’ll get some water remover for the gas tank too.

Thanks a ton for your guys help.

Dan

 

hey dank i finially got my truck figured out...i changed my plug wires and i was gettin the 5 an 6 missfire also with the o2 sensor code...i just bought the 50 dollar wires at auto zone and i tore my plug wires apart and found out that they were burnt in half on the inside of the insulator....so yea i pretty much waisted my money on all the coils...so i didnt worry bout my o2 sensor they were tellin me the same thing but my engine light has not yet come back on and that was over 3 weeks ago

 

Thats good to hear. A word of warning though, I've heard the cheaper wires like that won't last very long. Tomorrow I'll pick up a set of 9mm Ford Racing Wires ~$75 at a speed shop and hope they do the trick. Yea I doubt my o2 is bad- just the result of the misfires.

 

Its gotta be the wires,, Im hanging my hat on it. Let us know if that was the fix.

 

Made some headway last night on the dern thing. I was checking for vacuum leaks with carb cleaner. I hit a wire that was arcing to some metal bracket and walla, I had a small fire burning for a few seconds in my engine bay. That was exciting. Looked closer at the wires and I could see – and hear, lots of arcing all over the place. Turned out the lights in the garage and could see little blue bursts all over the place. Now what gets me is a few weeks ago I was searching for arcs- with the lights out and found none. I guess I wasn’t looking at the right time- while it was missing at idle. Anyways, I’m picking up a set of 9mm ford racing wires tonight on my way home. My current wires barely have 40,000 miles on them and have been arcing for quite some time (years) so I don’t put much faith in going back with OEM Motorcraft. For giggles, I put some rubber around some things for added insulation and suspended some wires with zip ties to get them away from metal and see how differently it’d act this morning driving in. WOW what a change.

Thanks to all who've helped me out.

 

thats good to hear that you finially figured it out too...atleast i know i will never own another 4.6 after this one...or one with plugs at that im goin glow plugs...but thats a good thing that you finially got it figured out...now hopefully we can keep them like that

 

I wouldnt dismiss the 4.6 as not being worthy because of "bad wires".
Everbody I know that has a 4.6 including my very own, has been very pleased with its overall performance and reliability. Bad plugs and wires are just routine maintenace, and on these tritons thats about as routine as every 100k .
I can live with a few battle wounds on my knuckles every 10 yrs or so.

edit... just want to add one more point here,, and you can take it or leave it,, but these trucks love OEM and while I havent field tested every aftermarket brand replacement part, when it comes to the ignition system, most of the aftermarket parts are junk IMO. Going OEM doesnt have to be that expensive either, if you are willing to plan ahead a little and buy your items on-line, you can find OEM pretty cheap. I purchased a set of Motorcraft OEM wires for my 4.6 on Amazon for $63, and that was alot cheaper than dealer price, and still cheaper than most of your pretty aftermarket blues, reds, and yellows.
Its just been my experience after 20yrs in the industry that Fords run best with what they were engineered originaly to run best with.