[swilliamsaz]

UPDATE! MORE INFO!! 3.0L Vulcan P0301 and P0316

2002 Ford Taurus 3.0L V6 Vulcan
UPDATE!!!
Went outside last night, in dark, hood up, started it up cold, saw arcing in at least two wires... could coilpack cause this? Or just need new wires? What causes new wires to go bad so quickly? We have duralast on there now, any recommendations???

Since we bought 5 months ago, has always idled stangely in reverse. (Surges, etc.)
Replaced wires, plugs and cam snychro.
Car was running great otherwise...
Few days ago, car started missing badly in reverse, but okay all other times, then next day, car started missing badly at startup and in reverese, once car got going, ran fine, did that for a day,
Third day, CEL light on. codes p0301 and p0316.
Car still misses badle in certain conditions only...
Start up, reverse (only when engine first started), from dead stop, trounce on gas, it misses.
DOESNT miss sitting at lights, driving normally, or in reverse after warmed up.

Tested coil pack with ohmeter, all pins checked out fine at .5ohms. Threw some Lucas injector cleaner in gas tank for now. Any advice would be helpful at this point!!

 

[wjc]

Well the resistance test on the coil pack tells you the coils haven't opened internally, but it doesn't rule out the possibility of a short to ground. I would pull it and do a visual examination around the #1 tower. It's odd that the miss is worse in reverse, my first thought was pinched wire harness shorting as the engine moves, but that's hard to explain as a single cylinder misfire.

 

[sheila]

^+1. Dont rule out the coil based on primary and secondary resistance test results. Ive had several test in spec, yet fail under load. Best to remove and carefully inspect for cracks (esp. on the bottom and towers), corrosion and general physical damage.

 

[swilliamsaz]

UPDATE!! 3.0L Vulcan P0301 & P0316

UPDATE!!!
Went outside last night, in dark, hood up, started it up cold, saw arcing in at least two wires... could coilpack cause this? Or just need new wires? What causes new wires to go bad so quickly? We have duralast on there now, any recommendations???

 

[sheila]

Autolite pro or motorcraft from adv. auto. Borg-warner or motorcraft from oreilly. First, be sure the duralast are routed correctly and truly bad. Ive also used them in the past without problems except for fully seating on the coil terminals.

 

[sheila]

If the duralast are bad and that new, take them back for a replacement set under warranty.

 

[swilliamsaz]

Terribly frustrated!! Please help!!

So, traded out wires for motorcraft, disconnected negative battery cable to clear codes, put all back together, car still misses BAD in reverse on initial start up and occasionally in drive from stop lights. No CEL on yet... Can a bad coilpack cause arcing along wires? Can a bad coilpack cause wires to go bad?

Any help would be appreciated!

 

[wjc]

So, traded out wires for motorcraft, disconnected negative battery cable to clear codes, put all back together, car still misses BAD in reverse on initial start up and occasionally in drive from stop lights. No CEL on yet... Can a bad coilpack cause arcing along wires? Can a bad coilpack cause wires to go bad?

Any help would be appreciated!

No. Where exactly are the wires jumping spark, between wires or a spot on the head?

The coil produces a high voltage regardless of the condition of the secondary ignition components. So a high potential electrical energy will find its way to ground along the path of the least resistance. That path should be through the spark plug threads into the cylinder head. So the question now is, why isn't it? I'd be looking at the plugs and their electrode condition, gap, thread cleanliness, etc. Also, what plugs are in the car?