'97 Taurus (GL with 12 valve engine) bought new, now has 110,000 miles of mostly short trip city driving, mostly wife's car. My OBD2 reader shows codes PO 117, 301 & 302. She has had some service done elsewhere & their records showed spark plugs & wires never changed. She reported the check engine came on flashing & signs of overheating when she limped home. After cool down had to add an estimated gallon of water to the cooling system. I fear a blown head gasket. In view of indicated miss on cylinders 1 & 2 (PO 301 & 302 on OBD code reader) I decided to replace the plugs & ignition wires with new ones from NAPA including platinum plugs. I accidentily plugged the the #4 wire into the #6 coil port & the #6 wire into the #4 port. Tried starting, wouldn't start. I then discovered my error & reinstalled # 4 & 6 wires in the correct ports, still wouldn't start. I did not disconnect the negative battery terminal while replacing the plugs & wires but later did disconnect the negative battery terminal for 12 hours (went to bed) but still wouldn't start the next day. Haven't checked the fuses yet. I wonder what I might have done to to screw my Taurus up?
William J Toensing
Well to me it sounds like while you were doing the spark plugs and the spark plug wires you knocked loose a different wire of vacuum hose because accidentally reinstalling two plug wires in the wrong spot won't do any damage, either that or something else quit working when you turned the car off to do the plugs. How old is the coolant in the car? What does the inside of the coolant reservoir look like? Are there any signs of coolant in the oil(milky oil) or oil in the coolant(what kind of sludgy coolant)?
I would go through and double checking all the plug wires again. If you got two switched, you might have more. Also make sure you're looking at the cylinder numbering correctly:
Firewall
1 2 3
3 4 5
Radiator
Start with the basics and make sure the fuel pump runs when you turn the key to on, and try checking for spark while you crank to confirm that's working.
Read this too if you haven't already: http://www.taurusclub.com/forum/82-...174401-why-won-t-my-car-start-comprehensive-no-start-troubleshooting-guide.html
Firewall
1 2 3
3 4 5
Radiator
Start with the basics and make sure the fuel pump runs when you turn the key to on, and try checking for spark while you crank to confirm that's working.
Read this too if you haven't already: http://www.taurusclub.com/forum/82-...174401-why-won-t-my-car-start-comprehensive-no-start-troubleshooting-guide.html
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