Flashing check engine = misfire?
 

On the way home tonight, there was a brief stint where the truck ran a little rough on the highway and the MIL was flashing. After about a 1/2 mile, I could feel the truck smooth out and the light stopped flashing and just stayed on. I guess my first trip tomorrow will be autozone for a code scanner. Any guesses?

What kind of truck and how many miles?

05 FX4 5.4, about 79K on the odometer.

I have heard that when the lite flashes it could mean a possible catastrophic condition. That being said and the truck being an 05 you might want to pay attention to the injectors.

Just a thought.

No, flashing is simply a misfire.

I'm still on the stock plugs so it's probably about time to change them, though I would think that if one of them fouled out, the truck wouldn't run rough, then smooth out. So far it runs fine and the light is still on, but I need to get over the the Vato Zone this afternoon to get the codes pulled.

Where did everyone get their plugs? Ford dealer?

advanceautoparts.com

Part number - SP507

coupon a123

$47.00 with tax....picked up in the store.

going to be a misfire....change your plugs and COPS. One of those is bad causing a misfire on one of your cylinders.

Im having the shudder at idle occasionally and will be changing my COPS on Wed and checking my plugs and fuel injectors for damage. I had my plugs changed about 20K miles ago though.

Not really looking forward to the plugs, but COPS aren't hard. where's the best place to pick them up?

EBay....Global and Uneek sell them.....
http://http://stores.ebay.com/GLOBAL...=p4634.c0.m322

Miss firing plug/plugs my guess, bad COP would do it all the time.

I've finally got time today and I'mm going to Advance to pull the codes shortly. I've been driving pretty easy since the light is still on, but I had to step on it on the highway to merge today and the truck started breaking up in the higher rpms and the light started flashing again. Once I eased off and cruise about a 1/4 mile, it smoothed back out and the light stayed solid.

Back from Advance. The only code present was P0302 - Cyl 2 misfire. Probably the COP?

Alright, so after searching for the term p0302, I found rockpick's thread where he had injector troubles and also got that code. I'll add that in my situation, I've had instances where the truck would be very hard to start and i've had to crank for longer than normal to get it to turn over. I suspected it was injector related but wasn't sure.

so the culprits could be:

1. plug - possible, but not likely

2. COP - probably

3. injector - possible

How would one test to find out which one's the problem?

My truck pulled a P0302 awhile back.....water had leaked around the boot and onto the spark plug in cylinder #2. Don't ask how it happened... =)

If you think its the COP on the #2 cylinder. Switch the #2 and another COP and see what code you are getting. This would let you know if it is or is not the COP itself.

Like said the only way to test the cop is to pull it while the truck is running and if the engine doesn't seem to bog down that is likely the culprit. You can also pull a COP from a good plug and switch it with the one you suspect being the prouble and check for spark on the COP...if no spark you have the culprit. Plugs have to be checked the same...if it's an injector take it to Ford you have an extended warranty on them to 120K miles on the 05's and make them fix it and any related issue that could have been caused by a leaky injector.

I suspect mine is a COP as I drove thru a "puddle" as I put it but the girlfriend said it was a lake. I threw water all over the place and know I got some up under the engine bay. My guess is some leaked in around the boot of the COP and that's all she wrote :o

Alrighty, looks like I'll be swapping COP's soon. I was curious about testing because the truck drives fine until its hit WOT, then the fun begins. I obviously don't want to be testing like that to find out if I fixed it.

When you said take it to Ford to fix any injector problems, do I just stroll in and tell them I think I've got injector issues? Kinda seems like I need an actual problem or they'll charge me for unrelated issues.

Tell them your symptoms and you think you have a faulty injector. The Ford warranty covers the injector and if they need to they can get a copy of the letter sent to all 05 owners affected by the injectors. FORD replaces them for free. Keep in mind your dealership is privately owned and sells Ford products, they are not "Ford".

If they don't find anything you will be left paying for a diagnostic fee

I can handle that. :thumbsup:

I just didn't want to go in there and for them to find nothing, but charge a ton for their labor. Shop rates aren't cheap.

One more thing if. The little clips that hold the connectors to the injectors and COP broke while I was switching them today. Can yo buy replacement connectors?

Dealership can fix it for you....I had a small clamp on my air intake that I needed to get a larger one for and never got around to it...when cleaning my MAF sensor I noticed Ford replaced it for me free of charge :banana:

I appreciate all the help. One more thing I'm not 100% clear on:

The injector letter from Ford states that they cover certain 2005 vehicles. It's my understanding that they changed suppliers mid-2005. How do I know if I have an affected vehicle?

Lastly, since swapping the COP and clearing the code, I haven't experienced the misfire and the CEL hasn't come back on. However, it only missed at high rpms. If I floor it on the interstate, it seems to have a hard time above 4K rpms and the tach seems to float around that level as it won't rev high enough to shift into the next gear at WOT. (No, I'm not running around town with my foot to the floor. I just wanted to see if the problem still existed).

It all comes down to your VIN. If you received a letter you know you're covered. But Ford can also do a VIN check to see if your motor is affected.

so you are still having the issue about 4K RPM? I noticed with running premium fuel thru the motor and some injector cleaner my problem has all but vanished. Still there but about 85% less present then before. Truck still going in tomorrow to change the COPS though.

When was the last time you changed the fuel filter?

My truck does the same thing. I've been told the intake-manifold gasket is cracked as well?

Mine runs bad too...and flashes the light. If I give it any gas over 1/4 throttle it bucks pops sputter and the rps don't go above 3k. Only dtc I can see if for faulty knock sensors tho. I have a tick out the bottom end too. My plugs are old as well (140k). I am just swapping the motor because of the noise in the bottom end and other issues. I dont know if the cam phasers are bad either. I just dont want to spend a couple grand chasing down issues when I can get a Jasper reman longblock for 5200 to my door.

I'm running some techron fuel system cleaner through it now and bought a set of spark plugs to change soon. Figure they need to be done anyways at 79K. Then I'll try a COP if that doesn't clear it up.

Fuel filter was done last year i think? Probably could be changed again.

my fuel filter was changed 10K ago.

plugs 20K ago and COPS were just changed today. Truck runs a million times better and idle issue is solved. My old COPS were dirty but the dealership couldn't find any that were having issues when they looked at it. I ran fuel injector cleaner thru it, cleaned my MAF sensor, throttle body was cleaned about 10K ago and cleaned my air filter. Truck has never run this well since I bought it.

Dealership charged $150 to diagnose and put in new COPS. Have the old COPS so we will see what happens. All injectors and plugs were fine.

I also ran a tank of premium fuel thru it and it seemed to correct the issue but it would still stutter a little....no issues and have driven 80 miles today or so in stop and go traffic.

Well that's reassuring. I haven't been the most diligent on maintenance except for oil changes, so my plan is to basically do everything you did.

It's weird though. Since swapping COPS numbers 1 and 2, the CEL hasn't come back on. It still doesn't feel right in the upper RPMs. There's a weird hesitation around 4-4500 before the shift point. If I drive easy, don't really notice anything.

I'm waiting on the Lisle tool before I change the plugs but in the mean time, I swapped COPs' with cyl 1 & 2 to see if the code would follow. (think i posted that above)

the truck still breaks up at high rpms, but so far no CEL until today. Got the CEL to flash and I was going to read the code when I got home, but apparently it didn't get stored? popped in the xcal2 and "no DCT's found". wtf?

I'm really thinking it's the COP or injector at this point. the truck runs fine at normal driving. if it was the plug, I would be missing all the time, right? maybe it's just the COP or injector that can't keep up at higher rpms?

small update:

got the truck to throw a code again today and it stored it. P0301, which means that it's more than likely the COP that I swapped with cyl 1 & 2. Still going to do the plugs soon, but I'm relieved I don't have to screw around with injector issues.

My truck has hiccupped twice since changing the cops but after running another tank of regular 87 thru it no issues whatsoever. Idles great and quieter then it ever has and more power than I had before. My next step will be changing the fuel filter at my next oil change interval.

Sounds like you have a plug or COP that is having issues at higher RPMs. I never got the check engine light to flash though so I never had a misfire that I could get a code off of. I have also checked the EDGE and no DTC's could be found.

I believe the flashing light is because raw fuel is being dumped in the Cat usually caused by a bad plug or COP. As the fuel is dissipated the light will stop flashing and simply remain on. I just changed out my plugs and COP's, cleaned the MAF and a new air filter. It was really misfiring and chug a chug under load. Now the truck runs smoother than it did new but it's also a low mileage 06 5.4 engine. I was sweating bullets getting several plugs out and with only 30k miles I can imagine what it could be like at 100k. NO WAY I'd wait that long to change these plugs because of the removal problems. Dealer told me if they changed them I would have to pay for additional labor if any broke! When I was at the Ford garage I saw a 5.4 with the heads off and it was because of BROKEN plugs! That did it for me..... Thanks Ford but no thanks and did it myself.... NOT A FUN JOB HOWEVER....

For removal I used a torque wrench for all the plugs I could. Set it to 45 lbs but got all the way to 70 lbs to remove one plug. That's when I was really getting nervous although I did buy the removal tool BEFORE starting to remove the plugs. I used the new plug design, torque wrench and anti-seize so hopefully won't have anymore removal issues. I plan to simply change the plugs every 30k miles and hopefully will never have to deal with broken plugs. Anyway need a good deal on Lisle removal tool (never been used) lol....

Bottom line the truck runs great again but I still feel that Ford is seriously jobbing people when they know full well there are issues with plug removal or head damage! Why should we have to pay for their mistake? They've been aware of this issue for a long time! All they needed to do was send out a TSB telling all owners to have their plugs replaced much sooner than 100k. I believe that would have eliminated 90% of these issues.... Now they are stone walling because there are to many of these out there and the costs can be large!!!!! I switched from Toyota but to be honest I'm probably done with Ford now. They should stand behind this issue 100% imo........ not tell me if the plugs are broken being removed it's my dime? Simply not right and they darn well know it.

I feel fortunate to have removed the old plugs and COPs without incident! Many others aren't that lucky........ It's a shame because I love the truck except for this issue....