BY MATTHEW C. KEEGAN / ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED AUGUST 28, 2018 / NATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE PARTS ASSOCIATION / Engine misfiring is not something to dismiss. It points to a&hellip;{"id":10695,"date":"2018-09-20T12:20:30","date_gmt":"2018-09-20T19:20:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/?p=10695"},"modified":"2018-09-20T12:20:30","modified_gmt":"2018-09-20T19:20:30","slug":"what-causes-engine-misfire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/2018\/09\/20\/what-causes-engine-misfire\/","title":{"rendered":"What Causes Engine Misfire?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h5><span style=\"color: #000000;\">BY MATTHEW C. KEEGAN \/ ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED AUGUST 28, 2018 \/<\/span>\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.napaautocare.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE PARTS ASSOCIATION<\/a>\u00a0\/<\/h5>\n<p>Engine misfiring is not something to dismiss. It points to a range of problems that, if left ignored, can lead to engine damage and serious repairs. What causes engine misfire? There\u2019s no simple answer \u2014 several underlying issues could be responsible.<\/p>\n<p>Identifying the exact source of the problem is something you can do with the help of your mechanic. Here are the signs that it\u2019s time to take your car into the shop for an engine inspection.<\/p>\n<h5><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>A Whole Lotta Shakin\u2019 Goin\u2019 On<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">A shaking engine is never a good thing. Typically, when that happens, you feel a vibration that rattles the dashboard and sends tremors through the steering wheel. It can happen when you\u2019re driving or idling at a traffic light.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Like any other abnormal sensation related to your car, this vibration is your vehicle warning you that something is wrong. As soon as possible, take your car in for service.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Engine misfiring sometimes reveals itself in other ways. Specifically, you may have difficulty starting your car. Normally, this shouldn\u2019t be a problem in modern vehicles equipped with direct injection and other electronic enhancements. Other signs of trouble include stalling, black exhaust and a strong gas, oil, steam or coolant smell. Your fuel mileage may also take a hit.<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Get to Know the Part-iculars<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">When diagnosing engine problems, your mechanic will look for several trouble signs, including worn or incorrectly gapped spark plugs, a defective fuel injector or worn seal valves.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">If none of these parts reveals a problem, your mechanic will look for vacuum leaks and examine the ignition coil. Sometimes, a vacuum leak will make itself obvious by whistling or hissing. Otherwise, your mechanic may need to use an aerosol carburetor cleaner or a bottle of propane and a connecting hose to search for leaks. You can also use a<\/span>\u00a0<strong><a class=\"SWhtmlLink\" title=\"leak detector kit\" href=\"https:\/\/www.napaonline.com\/en\/p\/BK_7001006?cid=social_blog_082018_leak_detector_kit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">leak detector kit<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\">at home. If the solvent or propane is pulled in, the idle speed will immediately change and smooth out. That\u2019s where the source of the leak is.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">As for the ignition coil, testing its effectiveness is easy to do. Using a multimeter, simply connect the positive and negative leads to the respective positive and negative terminals on the coil. The primary resistance should fall between 0.4 and 2 ohms; the secondary should fall between 6,000 and 10,000 ohms. Those numbers can vary somewhat, so check your owner\u2019s manual for the correct range for your vehicle. If either reading is outside the allowed parameters, then you\u2019ve most likely identified the source of your engine misfire.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Identifying and replacing the part causing your engine to misfire will quickly rid your car of the shakes. Being proactive as soon as you notice the problem will also help you avoid more serious issues like a<\/span>\u00a0<strong><a class=\"SWhtmlLink\" title=\"EIGHT SIGNS OF A BLOWN HEAD GASKET\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/2018\/05\/14\/blown-head-gasket\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">blown engine gasket<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">, which is a much more significant repair job.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Check out all the<\/span>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.napaonline.com\/en\/c\/ignition-parts-filters\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>ignition system<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\">products\u00a0available on\u00a0<\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.napaonline.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NAPA Online<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\">or trust one of their 16,000<\/span>\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.napaautocare.com\/store-finder.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NAPA AutoCare locations<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\">for routine maintenance and repairs. For more information on what causes engine misfire, chat with a knowledgeable expert at your local\u00a0<\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.napaonline.com\/en\/store-locator\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NAPA AUTO PARTS store<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>P<span style=\"color: #000000;\">hoto Credit:<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<em>Pomona Swap Meet<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"color: #000000;\">This article has been reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder, National Automotive Parts Association. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Click here for more<\/span>\u00a0<\/i><strong><i><a href=\"http:\/\/knowhow.napaonline.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">automotive tips and stories<\/a><\/i><\/strong><i>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\">from NAPA, or here for more information on\u00a0<\/span><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/event-info\/car-show-hours-dates\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the next Pomona Swap Meet &amp; Classic Car Show<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":null,"protected":false},"author":98,"featured_media":10699,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"cos_headline_score":0,"cos_seo_score":0,"cos_headline_text":"","cos_headline_has_been_analyzed":false,"cos_last_analyzed_headline":[],"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[805],"tags":[6496,6491,6481,4672,6482,1787,6489,6485,6487,6488,4826,3032,6257,6490,6486,3626,6483,917,6484,3491,3037,6497,6493,3034,3029,6495,6494,6492],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_20180920_120913012.jpg?fit=800%2C800&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9nnZN-2Mv","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10695"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/98"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10695"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10695\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10698,"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10695\/revisions\/10698"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10699"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}