92 LSL misfiring, terrible fuel economy, CEL codes... Help?
 

Hey guys, having some issues with my LSL. Here's the back story:

Car is a 92 LSL. Has the 4.44 tranny (~135k miles est., ECUTune controller, 173k miles. Still stock in other respects (it was formerly Will/PaladinWKH's car).

I ran out of gas last Friday (stupid gas gauge :mad: ). Filled completely with 93 octane and injector cleaner. Car ran fine. Took my friend home this past Tuesday and she put 89 in :mad: About 1/3 of the way home, the car started running rough, acting like it was misfiring, then threw a CEL. Pulled over, turned the car off, and let it sit a few minutes, then resumed the trip. No CEL, but car still ran rough (assuming its due to the 89 she put in...women :rolleyes: ) On Wednesday I went and picked up a bottle of Envirotek G.T.A. octane boost/injector cleaner and ran it through the last 3 gallons in the tank. As for fuel economy, I went less than 80 miles on an estimated 6 gallons of gas :eek:

Now fast forward a week. Car threw a CEL at me Friday night, as well as this afternoon, started running rough and hesitating on accel, and felt like it was lacking power. Filled again with 93 octane from the BP station Friday, and ran a full can of Seafoam through the tank. Ran a bit better, slight increase in power under accel. But the car still shakes like a tank under idle or torque convertor lockup and hesitates pretty bad from a stop. I ran a can of Seafoam through the intake this morning after pulling the codes, and I noticed another improvement in power.

Now as far as codes go, I pulled a 37 (which is my LH O2 sensor, that I ironically replaced a month and a half ago), and 14 through 19 (Fuel Injector Inoperative. Abnormal signal from monitor circuit).

My question is: Do these all go hand in hand? I.E., does the O2 sensor send the signal to the ECM for the injectors? Luckily the O2 sensor is still warrantied (12 month/12k mile), but I'm wondering about the injectors. The car does seem like it is only running on 4-5 cylinders when idle, but it does perk up when I mash the gas and get into Power mode (feels normal then). Any ideas here? I'm stumped. Only thing I can think of is I have a fouled out spark plug from the 89 octane, and I have to pull the plugs yet to have a look tomorrow or Tuesday when I can get into the garage with it (currentl 19 degrees here in Reading, too daym cold to do it outside lol).

If it is the injectors being fried, are there rebuild kits available for our injectors?

Any help is greatly appreciated :)

Re: 92 LSL misfiring, terrible fuel economy, CEL codes... Help?
 

I would guess that you have a bad coil or maybe a bad plug.
You can try to isolate the cylinder that is not firing by unplugging a fuel injector while the engine is idling. If there is no change in the idle when it is unplugged then you know that one is not firing.
If you unplug one and it starts running even rougher then you know that cylinder was working.

Re: 92 LSL misfiring, terrible fuel economy, CEL codes... Help?
 

Only thing other than a fouled plug/bad coil that I can think of that would cause these issues is a plugged injector from when I ran out of gas (maybe pulled some debris from the bottom of the tank that got through the filter?), or a clogged fuel filter...

Again, I still have to pull the plugs and check them, will post back afterwards. In the meantime though, has anyone ever run the Bosch IR Fusion plugs in our cars with any success?

Re: 92 LSL misfiring, terrible fuel economy, CEL codes... Help?
 

If you have a bad injector, it would be pretty easy to get injectors used, I have 12 in my garage that aren't busy.

First, clear codes (unhook battery for a few mins) and see what comes back. The O2 sensor, don't go replacing it just yet, it's probably reading off because of the misfire.

You could also have a bad spark plug or coil (coil is unlikely, but maybe the 89 octane caused one of the spark plugs to get messed up?). First narrow it down to which cylinder, or at least which bank.

Re: 92 LSL misfiring, terrible fuel economy, CEL codes... Help?
 

Well, I'm almost certain its the right bank (passenger side). With the car running, that seems to be the side that sounds like its missing. Rattles the passenger side door while idle, and feels like that side is shuddering/shaking when the torque converter locks.

Pulling plugs tomorrow when I get into my buddy's shop, hopefully its just a fouled plug (i.e., cheap fix).

Re: 92 LSL misfiring, terrible fuel economy, CEL codes... Help?
 

I'm having the exact same symptoms and codes on my '92.
The temperature is around -5°F here, so no outdoor mechanics going on here either.

Re: 92 LSL misfiring, terrible fuel economy, CEL codes... Help?
 

Pulled the plugs today and cleared all codes. Plugs look fine, but the car still runs like crap :confused: Any ideas? Also checked the injectors with a stethescope and they are all clicking...I'm lost here as to what is going on :(

Re: 92 LSL misfiring, terrible fuel economy, CEL codes... Help?
 

did you try unplugging the injectors to isolate the misfire? if the plugs look good then the coils are probably working or they would be fouled, but if you have no fuel they will look fine. they can click in different ways to. make sure they have a nice crisp click, if any sound more like a thud or muffled click it may be plugged. could be something else going on but this is easy to check, even in the cold.

Re: 92 LSL misfiring, terrible fuel economy, CEL codes... Help?
 

Well, new development. Drove home from the shop, got a CEL again. Pulled the codes, its the damn LH bank O2 sensor (code 37). Again, I just replaced this same sensor 2 months ago :mad: At least its still warrantied, but I dont have the cash to get another one to make the warranty claim...

At least now I know our cars dont like the APWI brand O2 sensors from Rockauto...

Re: 92 LSL misfiring, terrible fuel economy, CEL codes... Help?
 

Injector still could be plugged even if they click. True or false?

Re: 92 LSL misfiring, terrible fuel economy, CEL codes... Help?
 

SeewutididtherE?

Re: 92 LSL misfiring, terrible fuel economy, CEL codes... Help?
 

I seriously doubt the 89 octane gas had anything to do with your present situation unless girlfriend added some water to it just to make it "last longer". Nonetheless, it makes a good "blond" joke. :lol:

Ron.

Re: 92 LSL misfiring, terrible fuel economy, CEL codes... Help?
 

I pulled the injector wires one by one and isolated cylinder 6 as the problem. I have spare injectors but how the heck do you get the injector out of the fuel rail. I removed the 2 screws and the half moon cap but can only rotate the injector, I can't get it to pull out at all.
New plugs are probably in order but not in our frigid temps.

P.S. I have an occassional code#37 oxygen sensor but I'm sure the problem is not related.

Re: 92 LSL misfiring, terrible fuel economy, CEL codes... Help?
 

Use a large screwdriver to gently pry up on the plastic connector part of the injector as you turn it slightly. It will pop out eventually with a little persuasion. Since you plan to replace the injector and wouldn't mind a little damage to the plastic part you could instead use a channel lock and just grasp the plastic part of the injector and pull up as you turn it.
Hopefully it is just the injector and not the coil pack but more often the coil pack fails instead of the injector.

Re: 92 LSL misfiring, terrible fuel economy, CEL codes... Help?
 

I have several extra coil packs as well but cylinder 6 is hard to work on.