random misfire

I just find it weird because I have a non fouler on mine so it shouldnt even be seeing too much downstream either way.
Anyways, today my car drove geat. It's like it misfires some days and others it doesn't. I have not gone into boost with the car, when it's misfired it's been mostly on the highway. Some days on start up it'll be crappy and other days I can drive it without any problems. Still clueless on what it is. With a bad coil pack would it be considered multiple misfire since its only 2 plugs per pack? Also stumped on why it only does it sometimes and sometimes the whole time it's running and sometimes just 1 small misfire and there
 
Not sure if you swapped out the o2 and coils nor plugs. My old honda has the o2 code whenever it wants to but does not affect how the car drives (mazda is different). You should def try new coils or plugs (cheapest first), and try to replace the o2 (obd2 reader will tell you exactly which one is out), got a mini one for 25 bucks or less. I would never drive a car that misfires since it might just end up running you more in the long run. Let us know man... GL
 
I just find it weird because I have a non fouler on mine so it shouldnt even be seeing too much downstream either way.
Anyways, today my car drove geat. It's like it misfires some days and others it doesn't. I have not gone into boost with the car, when it's misfired it's been mostly on the highway. Some days on start up it'll be crappy and other days I can drive it without any problems. Still clueless on what it is. With a bad coil pack would it be considered multiple misfire since its only 2 plugs per pack? Also stumped on why it only does it sometimes and sometimes the whole time it's running and sometimes just 1 small misfire and there

The thing about my car is that it runs great when cold, but after it reaches normal operating temp I get bad idling. It boosts fine no matter the temperature though.
 
Yeah I'm pretty afraid to drive it like that it makes me regret modding it since i have no other car to daily drive but oh well. My spark plugs aren't fouled at all so I don't think it's that. Coils and o2 are the only thing I can think of swapping. Does the msp come with a cat on the downpipe? Debating wether I should leave the non fouler on or not..
 
Not sure if you swapped out the o2 and coils nor plugs. My old honda has the o2 code whenever it wants to but does not affect how the car drives (mazda is different). You should def try new coils or plugs (cheapest first), and try to replace the o2 (obd2 reader will tell you exactly which one is out), got a mini one for 25 bucks or less. I would never drive a car that misfires since it might just end up running you more in the long run. Let us know man... GL

How is mazda different? The o2 can have an effect?
 
So my car has done this to me a good 2-3 times now.. Out of no where on a certain day, the cel will disappear and the car will run fine. Then a day or two later, it'll come back on and misfire.
 
Hmm. I haven't gone into boost either way but I'm on non msp injectors maybe that could be doing it.

Should I take off the non fouler on my downstream o2?
 
So the last 2 days my car has been running fine with no cel BUT.. I've been keeping it under half throttle. Then today, I went half throttle entering a highway backroad and my cel came on. Would this eliminate the coil packs or could it still be that?
 
Have you replaced the coil packs yet? If so I would try that. I would replace the plugs as well. Because you have the turbo now what is the gap on your plugs? MSPs usually run .28-.32
 
I know this is a little old, but...I'm researching the exact same issues on a P5. Some days car runs perfectly, then randomly i get the random misfire code. I don't have the code reader, but the local Napa guy has let me see the read out...and its never a specific cylinder, always the random (multiple) misfire code.

I've seen the laundry list of stuff this could be, but just in case you haven't...random misfires rule out a couple of things, namely injectors or a specific plug and/or a plug wire. If a specific plug or injector dies, you'll get the cylinder# in the code.

This leaves anything from O2 sensors to head gaskets as the culprit. First thing to check would be any noticeable loss of coolant, as well as goofy s*** in your oil. Leaking coolant (mostly water) into the combustion chambers obviously doesn't help things, but in my experience leaking head gaskets usually don't give you random problems...they very quickly get ugly.

Aside from o2 sensors; the EGR system is a common problem on most US 3rd gens. The valve will often get stuck in certain situations...I haven't seen a lot of people saying the EGR valve is causing misfires, though...its usually stalling from higher rpm off throttle (something getting noticeable lately on mine as well, so i'll definitely inspect the EGR).

Other than that, the fuel system itself has multiple parts that could be in need of attention. A bad purge valve can fill the evap canister with liquid fuel, inadvertently flooding the engine in certain conditions...where as a clogged fuel filter, screen/sock, sending unit, or pump...can starve the engine at times.

I'll let you guys know what i come up with over the next week or so of fixing mine. Plugs and wires are brand new, and i'm leaning towards a combination of a problematic purge valve and EGR valve. My misfiring is pretty random, but seems to occur more in colder temperatures as well as when the car has less fuel in the tank. Half a tank or more, it almost never happens in any conditions...between a 1/4 of a tank and half, only happens if its less than 50 degrees or so...1/4 of a tank and under, guaranteed missing on start up...
 
I have been getting the P0300 code for a while. First I had a slight vacuum leak which was just a hole in the boot the goes to the MAS and the intake manifold. After we replaced that, two weeks later I got another P0300 code. Random cylinder misfire. Took it to the mechanic, replaced all plugs, wires and both coil packs. Drove it to work and back the next day about 35 miles and about 1/4 mile from home the CEL came on again. i am hoping it is the ERG valve but not sure what else it could be. It 99% of the time drives fine, except for this last weekend before I had the plugs and coils replaced I started it up and it sputtered and I smelled gas. At that time the CEL had not been on, but when that happened it came on flashing. Turned it off, 5 minutes later the CEL was solid and it ran fine. Had all the coils and everything changed Monday and Tuesday came back on. I drove it today and it felt fine, but same damn code P0300....So frustrating!!!! Any other thoughts? My idle is the only other thing, it is a little low when it is cold, when it warms up seems to be fine.
 
I ordered new coil packs yesterday, so i'll see if that changes mine. Its very strange, as my symptoms seem to be very different from others. Tuesday night i reset my pcm and 'hoped' it would miss when it go colder outside. It did, so i waited until yesterday morning to drive it to have the codes checked (still don't own a reader....no idea why i haven't changed that). only p0300...nothing else pending or anything.

thats leading me more towards 1 or both coils being bad. I've never had a specific cylinder, definitely have this problem in relation to outside temperature...the big difference for me is when it starts missing...its literally undriveable...not just a hesitation or sputter...feels like 2 of the 4 engine mounts came loose and the engine is literally about to fall out of the bay. So i'm assuming this is 2 cylinders at a time, more of a sign of a bad coil. EGR problems and purge related stuff, even major vacuum leaks can result in a lumpy idle, occasional minor misses, as well as frequent stalling on throttle lift...mine either runs perfectly, or feels like the block is cracked in half.
 
I was talking to my neighbor (who sold me my turbo kit & owns a boosted 3rd gen as well) and he sais he gets random misfires all the time as well!
Mine does it in cold temperature mostly but very random to tell specifically when it does it. My neighbor said he's replaced coil packs plenty of times and it wasn't the case for him. Resetting the ecu will help you get away from it for a little while until it comes back. Mine will either start sounding like a tractor and run real choppy, but will still be able to make a quick get away from traffic to pull over. Once I had a huge boost leak after the maf (relocated) but I don't think that's it because I'll get on it good most of the time and it won't complain. THEN, on other days it'll act differently, it'll just stop making power and feel like the car just turned off and I'm stepping on the gas. & a few seconds later it'll kick back like a rocket and drive normal again. I have a way to get rid of it a bit faster than by driving it and waiting for it to go away. What i do when I start misfiring is throw it in neutral and tapping on the gas lightly, once I see that it returns to normal 700rpm idle ill throw it back in 5th and continue my day. One thing I did notice though is my exhaust manifold likes to spit out turbo to exhaust manifold bolts, and misfiring will happen noticeably more often when that happens. I think I'm using turbo to exhaust bolts that are too short and causing an exhaust leak at the turbo. I'm going to replace those and see what happens.
 
Well, i can't really say in your case JDM as i do not have a turbo installed...so all my wiring and everything (save relocated and extended O2 sensors for my header) is stock.

Put the new coils in last Tuesday, put about 200 miles on it since...and it seems to be completely fixed. Mine too was temp related. The colder the ambient temp outside, the more often it would happen. Like i mentioned earlier, my situation was a perfectly driveable to 100% useless type of thing. That was what was giving away the two cylinders missing simultaneously for me. If this happened at an intersection or something, the car wasn't moving until it stopped missing, as it would barely rev in neutral, and letting the clutch out would instantly stall it. I was purposely not flooring it in these situations, as it was obvious something was seriously off.

It looks like i lucked out. I wasn't in the habit of letting it run when it would miss, no matter where i was i just turned the car off for 30 seconds or so and that would often 'reset' the coils or something and they would then work. I also don't have a primary cat, and i've seen the pics from other guys that literally had a 'chimney fire' after some missing because of fuel pouring into the primary catalyst and catching fire for a brief amount of time...ruining the cat. My secondary cat is so far away that this never happened, as the exhaust note and stream seems the same way it always has.

So the codes are all you can go by. In my case, which im nearly positive now was ONLY the coils...will ONLY throw the P0300 code. No other code thrown or pending each time i checked. OBD-II has no specific coil related code...so if you are only getting P0300, it may be one or several problems. The service manual states anything from coils, plugs, wires...to a blown head gasket as the culprit for that code. The EGR system, purge valve and purge canister, fuel sending unit/pump, fuel pressure regulator failure, injector failure, clogged fuel filter, and fuel system pressure problems can all also cause this, but some of them may trigger other codes at the same time. Vacuum leaks and things like that have a specific code too, which will often be triggered before its bad enough to cause heavy missing. My advice is to try and see just how bad the missing is in order to nail it down. Mine was definitely at least 2 cylinders. Many with a P0300 are getting 1 cylinder missing at a time (still gives enough power to move the car), its just that that its not the same cylinder over and over...which will likely mean its not a plug or wire, or even specific injector...and a problem of a broader system.
 
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I actually ran into this on my 323 and it ended up being the intake air temp sensor, it was basicly leaning out due to more and denser air that it wasn't noticing. Obviously it's 2 completely different things but it is something to look into.

Another thing is if it only does it in the first 20~ minutes of driving when it's dewy out, the condensation on a bad spark plug wire will cause it
 
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