Jealous and Neglected J30

[GerryO]

About a month ago I parked my J30 in the garage, near the coast where the weather has been a bit damp/rainy/foggy. Started the engine last Saturday, but didn't leave the garage. It started right up, sounded quiet enough, but it has a miss! This is going to be interesting, and suppose I'll start with trying to identify the one offending cylinder. The list of items that are less than a year old or have been cleaned within the last year is pretty long.

Bad/damp/cracked coil pack/connection maybe?

[yodawill2000]

Get the consult working yet ??If I recall you have all new injectors so a coilpack may be the issue.The consult will tell you what cylinder is missing quickly.

[GerryO]

Get the consult working yet ??If I recall you have all new injectors so a coilpack may be the issue.The consult will tell you what cylinder is missing quickly.

There a just a few too many things that need fixing and the consult is another of them. Maybe I'll have to get the consult working in order to fix the car. The list goes on and...

[driverdriver]

Sometimes a weak sparkplug causes misses.

I would figure out which cylinder is missing and go from there.

[yodawill2000]

Man I wish I was closer to ya Gerry

That consult is priceless when it comes to misses , codes , ect.

[GerryO]

Man I wish I was closer to ya Gerry

That consult is priceless when it comes to misses , codes , ect.

Me too. I'd help? you pull your plenum! A lot more fun and rewarding than gr8scott indicated.

I'm gonna check the local Fry's Electronics store for one of the recommended serial to USB adapters (it took some time and effort to determine that Cables Unlimited #2920 USB 2.0 to RS232 Serial Adapter that they stock in the components department uses the FTDI chip). $19.99 plus tax.

Another J30 owner in the area has graciously offered to lend me a spare coil pack or two.
Modified by GerryO at 8:55 PM 5/7/2009

[GerryO]

Sometimes a weak sparkplug causes misses.

Could be or just a fouled plug (NGK cold-type/less than 1 year/10K miles new)? I'd driven the car about 100 miles before parking it in the driveway that afternoon and over night. The next morning I started it just long enough (there was still dew on the hood) to pull it into the garage, where it sat for the next three or four weeks. Moisture, a rich fuel mixture from a couple of cold starts and maybe some worn valve guide related oil seepage? I suppose I need to drive the car just about every day and work on it more often.

[driverdriver]

I've been storing my J over the winter in my garage.

I usually do a full oil change, top up the fuel tank to prevent condensation, pump up the tires and put some fuel stabilizer in the tank. I usually hook up the battery to a smart trickle charger.

I make sure to start the car up every two weeks and let it run for at least 30-45 minutes. I usually run it out of the garage to prevent tire dead spotting and if there is no salt or snow, I will drive it around the neighbourhood.

[GerryO]

I've been storing my J over the winter in my garage.

I usually do a full oil change, top up the fuel tank to prevent condensation, pump up the tires and put some fuel stabilizer in the tank. I usually hook up the battery to a smart trickle charger.

I make sure to start the car up every two weeks and let it run for at least 30-45 minutes. I usually run it out of the garage to prevent tire dead spotting and if there is no salt or snow, I will drive it around the neighbourhood.

Things were considerably drier in the area last Saturday, what with the sun shining and 40-50 mph winds blowing most of the day. I left the garage door open all day, before starting the engine late in the afternoon. No miss. Maybe something was damp or there was a bit of water in the gas. We'll see. There's nothing like a good intermittent problem and mother's/wive's day weekend is not a good work on the J30 weekend.