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I have to use the Dorman Blue igintion wires ie. the ones with ceramic boots so the spark doesnt leak out under very hot conditions...
I havent had to change my wires in 4 years now
I was finally able to reproduce the issue while recording live data. The vertical white cursor indicates when the MIL started blinking (didn't set any codes, but did leave a Pending code for cylinder 2 misfire). Unfortunately, I don't see anything that stands out to indicate WHY the misfire occurred. Everything seems to happen in response to me letting off the throttle at the time indicated by the cursor, but I don't see anything before that time to indicate a cause of the misfire.
When the MIL started blinking, I immediately let off the throttle and the blinking stopped (which I assume means it quit misfiring). The short increase in RPM afterward is when I gave it a little gas to change lanes and get off the freeway.
Do you see anything in these graphs that stands out as a possible cause for this intermittent misfire under load / at high RPM? I'm strongly considering buying a set of the most premium spark plug wires I can find just to try that, but I really want to avoid resorting to the parts cannon if at all possible.
Clogged cat as stated before. I dont think you ever described how the van runs during the time the CEL is flashing. If the van is losing momentum during that heavy load and you have to feather the throttle to keep it going I would check the cat. I could hit it with a rubber mallet and hear the broken insides rattle. When I opened it up a big piece was wedged in the rear of the housing and closed off 2/3s of my exhaust flow. It was broken into 3 or 4 sections. Mine acted as what I stated but I never got the CEL flashing.
a big piece was wedged in the rear of the housing and closed off 2/3s of my exhaust flow. It was broken into 3 or 4 sections. Mine acted as what I stated but I never got the CEL flashing.
A major symptom of a clogged catalytic converter is a lack of engine power. A flashing CEL indicates a problem, such as a misfire or engine performance issue that could damage the catalytic converter.
I want to close the loop on this thread. My van never showed symptoms of a clogged cat (like losing power under load). About a year ago, I replaced the spark plug wires with thicker ones from Summit Racing, and the problem went away. I've been driving it for the past year with no problems.
So, it turns out the 7mm "premium" wires weren't so premium after all. Even after following the wire routing TSB, the thin insulation was causing the engine to misfire under heavy load. After installing new wires with better insulation (still routed per the TSB), all is well and has been for a year.
