Engine Misfire Symptoms and Causes
Engine Misfire is a serious problem you need to take into account when it comes to the health of the car. You may be worried that your engine is misfiring on load or on idle.
In modern gas engines, engine misfire is one of the most common problems. It is due to the importance of spark inside the car engine.
Engine misfiring could be due to many reasons and it may not be easy to troubleshoot if you do not know where you should begin the inspection.
Keep reading to know about different symptoms and causes of engine misfires. Let us start with the symptoms of engine misfiring.
· Engine Misfire Symptoms
You can experience engine misfire with several different symptoms. Get familiar with some of the most common symptoms.
· Rough Acceleration
How do you realize that your engine is misfiring? Due to misfire, you feel it like light or massive jerk coming from the engine. These jerks are usually caused due to engine under load, and the engine is weighed down when you are accelerating on higher RPMs and higher gears. You should suspect an engine misfire when you are experiencing rough acceleration.
· Rough Idle
Not just acceleration, your engine will misfire on idle also and engine sensors will get faulty valves. The air-fuel mixture will get messed up. It may result in a very uneven idle and the engine may also shut down on idle.
· Vibrations
A car engine is very balanced when it comes from the factory and often comes in balanced axels to reduce the vibrations from it as possible. If one cylinder is not working correctly, the engine will get unbalanced. It may lead to heavy vibrations inside your cabin on idle or on acceleration.
· Check Engine Light
Modern cars come with different sensors also on engines. The engine control unit receives the information from these sensors if something is not quite right with the engine. The unit decides if the problem is serious or not. If the problem is arising often, the control unit will light up the check engine light to notify you that there is something wrong with the engine.
· Engine Sound Changed
If you are familiar with the sounds of the cars, you will notice the difference in sounds from different engines. V8 engines have a different tone than a 4-cylinder engine. If you realize that your car’s sound is extraordinarily strange, it could be due to engine misfire.
· Engine Misfire Causes
Now that you have read about the symptoms of an engine misfire, now you need to start looking for the problem. Here are some of the most common causes of an engine misfire.
· Bad Spark Plug
Worn Spark plugs are one of the most common causes of an engine misfire. Spark plugs fire up your engine and they can wear out over time. Generally, spark plugs are not that expensive and are easy to replace. Take a look at the condition of the spark plugs and replace them if it is time.
· Intake Manifold Gasket Leaks
It is another common reason for engine misfires. Intake leaks near the cylinder head can also cause engine misfire. You can need to take a look at the engine gaskets. Search any signs of leaks.
· Low Fuel Pressure
Low fuel pressure is another reason behind engine misfire. It may be the results. Low fuel pressure could be due to a defective fuel pump, a clogged fuel filter or a faulty fuel pressure regulator. If you suspect that misfires are arising from all cylinders, it is advised to check your fuel pressure.
· Low Compression/ Damage inside the Engine
If you have carefully analyzed everything, most probably it is low compression or other damages inside the engine. A faulty timing belt may also be the reason behind low compression. You need to check that.
