[ToyotaRIMD]

1999 Camry idle vibration and engine making with CheckEngine?
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Thanks for responding to my threads.

I hope someone can help me with this before I take it to a mechanic or something.

I have a 1999 Camry LE with 2.2L I4 (5SFE engine), 110K miles on it.. Suddenly vibration started , when I stopped with shift in Drive with holding brake on STOP light. When the shift in P or N, there is no vibration.

Later on checkEngine light came on. It stays all the time , but flashing during acceleration.

I went to Autozone to read check Engine code. The Code reader showed:

P0302 - Cylinder 2 Misfire Detected


Does anyone have any ideas? Big problem here?

Thanks in advance!

 

[CamPoo]

The # 2 cylinder is misfiring - I'd try replacing that spark plug first. Of course this is no big problem, its Normal Maintenance.

The flashing cel is the ECU desperately trying to tell you to let off the throttle. Why? Because way too much unburnt fuel (hence the misfire) is happening which if left unrepaired will damage the catalytic converter(s).

 

[new echo owner]

Cylinder #2 misfire code, suggest clearing the code and see if resets!
Could be a few different things, from spark plug, ignition coil, injector to mechanical issues. Spark plug as @CamPoo points to would be the first step, especially when it is close to the time they need to be replaced, 120k.

 

[artistwifey]

Make sure you get new good quality Spark Plugs and good spark plug wires. PVC valve. Too. Adding marvel mystery oil in the fuel &oil won’t hurt, not too much. Do this, reset ECM,, then see what needs to be done. I’ve had exactly the same problem as you describe.

 

[ToyotaRIMD]

Thanks for weighing in. Good suggestions.

I started with @CamPoo suggestions. I did pick a spark plug Deno PK20TR11 from Advance auto parts. I am surprised that Auto zone is not carrying this in my area.

The old plug was Denso PK20TR11, that shows lot of carbon build up on tips.

After this spark plug replacement for Cylinder 2, I did not see that vibration. I took for a ride. It looks OK.

Are there any other steps to make sure this problem resolved ?

I see the CheckEngine light (CEL) still ON with stable during driving. I did check with AutoZone, whether they can help to reset CEL. They said , I need to take it to repair shop.

What are the ways , we can reset CEL?

Will smartphone OBDII app do Reset CEL?

What is spec (make/part numbers) for spark plug wires & PCV?

Are the ways to diagnose the exiting wires with some measurements to determine of it conditions?


Thanks for your guidance.

 

[new echo owner]

Pull the efi fuse and see.

 

[ToyotaRIMD]

Thanks. Where is the EFI Fuse located ?

Are there any posted Videos/diagrams to help ?

Thanks.

 

[corollacoaster]

Thanks for weighing in. Good suggestions.

I started with @CamPoo suggestions. I did pick a spark plug Deno PK20TR11 from Advance auto parts. I am surprised that Auto zone is not carrying this in my area.

The old plug was Denso PK20TR11, that shows lot of carbon build up on tips.

After this spark plug replacement for Cylinder 2, I did not see that vibration. I took for a ride. It looks OK.

Are there any other steps to make sure this problem resolved ?

I see the CheckEngine light (CEL) still ON with stable during driving. I did check with AutoZone, whether they can help to reset CEL. They said , I need to take it to repair shop.

What are the ways , we can reset CEL?

Will smartphone OBDII app do Reset CEL?

What is spec (make/part numbers) for spark plug wires & PCV?

Are the ways to diagnose the exiting wires with some measurements to determine of it conditions?


Thanks for your guidance.

There may have been more trouble codes, but they didn't tell you since they were happy to sell you just spark plugs and not help you any firther. Get yourself a cheap OBD2 code reader for a store like Walmart. The $20 one is good enough to pull codes and reset the light. Resettig the light never fixes anything. Since they told you to take the car to the shop they must have seen other stuff wrong they don't want to deal with or they're resisting selling you a lot of stuff you don't need. A sooty spark plug can result from too rich a fuel mixture or low compression. An oil fouled spark plug tells you worse things are in the mix- possibly a burned valve or blown head gasket. If you want to use your phone to work on the car, you need the OBD device that talks to phones and plugs in the OBD port when you have an OBD app on the phone. Hand held code readers are better, unless you have good mechanic skills. How much can you do? Can you check valve lash? Compression? There's help. Make sure there aren't more codes and defects.

 

[artistwifey]

It’s all wires all plugs to replace.

To reset ecm easiest take off the terminals from your battery. Give it 15-30 minutes or overnight then reattach. The ECM will be reset.
Our Camry also had the valve cover gasket replaced along with the new plugs and wires, sorry forgot about that.
you might consider putting an additive into your oil to loosen sludge in the motor HOWEVER AND BUT the additive only goes in immediately prior 10 miles or maybe 10 minutes before changing the oil! what you will want is for the loosened matter to settle towards the oil pan then be drained out while everything is still warm. Read up on it or check YouTube.

 

[new echo owner]

Thanks. Where is the EFI Fuse located ?

Are there any posted Videos/diagrams to help ?

Thanks.

The EFI fuse should be in the engine compartment fuse box, next to the air cleaner. Look inside the cover, it will indicate which one is the EFI fuse!

 

[ToyotaRIMD]

Thanks for weighing in and suggestions.

Here is some background:

Even though my engine has 120K mile, but it has re-manufactured engine installed at 85K miles. The mileage on re-manufactured engine 35K. The spark plugs/PCV/Spark plug wires were replaced at 85K miles.

Here is the Cylinder 2 spark plug look like.

It is not showing any OIL, but it shows black carbon deposit.

Is it normal to have such condition after 35K miles on a spark plug?

Do we need to change spark plug and sparkplug wires after 35K miles ?

2) I am able to clear the fault code using Bluetooth OBDII app. I did not see any vibration reported earlier. After clearing the code , I took a short ride after 10 minutes of driving CEL with flashing showed up while driving. When I parked the car, it shows stable CEL. I did run the fault code again using Bluetooth OBDII app, it throwed

P0302 - Cydinder 2 Misfire detected as reported earlier. This is the only code showed up.

I am not sure, why this is showing after replacing the spark plug. Does is it mean the spark plug is not the issue?

Does the posted Sparkplug condition shows any clues for this condition ?

Bluetooth OBDII app emission Readiness , shows misfire fixed..

Is there a way to use Bluetooth OBDII app to find the root cause ?

Let me know, whether you need any other reading of my camry using Bluetooth OBDII app?

Thanks for your guidance/sharing.

 

[OleAvalon]

First, erasing codes. Yes, even the lowest cost bluetooth OBD2 dongle plus a free OBD2 reader like Torque Lite will have the option of turning off codes. The reader has to be one compatible with whatever phone OBD2 reader you install. Harbor Freight used to have cheap OBD2 readers, but the makers of these try to make them relevant to today's cars, meaning they keep getting more and more complex, so right now, their cheapest seems to be around $36. Ebay sellers usually try to be upfront -- this one, based on the ELM327 chip (really, a random Chinese rip-off chip) says it works with a number of free and for-pay phone readers (and it's similar to one I purchase years ago that does indeed work with Torque): OBD2 Car Bluetooth Code Scanner Reader ELM 327 Automotive Diagnostic Tool OBDII | eBay

There are any number of issues that can result in misfires. The misfire CEL is reporting what happened, but not why. Sooty plugs usually point to a rich condition -- which is also a condition, not a cause. Unfortunately, 99 and thereabouts (including my own 03 Avalon 6-cylinder 2mz-fe), there aren't anywhere the range of diagnostics available on younger cars.

carparts.com has a generic, non-Toyota-specific discussion of possibilities here: https://www.carparts.com/blog/p0302-code-cylinder-2-misfire-detected/

You really have 2 options. One is to buy a lot of ammunition for your parts cannon, then fire away until something fixes it. Injectors are a beginning, but most Toyota motors want ONLY the OEM injectors, not random aftermarket parts. Rock Auto has a range, from $31 to $134, 1999 TOYOTA CAMRY 2.2L L4 Fuel Injector | RockAuto. Some Toyota dealers welcome DIYers purchasing OEM - Olathe Toyota is one and the parts lookup is usually pretty simple. For your engine, the real thing seems to be around $188: Fuel System Components for 1999 Toyota Camry | Toyota Parts Center.

It doesn't take many parts cannon shells to add up to a lot of money -- and the possibility of money spent and no fix.

The second option is to learn how to diagnose... it's a long and sometimes difficult trail to follow. And it's pretty daunting until you get the hang of it... then it's merely mind-bending as you trace logic. There are a ton of YouTube videos around good diagnostics. The ones that suit me are South Main Auto and Pine Hollow Diagnostics. Eric O at South Main Auto is easier to follow, since Ivan at Pine Hollow is relentless and highly detailed.

A ton of YouTubes pop up when you search on P0302 1999 camry: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=p0302+1999+camry

Skip any by Scotty Kilmer. He's kind of a clown mechanic.

 

[new echo owner]

Can't remember the setup of the 1999 4 cylinder, distributor, waste spark or individual coil.
Anyway, put the spark plug in a different cylinder, and see if it moves with it. Measure the resistance in the plug wires.

 

[new echo owner]

Ok, woke up a little bit more!
1999 4 cylinder is a waste spark setup; #2 cylinder shares the same coil as #3 cylinder, since there is only #2 misfire code set. It may have a bad plug wire for #2 cylinder.
From the picture, it looks like the plug is not firing. From the soot on the plug, looks like it is getting fuel, or can 'ass-u-me' it is getting fuel at least for now.
Would start with checking the plug wire.
Just saying!

 

[ToyotaRIMD]

Thanks or your suggestion and helping us to learn.

I did check air filter. It looks OK. I did check all spark plugs boots. I find

Cylinder 1, 3, & 4 shows oil at tip of the plug boot, but Cylinder 2 is completely dried.

Here is the picture Cylinder 3 spark plug after removing. It was looks like dipped in OIL.

1)
As per your your suggestions. I did cleared the Fault code (P0302) using bluetooth OBDII.

I did remove the Cylinder 3 spark plug showed above and swapped/installed the one I pulled from cylinder 2.

I did drive the car around . The CEL did not showed up. I scanned for Fault code using bluetooth OBDII. It said no Fault code found.

2) I did check the Spak plug wire of Cylinder 2. I did not see any damages visually.

I did check the resistance using Multi meter. It shows

Length of the Wire 19 inches and reading 1055 - 1057 Ohms. I did not see any OIL at COIL end of the Wire. It looks clean and dry.


3) I tested the removed cylinder 2 sparkplug before installing into cylinder 3 . I used the following Videos to do that.

How to rule out a Spark Plug as your problem?

The test PASSED. I am surprised. This too confirm that Spark plug did not contribute to P0302 misfire.

Where is the OIL coming from into Cylinder 1,3, & 4?

I did not see a lot, but I m concerned. I did not see any Valve Cover Casket external Leak either.

Does this OIL contribute to Misfire ?

Where to go from here ?

Thanks for your guidance for learning.

 

[new echo owner]

The spark plug tubes can leak oil into the spark plug holes, and they can be resealed, by removing them and apply sealers to the threads!

It is not the best video, just to give you some idea of what I am talking about!

 

[new echo owner]

Are the plug wires soaked with oil or simply oil in the sparkplug holes?
If they are soaked, probably should replace them with a good set of Toyota or NGK wire set!

 

[ToyotaRIMD]

Thanks.Are you saying the P0302 misfire caused by this OIL in sparkplug well ?

I did not see OIL in sparkplug holes, but see tiny Quantity of OIL at the bottom to cause soaking plug wires as showed in the Video , you suggested.

Is it OK to clean the OIL using some cloth/break cleaner spray and address the tube sealing, whenever we need a valve cover leak fixing?

Thanks for your guidance.

 

[stmoloud]

Could be a leaking spark plug tube. It's not unusual for oil to find it's way past the spark plug tube threads & into the bottom of the tubes. Only fix is to take them out and smear some high temp RTV silicone on them. There are some good YT videos which can assist if you want to diy. Not a particularly difficult job.

 

[new echo owner]

Thnaks.Are you saying the P0302 misfire caused by this OIL in sparkplug well ?

Nope, since you said there was no oil in the #2 spark plug hole. Don't know what kind of spark plug wire you have; however, I would suspect that the plug wires being the cause over the oil in the spark plug holes. Have seen some spark plug holes filled with oil and engine still ran great; I think something to do with oil not very conductive.

Beside resistance, there are other things you need to look for when inspecting the spark plug wires, sings of arcing to ground, split boots. Even the insulator on the spark plugs can tell you if it had been arcing to ground, so don't ignore those signs, inspect them closely!