chily2008

Today I washed my car at my home, just as I always do- lots of water. When I was finished I started the car, it didn't idle correctly. When I tried to accelerate, the car hesitated quite significantly. It seemed to be fine at speed. I stopped and listened to the engine and occasionally the engine would misfire. I did not get a CEL. The engine never stalled. Also, after washing the first few times of braking, the brake was quite rigid. It lightened up after a few minutes.

When I got back home, I hooked the car up to my durametric and it showed a few codes.

P1319 Misfire, Emission Relevant
P1318 Misfire, Cylinder 6, Emission Relevant
P1317 Misfire, Cylinder 5, Emission Relevant
P1313 Misfire, Cylinder 1, Emission Relevant

I let the engine air out for a few minutes. The engine ran pretty well however still misfired however rarely. I let the engine sit even more and now everything seems fine.

I have not had problems with my car. It normally runs great. I wash my car often and drive it in the rain frequently and I have never had this issue. It is a 00 C2 with 72k. I have read a few forums that mention others having a similar problem- most of the discussions had to do with a bad brake booster and also ridiculing the person for going through a drive through car wash. I think that clogged drains and a brake booster issue is the cause of the brake issue but I am more interested in the misfiring issue. I assume that I got a little water into the intake. Seems like things have dried out and are now ok. Is there anything else that I should look into or anything else I should consider? I don't really understand why I would only get misfires in 3 cylinders if I got water in the intake, seems like it would be all of them.

Thanks,
Steve

cdodkin

possible cracked coil packs - water got in when you washed

rmillnj

I had the same experience and similar codes one time after a very heavy rain with very strong wind. Let it sit overnight and it was fine the next day. That several months ago and the car has been running great ever since. Service manager thought it was just some water getting to the coil packs.

dresler

shouldn't cracked coil packs be fixed?

redridge

damn.... now we cant even wash our cars! what next, rms after a wax job???

cdodkin

Yep - if they are indeed cracked

cdodkin

Most likely, location is the key to the failure of the coils , and why Porsche fit a shield on the 996 I believe: With the engine behind the wheels, all the crap from the road, inc the puddles we've all been through lately; all bombard the sides of the engine and soak the coils, the shield can only do so much. Boxster engines are more encapsulated with only half the engine visible from underneath until the undertray is removed.

The plastic of the coil pack cracks over time, most likely due to heat/cool cycling, and when they are cracked, water can get in and cause misfires.

Possible the OP jetted water into the rear wheel wells, and this got to the coil packs.

Worth having them checked before they potentially leave you stranded somewhere.

htny

water just reveals the underlying issue with the ignition (facilitates arcs if there are cracks). If it happened once, it will happen again.

I just had both banks done under warranty a couple of weeks ago, along with a valve solenoid on the misfiring cylinder (#3).

It's a DIY if outside of warranty, and I think it's worth doing, especially if you feel misfires at low RPM or idling.