‘Dealing with this on a ‘06 Nissan Frontier’: Customer rolls Ford F-150 into shop after simple spark plug change. Then the puzzled mechanic discovers rare fault

Ford’s F-150 trucks continually dominate the pickup truck market due to their American automotive muscle and utility. But one small-town mechanic may have just solved one of the brand’s most bewildering issues.

“Definitely putting this notch in my belt and saving it,” viewers of the fix shared.

Posted Jan. 10, Royalty Auto Service (@royaltyautoservice) shared its quick yet complex solution to a firing issue in a customer's 2019 Ford F-150. Amassing over 280,900 views and 10,800 likes, the father-son duo takes to TikTok to walk viewers through their solution development. Located in Camden County, Georgia, the pair stood in their shop and told all. 

“I would say you would not be able to diagnose it properly and be 100 percent sure without the power of the scope,” the mechanic begins. 

What is the problem?

Briefly explaining, he shares that there was a misfire within the fourth cylinder of the car. A “misfire” can occur when a car engine cylinder fails to properly ignite its air-fuel mixture. This can cause a lack of power, creating a shaking sensation within the car and a loss of acceleration. 

“This is the Power Balance test on the Ford software,” the mechanic says.

The son points the camera to a screen depicting the power of each car cylinder. The overall engine speed is sitting at around 798 RPM. The mechanic then begins to focus in on the individual lines displayed on the digital graph.

“You can see ‘four’ is as dead as a doornail,” the mechanic says. “The client already put in a coil, already put in a spark plug, and then he gave up and got it to us."

The mechanic continues to show a linear description of the injector's input values and their effects on the engine's overall combustion. Using his scope to get a better visual, he shares the differences in the linear progression of a healthy injector process in relation to an unhealthy one. 

Explaining that it is meant to have an effect on the magnetic field within the car, the mechanic continues.

“What happens is that as that injector fires, there is a bearing that opens up that allows fuel to pass by it. It opens, and that ferrous metal goes through the magnetic field,” the mechanic says. 

Why does this happen?

There are many reasons why this fuel injector may have been faulty, with the three most common issues being clogging, leaks, or dirt from long-term car use. However, in this case, it seems that while the injector opened a few of the cylinders, it failed to open them all.

“That's our bad cylinder—cylinder number four,” the mechanic says.

With every other instrument within the car being recently replaced, the mechanic explained how it seems as though the car should have no issues. 

“So the only way to see that injector was not physically opening ... was to look at it on the scope,” the mechanic says. “Then you could see that there's a hump on one and not a hump.”

The mechanic takes another look at the linear descriptions on the screen. He explains that while one injector seemed to be working fine electrically, it was stuck physically. So, he takes his son toward the driver's seat of the vehicle to take a more direct look at the issue.

How did he fix it?

Walking to the car, the mechanic turns on the engine as he tracks the car's power balance on his device. At this point, he has already replaced the faulty injector and placed a new one. He then revs the engine. 

“Smooth as can be, it’s fixed,” the mechanic says. “You don't see this a lot.”

He stands at the driver’s door and converses with his son, recapping him on the overall damage and fix.

“It’s a cool find just to see the opening and closing and find[ing] it that way, rather than just the normal resistance type thing,” the mechanic says.

After his extensive training to become a mechanic, he shares that it’s rare to be able to use all the skills he once learned. As the nearly four-minute video comes to an end, he shares how exciting it is to be able to see these rare technical problems. 

Viewers were shocked at how extensive the diagnosis development was. 

“Seriously, that is the most brilliant diagnosis of a mechanical fault in a saturated coil injector I have ever seen online! Brilliant,” one commenter shared. 

Is this common?

However, it may be that this is a more common occurrence than most believe.

“So weird sitting here and just scheduled a service for an issue like this with the same truck. These phones share too much information,” one commenter said.

“Dealing with this now on a 06 nissan frontier frontier. Pretty confident it’s the injector now,” another added. 

Because cars follow the Otto Cycle, there is a constant volume combustion cycle allowing the gasoline to fuel the car. The thermodynamic cycle occurs in all fuel-run cars, excluding diesel, as it's created by the typical spark ignition piston engines. So, when there is an issue with an automobile engine, it's important to rule out these engine aspects first.

“It always boils down to spark, fuel or compression. Plugs, wire, coil, harness/plug, injector plug/harness. As a mostly diy mechanic I try swaps to see if the problem moves,” a viewer advised. 

What about in Ford F-150s?

With Ford F-150s, cylinder-related misfires are especially common due to their consistent use in the technical workforce. Due to their overworked spark plugs, ignition coils, valve seals, or even blown head gaskets, low compression in the cylinders can occur, creating poor combustion. 

Many times, if one of the injectors, which feeds the fuel to the combustion chamber, is continually getting stuck, the correct ratio of fuel to air getting released is impeded. Through this, since the wrong levels of fuel and air enter the chamber, an engine misfire is likely to occur.

So, if you suspect a cylinder issue in your Ford F-150, don’t be alarmed, as there are many ways to go about the problem. 

How can you check for this?

First, use a scanner to read any engine codes that indicate which exact cylinder misfired before making the next decision. From here, you can visually inspect the spark plugs and ignition coils, looking for any build-up or wear-and-tear and replacing them if needed. 

Next, you can perform a compression test. This is another tool utilized to help identify which cylinder is facing low compression issues, pinpointing the problem more finely. 

If you are still unable to diagnose the issue, or if you simply don't know how to solve it, it’s always best to consult a mechanic for further inspection. This will just ensure you don’t misdiagnose the car or make the problem worse.

The Daily Dot reached out to Royalty Auto Service via TikTok comment and direct message. It also reached out to Ford via media email for comment.

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The post ‘Dealing with this on a ‘06 Nissan Frontier’: Customer rolls Ford F-150 into shop after simple spark plug change. Then the puzzled mechanic discovers rare fault appeared first on The Daily Dot.

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