MTL_Z28

I was wondering if I can get some input on my problem this just happened today... I'll try to summarize what is most relevant to the story for a 2007 Z06

Basically I had been having intermittent dtc p0171 (cylinder bank lean) since getting my car but the code would always clear itself after a few drive cycles. After reading up I attributed it to cold air intake which my car has.

anyway, today upon starting the car to go to work I noticed a faint ticking sound that wasn't there before. However as the car warmed up it went away so I made nothing of it.

However after being stuck in traffic on the way home my CEL came on (solid light) and when I get off at my exit I noticed a slight low rpm stumble but nothing major.

At this point I'm running low on gas so on the way home decided to stop at the gas station to fill up. However on the way there the stumble gets pretty bad.

I fill up and leave but now stumble even worse and there is a loud ticking that sounds like an exhaust leak coming from motor, as well the CEL has switched from solid to blinking which iirc means a misfire code.

I was about a mile from home when this happened so I limped home and pulled the codes p0171 and p0306 (cylinder 6 misfire)

anyone have anything similar happen? I'm hoping it's just dirty injector causing a misfire, and obviously hoping I didn't break a valve spring or worse

Thanks for the input I'll try and pull the spark plug on 6 tomorrow

User Omega

It can be a number of things. Plug, wire, coil, injector, lifter, valve related...

If the sound is that awful and getting worse I would pull the valve cover and look for the obvious. Rotate the engine and make sure the valves move. You could swap the plug, wire, and coil to see if the problem moves. If not then try moving the injector. That would eliminate some things pretty quickly.

The blinking check engine light occurs during a misfire. It was warning you that severe catalyst damage was eminent as it was pouring unburnt fuel into the exhaust. I sure hope you didn't drive far. Even short distances with the light flashing are not good.

Good luck and please return to update when you find out.

psp6158

First, check and double check your plug wires and make sure they are on all the way, common issue...

MTL_Z28

You guys were right #6 plug wire was barely on the coil...

When I tried putting it back on it was hard to click into place and would want to come off on it's own as if pressure was building up in the coil and pushing it off

Luckily a neighbor of mine also has a c6z he gave me a Taylor wire, I swapped it in, cleared the codes and it seems to be back to normal.

So I guess next should I just get a set of aftermarket wires and should I check for anything else that could have been damaged or would need replacing?

User Omega

Great news! I love this sort of outcome.


You should be all set. If it runs okay and doesn't have any codes for catalytic system after getting it back up to temp you shouldn't have anymore related problems. I doubt you ran the car enough to really hurt anything.

Aftermarket wires:

Oh boy, where to begin... That is a can of worms comparable to the age old question "What oil is the best?".

I bought aftermarket wires because I needed a higher quality wire that could be removed and installed several times and not get damaged. I also needed a better material to take the heat.
Some people even claim a smoother idle or performance gains from them even on a stock vehicle. I can't say whether that is true or not. Something you would just have to find out for yourself if you wanted. This is what I bought. They have a very firm click when going on. https://www.carlyleracing.com/store/...acement-wires/

I have tried MSD and did not like them. The boots tear, the connection is not as firm as I would like, and I have had a few just fail over the years.

For a stock vehicle I would just run a factory wire. They are really a great set and many guys get over 100k out of them.

You will find 239423492384273428 opinions on this out there. I would go Firecore or stock.

MTL_Z28

Ok thanks for the help!

Gonna try to order stock replacement wires then.

Also I looked again last night inside the coil for #6 with a light and mirror and the electrical terminal inside where the wire would go looks badly corroded (it's toast) so I'm assuming I need a new coil as well? The car still seems to run well though it might be hesitating still sometimes now that I think about it...
The guy at the parts store gave me a Spectra Premium coil p/n C-721 will this be ok as a stock replacement?

The DTC codes have not returned but I'm thinking I won't drive too much before I get this sorted out

User Omega

I have not used any aftermarket coils myself so I cannot recommend any. I would assume that it would work alright but I would look for a factory coil myself - even used it okay. I can see that Amazon has that 721 coil for $44 shipped. When you say that the coil is toast does that mean you are sure that it is failing? I would try cleaning it first unless it is obviously damaged or not working.

MTL_Z28

I tried to insert a picture of what I mean
If you can see the inside of the coil where the spark plug wire would connect looks corroded do you think it's salvageable? I've looked in the others on that side they all look shiny and new on the inside

Ok so the part number I posted turned out to be the square coil pack which would work on an LS7 but I think is meant for other LS series engines. I went ahead and exchanged it for the correct 12573190 coil (cylindrical shaped) and also picked up the AC Delco stock replacement red wires. I'll probably go ahead and change all the wires and keep my remaining blue stockers as back ups

MTPZ06

^ Its probably been arcing for some time.

Jaybird29

Rockauto.com has factory coil and wires.

User Omega

So how did this end up going? Is all well now?

I somehow missed the updates until Jaybird posted.

MTL_Z28

UO;

yep i put the stock replacement coil in, and I just changed out all the spark plug wires (wasn’t going to change only one wire) and all seems well and good news the dtc has never returned so as the other user pointed out the wire was probably off and arcing for a while and thats what was causing my intermittent cel

getting ready to put car away for storage so first thing I’m gonna address next spring is the heads