Engine misfiring?

Hey guys, I’m new here. I have a problem with my 03 Ford Escape that i need some help with. I have a pretty decent knowledge of the inner workings of a car but i have never done anything to maintain one besides changing my own oil.
A few months ago, i drove through a flooded road that was pretty deep (at least 18 inches) and after i got through it, i could feel my engine misfiring and my check engine light was flashing. I drove back home with the engine sputtering the whole way back. The next day, it appeared to be working just fine, except the solid CEL. I went and bought a code reader which threw me a couple codes about the misfiring. I shut the light off and everything seemed to be working fine. But ever since then, whenever it rains outside, the engine likes to start misfiring again. It seems to be the worst at idle. It has not given me any codes since i erased the ones it gave me the first time, even though i can feel the same thing happening. What should be my first course of action here? I have heard it could be just that water got in somewhere it shouldn’t be and i should go around with a spray bottle and soak it until i hit something that makes it act up again.

Remove your air filter. Does it look like it has been wet? Replace it.

Post the codes you got here… in the form p0123 and we will comment.

Btw, never drive a car with a flashing cel.

1 Like

I would look at the spark plug cables. They are pretty old now and with time they can deteriorate enough that they develop micro cracks and start to short out when they get damp or wet. A set of cables isn’t too expensive and if you replace them one at a time it’s not a very skilled job.

I don’t quite rememeber the codes i got because i never wrote them down but one of them said misfire on cylinder 4, one said misfire in first 1000 revolutions, and one said random engine misfire detected

P0300, P0304, and P0316 sound about right