Old car, CEL (twice, once flashing), diagnostic codes, runs fine, what's wrong with it?

Any coolant loss?

Well …

about a week before the first time the CEL came on I had my oil changed and the mechanic mentioned that my coolant was low. I had some at my house and was going to add it but forgot until the day the CEL came on so added some then. I haven’t checked it again since then.

Is there a connection with low coolant? The car never overheats.

Actually, for a Mecury Villager, it’s ancient.

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Keep an eye on the coolant level because if a head gasket is starting to fail, the coolant could be leaking into that #1 cylinder causing the misfire. Head gaskets are expensive, BTW.

All the posters have pretty good advice. Given your situation, here’s how I’d play it. You had a tuneup 15K ago and the mechanic didn’t tell you that there is a problem with #1. Looking at the sparkplug is a very good way to determine the condition of that cylinder. You could pay them to check it now but first I’d add fuel injector cleaner to the gas and run a tank through to see if that clears things up. While you are doing that, look around for a replacement car. This car is on its last legs.

If it doesn’t clear the problem, list the car for $1300 and take the first offer you get. Any running car, even poorly, is worth that. A trade-in would get you about $500 or less and the dealer would tack that onto the price of the newer car so your net would be $0.

@Mustangman

Thank you. You confirmed some things I have been thinking.

I’ll check the coolant level again today. Would that kind of leaking cause the car to overheat? It never has and it’s been really hot the past month.

I hope to get the car to the mechanic on Friday. With today being a holiday it has made scheduling more difficult. I can ask him to check the #1 sparkplug.

Is fuel injector cleaner different than a fuel additive? I bought some Techron complete fuel system cleaner but have yet to add it because I still have 6-8 gallons of gas in my car. How important is it to add it to an empty tank? Should I fill the car with premium gas after I add it? I’m a little lost with how to go about this.

I think you are right about it being time for a replacement car. I had actually just started looking before these problems came up. I will buy a car from a private party not a dealer. This car has lasted me 7 years - two years longer than I ever expected. I certainly got my money’s worth! I paid $2500 and have had no engine problems until now.

Thanks for the info on pricing and selling. Another plus is that I just put on new tags that are good for 2 years so that must be worth something.

With 7-8 gallons, just pour in 1/2 the bottle. No, you don’t have to use premium. And Injector cleaners can be additives.

As for the coolant, Yes, if you lose enough, it can cause the car to overheat. The reason I suggested you keep track of it is because if a head gasket is starting to fail, it can sometimes “consume” coolant. Basically coolant enters the cylinders and goes out the exhaust. Cars shouldn’t “consume” coolant. that is a hint of a problem. IF the head gasket is starting to fail, there are things that can be added to the coolant to temporarily fix the problem. Normally the posters here would say, “no, don’t do that” but this car is on its last legs.

When you go to your mechanic, don’t tell them to do specific things. Tell them what you told us. Give details on what is happening so that the mechanic can figure it out. After all the car is right there in front of him, not us. Oh, BTW, great buy! $2500 and 7 years? Score!

Good Luck.

Before replacing a fuel injector, try swapping the number 1 and number 2 injectors. If the problem is the injector, the misfire will move to number 2 cylinder. If it stays w/number 1 it’s not the injector and at least you’ve saved yourself the price of a unneeded new injector.

Yes, that’s the place to start. It takes very little time for a mechanic to read the codes. Misfires are not an uncommon problem reported here. Pro mechanics diagnose and fix your car’s problem as a regular course of business. Sometimes it turns out to be a major mechanical problem, but more often than not the problem is something simple, like a loose connection in a wire or a easy to replace part failure, something very fixable like that.

It’s a low risk guess to pour in a can of Techron injector cleaner, but since your problem seems to be intermittent, it’s unlikely to help with this particular problem. But it might clean out the injectors if they’re a little clogged, may not help, but won’t hurt either.

If you’ll allow an editorial comment, I sort of get the sense you want to get this fixed without a major expense. I can understand that; but the problem is that by using a non-pro mechanic and engaging in guess work you may end up spending more than if you just engaged an experienced inde mechanic. For fixing modern cars like yours, the cheapest way into the shop is seldom the cheapest way out of the shop. Best to use someone who has years of experience. Then just tell them the symptoms, any ideas you’ve gleened by your own research , and then stand back & let them solve it. If you have an upper limit on how much $$ you can spend, let the mechanic know that up front. They’ll try to do what will bring the most bang for the buck, given the number of bucks available. The best way to find a shop is to ask your friends, coworkers, church-goers, bar hoppers, anybody you have a trusted personal relationship with, ask them who they use for their cars. From that list interview 2 or 3 that specialize in fixing Ford or at least American cars, and choose the one you like the most. Make sure to tell them who it was that recommended them to you. Best of luck.

Has any consideration been given to the fact that that the No. 1 misfire might be caused by a faulty plug wire or in a worst case scenario; a cylinder dropping compression.

The number for the cylinder misfire should be 301.

It seems a bit premature to suspect a fuel injector or to throw in the towel at this point without considering the plug wire first.

I checked and have not lost any coolant in the past 3 weeks. It’s been super hot here the last couple days and I’ve driven a little and had the AC on full blast and no sign of overheating so hope there is not a gasket problem. Thanks for the info about the additive and for the tips on talking to the mechanic. Had hoped to see the him on Friday but he didn’t have an opening until next week so I will see him on Tuesday.

@GeorgeSanJose

I am happy to report that I’m taking the car to a trusted and very experienced mechanic, someone a friend of mine has been going to for about 10 years. The appointment is for Tuesday next week.

I will probably add the Techron I bought. Good to know it can’t do any harm.

Your are correct that I don’t want to spend a lot to fix this. That was why I didn’t have the first mechanic I went to put in a new fuel injector - he didn’t seem sure that that was the problem. Your idea of swapping the fuel injectors makes more sense. But I’ll see what this other mechanic thinks.
Thanks for your suggestions. I’ll post an update next week.

Did it rain just before or was it raining at the time the CEL came on?

Nope. It was warm and dry. And there has been no rain since. Is rain related to CEL problems?

Sometimes rain or very high humidity will cause the coils or the ignition wires to arc. If you have a distributor cap, then it could arc internally as well. You mentioned that you recently had your plugs and ignition wires replaced but you might still have a hairline crack in the distributor cap or a severely damaged tip inside. I always replace the cap when I replace the wires so your mechanic probably did also but you overlooked it in telling us what has been done. Easy to overlook.

I just checked and yes, the distributor cap and rotor were both replaced with the tune-up 15K miles ago. But thanks for mentioning that possibility. Hope the mechanic can figure this out!

Update on my CEL Issue with my 97 Mercury Villager minivan

The car has been driving “normally” with no symptoms. The CEL has not come on again since June 22 when it was flashing while I was driving on the freeway. (That was the second time; the first time it came on and stayed on for about a day with no flashing). I have driven the car almost everyday since then but only for short distances - maybe 100 miles total - and not on the freeway until today.

I drove it on the freeway today with no problem and no CEL. My maximum speed was 55mph because there was traffic. The car ran fine and has been running fine - about the same as it did before all this happened. It has been very hot here and I have run the A/C with no overheating issues. (This car has never overheated.)

This past Saturday I added a bottle of Techron to the gas tank and about 7 gallons of Chevron mid grade gas. I don’t know if it helped - maybe. Or if I should buy more or even a different type of cleaner? I did not notice any difference in driving the car after adding it.

Yesterday I took it to a friend’s highly recommended mechanic. He checked the codes and the only one that showed was the misfire cylinder 1. Based on that he checked spark plugs and wires, cap and rotor, and the MAF sensor. He looked and listened and could not hear or see anything. I had to decide if I wanted him to really get into it and maybe spend a few hours exploring possibilities. He would have been willing to take more things apart but I did not want to the spend money for that given the car’s value. He did not think it was worth the money to replace fuel injectors.

I still feel unsure about whether the problem is really gone. I do have AAA with extra towing so I know I won’t get totally stuck. I’m hoping to sell this car then borrow one while I look for a replacement used vehicle.

Any ideas are most welcome!

I would just sell it “as-is” with a simple statement like, “The check engine light has been on, then off, so I put Techron in the gas. It runs great, but I only drive it around town because I don’t really trust it completely.” Don’t hesitate to let a prospective buyer take it to a mechanic for a checkout.

@insightful Thanks!

Really good advice and a great way to describe the car’s condition.

:relaxed: Happy days to you

I would rethink that plan. This thing is not a valuable vehicle , sure you might get more selling outright but what if you wreck the borrowed vehicle or something expensive breaks while you have it. You could possibly ruin a friendship . Just go shopping, trade the thing off and move on.

I agree with Volvo on this . . .

A 1997 Mercury Village simply isn’t worth much, and it might not be worth the hassle to try to find a buyer

Use it to start shopping for the next car. You’ll just trade it in and be rid of it, versus dealing with tire kickers who waste your time

I suspect the Villager is worth more in trade, versus trying to sell it to an individual