#2 won't fire, I've tried everything, i'm losing my damn mind, please help!

[drgian]

I bought a 2007 XC 70 T5 with a broken valve. After a successful rebuild (and several hiccups along the way) she ran like a champ. But after a day or two she started to stutter and I realized she was losing voltage. I tired replacing the voltage regulator but that didn't do it, so I went a got an entire new alternator.

Getting an alternator in this car isn't trivial, I had to remove the intake manifold to get it out. It went back together fine but #2 isn't firing. I've tried everything, switched coil packs, new plugs. The wires on this car (it's got 250K miles) are brittle and I figured one of them was bad. I traced each one back as far as I could and that's not it.

When I bought the car, the connector and pigtail was held together with electrical tape and crimp on butt connectors. I have a 2001 spare that my daughter wrecked so I pulled a connector from there and hooked it up. Still no spark. I went to FCP Euro and even though I can see no material difference in the connectors between the 2001 (which is the wreck) and the 2007 I'm working on, They are different. So I bought a new connector to the coil pack, but could that really bit it?

I can't believe after all I've done to get this car fixed it's a damn spark plug that's holding me up from being done.

Other than the connector, does anyone have any ideas? I've swapped the injectors, I've pulled the plug and I can see there is no spark, but I cannot figure out why.


please help!

[ssicarman]

Definitely no spark from the coil/plug or just the cylinder misfiring?
Have you put a spark plug in the coil, grounded it and checked for spark?

[drgian]

no spark at all, nothing. I've run the same test on the other 4 and they are sparking just fine. This one nothing. I have pulled the plug from each cylinder and performed the same test, all spark but #2. OBD throws a #2 misfire error. I've checked the ground wire with my multimeter and it's wide open between the end of the connector and the block. There is a brown wire and a green wire with a white stripe that, besides the ground, feed into the connector. I have arced the green wire against the block and blown the coil back fuse, I traced the brown wire as far back as I could and spliced in a replacement wire in case there was some discontinuity, that didn't do it. the connector is the only piece left that I haven't replaced or ruled out. My only hope is that on the FCP Euro site the connector for the 2001 is different than the 2007 so I'm hoping somehow it's not making contact. (I replaced the old connector with one from a wreck I have, a 2001).

any other ideas?