Circuit/System Description

The engine control module (ECM) uses information from the crankshaft position sensor and the camshaft position sensors in order to determine when an engine misfire is occurring. By monitoring variations in the crankshaft rotation speed for each cylinder, the ECM detects individual misfire events. A misfire rate that is high enough can cause 3-way catalytic converter damage. The malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) flashes ON and OFF when the conditions for catalytic converter damage are present.

DTCs P0301 through P0306 correspond to cylinders 1 through 6. If the ECM is able to determine that a specific cylinder is misfiring, the DTC for that cylinder is set, and the corresponding fuel injector is disabled. To retest for a misfire, the ECM re-enables the fuel injector(s) after 4 crankshaft revolutions or after 8 crankshaft revolutions for manual transmission equipped vehicles. For catalyst damaging misfires the ECM re-enables the fuel injector(s) after a 30 second delay to retest for a misfire. This 30 second periodic re-enabling occurrs until the end of the drive cycle or until no further catalyst damaging misfire events are present.