Thank you so much for your thorough and easy walk-thru diagnosis and fix. My 2010 (red lol) 2.2 HHR LT just started misfiring with engine light and esc/traction control light coming on, right in the middle of driving my grandson to school this morning. I was barely able to cross the road fast enough to get over to be able to pull over in a parking lot. Anyway, my husband came with an engine diagnostic tool from work and it came up with the P0300 code but not which cylinder. So he followed me a couple of blocks to O'Reily's, and their tool narrowed it to the 4th, just like your video, lol. So my husband bought new plugs and we brought it to our best friend's shop down the road, and while my husband was changing the plugs, (which were pretty bad), I found this video of yours in my search and I love how precise you are and covered all bases easy-peasy. Well the plug change by itself didn't work, so he went ahead and changed the coil pack, and wallah, fixed. We were especially happy that you showed how to remove the error code, which we did, then ran the diagnostics again and it all came back good👍. We were done from start to finish in about 45 minutes to an hour. I couldn't be happier. Thank you. I will keep you on my follow list and you will be my go-to for now on whenever soething goes wrong with one of our cars again. Thank you again. 😊
That reminds me of the old GM Quad 4 engine which had a similar cover/coil pack. For testing, we turned over the cover, put 4 equal length spark plug wires from the cover to the spark plugs. The cover was the problem and with 4 new plugs also with new engine oil and filter, all was well in Quad 4 land. Good fix on this one Eric!
Well done video. My 2.2 Liter EcoTech engine is in a 2009 HHR. It looks significantly different. The ignition coils are individual, held in place by one long bolt with a 10mm hex head.
My 6.4L had the same code, I was told it was an oil pump, and dealership couldn't figure it out. It was my spark plugs worn before 100k. All pre gapped plugs were out of spec on used and new. Saved $600 swapping all 16 myself.
Made some big money working on these vehicles when they were popular. I use a set of ignition wires I keep around, but vacuum hose will work in a pinch to raise the coil assembly enough and use a test light to test spark energy once you have access.
It's always nice to hear how a pro works through the thought process. With only one cylinder misfiring, at first I was all over it being a plug rather than something upstream. But an intermittent open caused by a bad plug would still mess up the spark to the paired cylinder. So, this is more likely to be a short to ground somewhere, allowing the paired cylinder to function normally. The experience factor, knowing what tends to go wrong, and what causes the dreaded callback, is gold.
Really liked that fuel injector drop test. I like how it indirectly verified you didn't have leaky injectors or faulty check valve in the fuel pump since the fuel pressure stayed steady at 40psi before doing the test.
ERIC, brother i do find ur videos not only useful but great u are an inspiration that any technician could reach ur level of knowledge and experience so kudos and thanks for doing all that as always learning from the best cheeeeeeeers from On/CANADA.
It cost me money almost everytime i watch one of your videos. Why ??? Cause I'm always buying a tool that i don't have in my collection. Lol. Another great video. Thank you
2006 was the last year of the coil cassette. 2007 was the start of the second generation family II's which had individual coil packs. On the 2007 & new family II ECOTECS, you can see they left the threaded holes for the cassettes.
Subscribed!😊 Your video is very informative. The video is good & pretty clear... Question: Will the replacement part work for the HHR in video tutorial work on a 2007 Chevrolet HHR LT? I have the same problem today... I believe my engine light came on when I replaced my gas cap with a keyed gas cap (children playing around the cars in my apartment complex & mothers backlash from informing- from other neighbors😮). However, I was told from an autoparts employee that the new key gas cap is the reason.
Watchn this video I was pretty sure you'd have to replace the hole ignition cassette because I don't think the ign coils can be removed with out destroying the assembly., I think you took the better choice in parts because NGK is definitely good quality, probly good ideah though to atleast keep the old ICM from the old cassette, great video!
The absolute best on the internet man. Every video and point makes sense. You motivate me to take a look back and try to understand things better. Maybe your a different person in person and working, but I would love to see you work some day, and really happy your sharing all this knowledge with us. Thanks!
I just start having this problem with my car,same hhr 2006 lt. my ignition coils are individual units, ill change them all at once same as the sparkplugs, man great video, you got a suscriber here🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘
Good diagnosis process. Also, nice to have checked into the parts options for the customer for maximum benefits. How many different types of ignition systems are there. Here you state the system is "Waste Spark". How many other types and names are there ? Thanks for the review Eric.
I've worked on a bunch of those 2.2 ecotech inside cavaliers inside Chevy hhrs inside a Chevy Malibu even the 2.4 l models that have the single coil packs inside the G6 and the Chevy Malibu engines are so easy to fix and the notorious for the coil packs and their timing chains got to keep those engines heavily greased and oiled and tuned up all the time if you don't things will go out
Our 2011 has never misfired ..the only thing it's done is "Buck" due to a ignition coil going bad...I had my mechanic give it a complete NGK parts "Tune Up" at 90,000 miles..Runs great with 150,000 original miles
Interesting to note that this is the type of coil fitted to some 2.2 se engines in vauxhalls here in the uk. Does the HHR use the pick up on the coil for ignition timing ? like the vauxhalls .First time i worked on one of these took me about half an hour to realize there was no camshaft sensor as such.
Love the video. I have a question for learning purposes. Why can worn spark plugs cause damage to coil pack? Is it because carbon build up increases resistance for spark causing amps to be a little higher?
Must be the week for HHR repair. The one I'm currently working on had oil from pressure sensor pumping through the wiring harness. Computer and wiring harness needs replaced. Probably a few sensors too.
OEM usually piecemeal every component down to individual parts. Aftermarket vendors such as NGK and Doorman sell the same units, usually more assembled. An oil fill tube O-ring and a good bath would do wonders for your Customer and this dirty, hot engine.
Please elaborate. My understanding is that your suggestion will only allow visualization of the primary current. Also, since it's a waste spark system, there'll only be 2 current ramps (since there are 2 coils) and the coil serving cylinders 1 and 4 will still show a pattern (similar?) to the other coil. Perhaps you have a better explanation.
Is it possible to do this test with GDI systems? I know the high pressure pump must be actuated by the engine to allow the high pressure needed to open up those injectors but I was curious of a workaround that you may know to balancs test those injectors.
In that case the safest bet is to use a scan tool capable of displaying the actual pressure data from the fuel rail pressure sensor. However, I suspect this scan tool method relies on precise control of injector on-time for the results to be valid/reproducible. Just my thoughts.
I have a 06 cobalt with this motor.I have a check engine light flashing I changed the plugs,boots and it's said to have a new coil pack.I feel that it's running better but the light is still flashing.where do I go from here.I have no code reader.
Just trying to show people different methods of testing using the scan tool. Especially when you get a P0300. A code that is not cylinder specific. Thanks for watching!
Given both the NGK and ACDelco coils were made in Mexico, what do you think the chances are they're the exact same part in different boxes. Since NGK makes so much of the OEM stuff, I'd say pretty high. Good call on just going with NGK and getting a complete unit. Plus you now have a spare ignition module.
I have a car that has a wasted spark pair of coils and the bad coil was only affecting one of the two cylinders on that coil. I would have thought like you that both would be not firing.
The problem may have been high resistance in the lead going from the coil to the boot. That is internal to the plastic housing that contains the coils. Thanks for watching!
@8:54, he said that he did not want to turn the engine, because doing so would hydrolock the engine. Could anyone explain to me why the engine hydrolock? Thanks.
some of the best editing, explaning the process, quick to the point no nonsense, really appreciate the approach u take, stay cool, thanks for posting
LOVE YOUR TECHENICAL ABILITY ESPECIALLY CARBON TRACKING. YOU ARE BORN TO BE NUMER 1
DIAGNOSTIC TECH. THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR EFFORT.
Thank you so much for your thorough and easy walk-thru diagnosis and fix. My 2010 (red lol) 2.2 HHR LT just started misfiring with engine light and esc/traction control light coming on, right in the middle of driving my grandson to school this morning. I was barely able to cross the road fast enough to get over to be able to pull over in a parking lot. Anyway, my husband came with an engine diagnostic tool from work and it came up with the P0300 code but not which cylinder. So he followed me a couple of blocks to O'Reily's, and their tool narrowed it to the 4th, just like your video, lol. So my husband bought new plugs and we brought it to our best friend's shop down the road, and while my husband was changing the plugs, (which were pretty bad), I found this video of yours in my search and I love how precise you are and covered all bases easy-peasy. Well the plug change by itself didn't work, so he went ahead and changed the coil pack, and wallah, fixed. We were especially happy that you showed how to remove the error code, which we did, then ran the diagnostics again and it all came back good👍. We were done from start to finish in about 45 minutes to an hour. I couldn't be happier. Thank you. I will keep you on my follow list and you will be my go-to for now on whenever soething goes wrong with one of our cars again. Thank you again. 😊
That's a great method for testing the all-in-one coil. Thanks for sharing that with us!
Glad you liked it!
That's great the parts store let you return the coil pack after installation!
That reminds me of the old GM Quad 4 engine which had a similar cover/coil pack. For testing, we turned over the cover, put 4 equal length spark plug wires from the cover to the spark plugs. The cover was the problem and with 4 new plugs also with new engine oil and filter, all was well in Quad 4 land.
Good fix on this one Eric!
I remember replacing a ton of coil housings for those engines. Thanks for watching!
Well done video. My 2.2 Liter EcoTech engine is in a 2009 HHR. It looks significantly different. The ignition coils are individual, held in place by one long bolt with a 10mm hex head.
My 6.4L had the same code, I was told it was an oil pump, and dealership couldn't figure it out. It was my spark plugs worn before 100k. All pre gapped plugs were out of spec on used and new. Saved $600 swapping all 16 myself.
Good troubleshooting technique there.
Made some big money working on these vehicles when they were popular. I use a set of ignition wires I keep around, but vacuum hose will work in a pinch to raise the coil assembly enough and use a test light to test spark energy once you have access.
We hardly see you, we miss your videos, they are always very accurate and educational... thumbs up.
Man I wish I had you around when I was learning. Masterful tutorials. You should open you own automotive school.
It's always nice to hear how a pro works through the thought process. With only one cylinder misfiring, at first I was all over it being a plug rather than something upstream. But an intermittent open caused by a bad plug would still mess up the spark to the paired cylinder. So, this is more likely to be a short to ground somewhere, allowing the paired cylinder to function normally. The experience factor, knowing what tends to go wrong, and what causes the dreaded callback, is gold.
Nice to see you just don't replaced parts without testing
Wished all techs did the same
Really liked that fuel injector drop test. I like how it indirectly verified you didn't have leaky injectors or faulty check valve in the fuel pump since the fuel pressure stayed steady at 40psi before doing the test.
I spent hours looking for this video. Thanks man this is exactly what I needed to see.
ERIC, brother i do find ur videos not only useful but great u are an inspiration that any technician could reach ur level of knowledge and experience so kudos and thanks for doing all that as always learning from the best cheeeeeeeers from On/CANADA.
It cost me money almost everytime i watch one of your videos. Why ??? Cause I'm always buying a tool that i don't have in my collection. Lol.
Another great video. Thank you
They come in handy when you need them! Thanks for watching and thanks for the support!
Another excellent video Eric - just bought myself a spark tester to add to the tool box 🙂
I have one but couldn't make sense of the numbers and lines on it. From this video I now know they're kiloVolts.
Great video. Thanks for posting and keeping it real with simple tools.
Thanks for the post Eric!! Great stuff as always!
I have to give you props on your style & detailed explanation. I need to take lessons. I have a spark tester but not like that one.
Awesome diagnosis, keep up the great work and keep the videos coming. 😎👍
2006 was the last year of the coil cassette. 2007 was the start of the second generation family II's which had individual coil packs. On the 2007 & new family II ECOTECS, you can see they left the threaded holes for the cassettes.
Also I think the 2006 2.4 didn't use the cassette.
You make it so easy! Thanks for that video of hw to use that tool to gage sparks. 👍🏿
No problem 👍
Best channel by far .
Staight to the point .
Subscribed!😊 Your video is very informative. The video is good & pretty clear... Question: Will the replacement part work for the HHR in video tutorial work on a 2007 Chevrolet HHR LT? I have the same problem today... I believe my engine light came on when I replaced my gas cap with a keyed gas cap (children playing around the cars in my apartment complex & mothers backlash from informing- from other neighbors😮). However, I was told from an autoparts employee that the new key gas cap is the reason.
Watchn this video I was pretty sure you'd have to replace the hole ignition cassette because I don't think the ign coils can be removed with out destroying the assembly., I think you took the better choice in parts because NGK is definitely good quality, probly good ideah though to atleast keep the old ICM from the old cassette, great video!
No thumbs up icon was available but I have a simular issue and I found this video very useful.
The absolute best on the internet man. Every video and point makes sense. You motivate me to take a look back and try to understand things better. Maybe your a different person in person and working, but I would love to see you work some day, and really happy your sharing all this knowledge with us. Thanks!
EXCELLENT VIDEO!!!
Good morning Sir,
I would to thank U,n GOD BLESS U
on ur Journey,I amaze on ur tutorial
Its loud n clear,again thank U friend.
Great content and explanatory. Keep it up Eric your the man.
I just start having this problem with my car,same hhr 2006 lt. my ignition coils are individual units, ill change them all at once same as the sparkplugs, man great video, you got a suscriber here🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘
Eric, be careful with the leads if they're low current core. I cooked one doing that. Now I need a new lead set...
Excellent video!
Terrific video and clear explanations. Thank you.
As always super well explained!
Great video!🤝
But why was the other 3 cylinders grounded during the test?
To give the spark a path to ground. The coil and the module can sustain damage if the coil can not discharge the built up energy. Thanks for watching!
That was a great vid!! Thank u!!
Good diagnosis process. Also, nice to have checked into the parts options for the customer for maximum benefits.
How many different types of ignition systems are there. Here you state the system is "Waste Spark". How many other types and names are there ?
Thanks for the review Eric.
I need to get a scan tool like that lol. Same failed cassette used on the saab's. Nice work.
Nice video. Thanks. El que sabe, sabe. 👍
I've worked on a bunch of those 2.2 ecotech inside cavaliers inside Chevy hhrs inside a Chevy Malibu even the 2.4 l models that have the single coil packs inside the G6 and the Chevy Malibu engines are so easy to fix and the notorious for the coil packs and their timing chains got to keep those engines heavily greased and oiled and tuned up all the time if you don't things will go out
Good video / diagnosis run through
Good Job Sir!👍
Our 2011 has never misfired ..the only thing it's done is "Buck" due to a ignition coil going bad...I had my mechanic give it a complete NGK parts "Tune Up" at 90,000 miles..Runs great with 150,000 original miles
21 seconds of ads you must be getting f****** rich and if you're not you need to be blowing TH-cam up
Interesting to note that this is the type of coil fitted to some 2.2 se engines in vauxhalls here in the uk. Does the HHR use the pick up on the coil for ignition timing ? like the vauxhalls .First time i worked on one of these took me about half an hour to realize there was no camshaft sensor as such.
good work
Love the video. I have a question for learning purposes. Why can worn spark plugs cause damage to coil pack? Is it because carbon build up increases resistance for spark causing amps to be a little higher?
Great question. I'm curious too.
Nice job 👍🏻
This is a good technique to fix it!
Very good video bro learn a lot from you
I just bought that scanner using your Link and hope you get the commission. Thanks.
Thank you for the support!
@@ADVANCEDLEVELAUTO you're welcome. Thank you for that link and for sharing and teaching us your skills. God bless you.
Must be the week for HHR repair. The one I'm currently working on had oil from pressure sensor pumping through the wiring harness. Computer and wiring harness needs replaced. Probably a few sensors too.
Good luck 🤞
That background music makes me think I'm watching some sort of cabaret film 😅
Great video as always 👍
I keep getting a misfire as well. Replaced my spark plugs but it's still doing that.
Excellent ! Thanks sir.
Nice video. Have you ever thought about mounting your camera to a headband so you have both of your hands free.
Awesome 👌
Great video Bro!
Nice job 💪💪💪
Thanks for the share
OEM usually piecemeal every component down to individual
parts. Aftermarket vendors such as NGK and Doorman sell
the same units, usually more assembled.
An oil fill tube O-ring and a good bath would do wonders
for your Customer and this dirty, hot engine.
Excellent video. 👍 👍
Man well job done thank you so much enjoyed and leaned alot well done
Great job
Nice work brother 👍😎
good job ,thank you .
Thank you too!
Mine has a burnt valve watch for one of those it starts as a miss in cold weather as soon as you start it but one day it will miss constantly
NICE
Kool
Not sure if u have a low amp clamp and a scope but thats something that would of saved u a lot of time. Plus fuel trim reset.
Please elaborate. My understanding is that your suggestion will only allow visualization of the primary current. Also, since it's a waste spark system, there'll only be 2 current ramps (since there are 2 coils) and the coil serving cylinders 1 and 4 will still show a pattern (similar?) to the other coil. Perhaps you have a better explanation.
La misma operación para el 2.4 de bobina individual
Is it possible to do this test with GDI systems? I know the high pressure pump must be actuated by the engine to allow the high pressure needed to open up those injectors but I was curious of a workaround that you may know to balancs test those injectors.
In that case the safest bet is to use a scan tool capable of displaying the actual pressure data from the fuel rail pressure sensor. However, I suspect this scan tool method relies on precise control of injector on-time for the results to be valid/reproducible. Just my thoughts.
I have a 06 cobalt with this motor.I have a check engine light flashing I changed the plugs,boots and it's said to have a new coil pack.I feel that it's running better but the light is still flashing.where do I go from here.I have no code reader.
All the respect 💕
Great video Eric. Great editing also,you been doing lessons ? 😄🏴
Looks like you're all about your scanner.
Just trying to show people different methods of testing using the scan tool. Especially when you get a P0300. A code that is not cylinder specific. Thanks for watching!
How do you feel a misfire? What does it feel like?
Many thanks to you for everything you share.......I hope all the success to you and your family in the life....Abbas from Kurdistan region of Iraq.
Thanks for the video bro
Good job.. my 09 runs like junk out plugs and coil packs any other suggestions? Thanks
Grasias
Gracias por viendo el video!
Nice scan tool brutha..how 🤔 much she run you ..I got a 2006 hhr as well ✊🏾
Given both the NGK and ACDelco coils were made in Mexico, what do you think the chances are they're the exact same part in different boxes. Since NGK makes so much of the OEM stuff, I'd say pretty high. Good call on just going with NGK and getting a complete unit. Plus you now have a spare ignition module.
Probably the same.
If cyl 1 & 4 are fired by the same coil, why wasn't cyl 1 also misfiring an equal amount?
I have a car that has a wasted spark pair of coils and the bad coil was only affecting one of the two cylinders on that coil. I would have thought like you that both would be not firing.
The problem may have been high resistance in the lead going from the coil to the boot. That is internal to the plastic housing that contains the coils. Thanks for watching!
Hey Eric another Great video thanks for sharing.
The po455 is tank pressure sensor common problem.😢
@8:54, he said that he did not want to turn the engine, because doing so would hydrolock the engine. Could anyone explain to me why the engine hydrolock? Thanks.
Question , the 2006 hhr 2..2 liter where are the intake and exhaust soleniod located have the single coil pack
drive a gmc sierra 5.3 4x4 my ? is can a vacuum leak cause a po172 an po175
Well done eria. Is that sancer you think is better than the think tool pro s .sam thank you my friend
What happened to your thinktool diagnostic scanner? Do you still use it?
I still use it quite frequently. You'll probably see it in one of my videos soon.
@@ADVANCEDLEVELAUTO Do you use the thinktool pro? Or the basic one?
Gracias!!!
Bro you do it better thanks.
NGK! To the rescue
are you mobile? what is your truck setup