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For this check, you do not need
the vehicle running or the ignition to be on. You will
be checking Ohms.
First, remove the corresponding
electrical connector from the injector you wish to test.
Now you should see two metal prongs
(contacts) inside where the connector was. Set your
meter to the Ohms
(Ω) setting.
Next touch your red meter lead to
one injector contact, and the black meter lead to the
other contact. Since you are in the Ohms setting, it
does not matter which lead goes on either contact.
With the meter in the lower Ohms
setting, you should get around the same resistance on
all your injectors. If
one injector is reading much higher or lower than the rest, it is
most likely bad.
If you get an open (O.L.) or zero Ohms
(shorted), then your injector should be replaced.
Be very careful
while near a running engine, make sure you do not have
on loose clothing or jewelry that can be tangled into
the motor belts and pulleys. Always think safety first!
You could also check a fuel
injector by carefully putting a long screwdriver directly on the injector while the
engine is running.
Using a long shank screwdriver, hold the screwdriver handle up to your ear,
the shank on the
sensor itself, and you
should be able to hear a clicking noise. If not, then it is probably either clogged or the circuit inside is open.
If in doubt whether the injector is bad or
not, try switching the suspected bad injector with a known working one and
listen again, sometimes it's just the area you are trying to listen at.
If all goes well and
you do not find any bad meter readings, and you still have a misfire problem,
then you might have a clogged injector. In this case you will need to clean the fuel injector.
There is on-car cleaning, and off-car cleaning.
On-car cleaning is
cheaper to the consumer and can be done by the average garage mechanic, but does
pose some risk because you will be injecting pressurized detergent through the
fuel system.
You will need to stop the fuel
flow to the engine by removing the fuel pump, and
plugging the fuel lines. Then connect pressurized
cleaning detergent into the fuel injector system and on
into the engine. After cleaning, re-connect the fuel
lines and install the fuel pump. Finally start the
vehicle as normal, you should now notice increased
performance and improved fuel economy.
Off-car cleaning at a auto repair
shop costs a little more (usually 35-50 dollars an injector), but will offer a
lot deeper cleaning than on-car. This is probably the better option and it is
much safer too.
A quick search of the internet
will give you specific instructions on how to clean fuel
injectors yourself if that is the route you choose. We
will not go into detailed cleaning instructions of the
injectors here at this time. Click Here to learn about the new water fuel. It's true, water fuel!
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