P0301 code on 1999 Surefire 2.4L engine with poor idle

Symptoms:

Cylinder 1 is misfiring as per code P0301 using a scanner. Idle is not steady and poor which sometimes stalls when on stoplights. Difficulty in starting is also observed in the morning when engine is cold.

Basic concept:

Misfiring code is easy to check when detected by a scanner. First and foremost, check compression of each cylinder and compare them to each other. On quad engines such as this, the ignition coils and injectors can be moved if compression is found to be normal. Once relocated, the code can be scanned again and see if the code move to another cylinder.

Repair Strategy:

If compression is normal and coils/injectors are relocated which results in a different code such P0302, P0303 or P0304, it shows the problem is either an ignition coil or injector problem. Remember to reset the code as soon as the coil or injector are relocated.