Have a 2004 Ford Freestar 4.2l with 75k miles. About a month ago the engine started missing. Engine light was blinking. Took it to local shop and prob

Have a 2004 Ford Freestar 4.2l with 75k miles. About a month ago the engine started missing. Engine light was blinking. Took it to local shop and problem of course stopped before they could diagnoseit. They checked wires and plugs among other things and said everything appeared ok. Wife drove it for a month with no problems and then yesterday it once again started missing. Engine light is blinking again.

Both Autozone and Oreillys will scan your van without charge. A blinking light usually means an intermittent problem and may be picked up on a scanner this time. The local shop did right by checking the wires and plugs.

What they did was to check the spark side of the problem. You may have a problem with a fuel injector or its wire which also causes a miss. Nothing is easy to work on anymore. If this is your only vehicle it makes it hard to do something.

If the next scan does not help you about all you can do is catch it missing, shut it off, and pull the plugs. You can tell if a plug is not firing by looking at it. Or you can mist the engine with a water spray bottle , keep it dark, and start the engine and look for sparks jumping.