Abstract: A system and method for accurately detecting misfires in an internal combustion engine which includes an ignition coil 12 with a primary winding 22 and a secondary winding 30, at least one spark plug 62, and an ignition controller 20 responsive to engine operating conditions for generating an ignition signal. Preferably, the ignition coil generates sparking voltage for firing the spark plug in response to the ignition signal. Sparking voltage and firing of an ignition spark are detected (steps 402-410). An average sparking voltage after the firing of the ignition spark and a peak sparking voltage after the firing of the ignition spark are determined (steps 412-420). And, an indication of misfire in response to the average sparking voltage and the peak sparking voltage is provided (steps 422-428).