LT1 Based Engine Tech 1993-1997 LT1/LT4 Engine Related

Spark plug wires arcing

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Old 06-19-2004, 08:57 PM
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Spark plug wires arcing

Hey all,

Quick dumb question for you... After header install my car seems to be running a little rough. I suspect the sparkplug wires so i went out at night looking for arcing and what not and i think i found it on the passanger side. A red light reflecting off of one of the primary tubes... it pulses a few times a second and its pretty bright...

My question is what does arcing look like? I always asumed a blue-ish color like any ordinary arc...

My second question is, how can i test spark on each individual wire? Do they make a spark tester that clamps onto one wire at a time? Im not sure what to do, i just dont want to have to bring it to a shop to fix my fu(k up...

thanks for the help...
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Old 06-19-2004, 09:00 PM
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Buy the taylor custom wires which are extra long, I ran mine accross the valve covers, away from headers and no problems.
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Old 06-19-2004, 09:11 PM
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Hey thanks for the reply,

I did the taylor OVC kit from thunderracing... needless to say im not impressed... I ordered the universal MSD wires from summit im going to try installing those next weekend... with some plastic hosing to seperate them, and tons of wire looms...

my biggest problem right now is trying to find out if im geting arcing or not... if anyone can offer some insite what the arcing looks like that would be awesome...

thanks
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Old 06-19-2004, 09:13 PM
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Pull your current wires and see if they are burnt through or cut, if so, they will arc. I am impressed with the taylor 8mm. No problems yet.
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Old 06-19-2004, 09:35 PM
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To answer your direct question, every plug wire arcing I've seen personally was as you expected, the typical blue/white lightning bolt type arc. I've never heard or seen a red arcing from plug wires......
best of luck,
Ian
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Old 06-19-2004, 10:05 PM
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To answer your direct question, every plug wire arcing I've seen personally was as you expected, the typical blue/white lightning bolt type arc. I've never heard or seen a red arcing from plug wires......

yea, thats what i expected... hmm now im curious what that little red light is???

I guess we will see when i replace the plugwires
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Old 06-21-2004, 01:03 AM
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An old trick to check for bad plug wires is to spray a mist of water on them with the car running in the dark. The extra moisture will give any burnt wires the ability to ground out. Give it a try, this is why many cars run rough in rain or high humidity weather.

Hope this helps,
-Christian
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