wires arching

[5.0notslow]

ok so i got new wires i would say no longer than 4 months ago and now i have arching..now i went ahead and spent a good amount of money on some accel 300+ race wires because i was tired of my ford racing ones getting to hot and hardening up..and i checked last night and it looks like i am only arching on 3 and 7..3 is arching to the header and 7 to the oil dipstick..i used dielectric grease when i put them on..any suggestions b/c im tired of missing and needing new wires..thanks

 

[fordtech28]

Mine were doing the same thing too even with new wires .Ended up being my autolite spark plugs they started to have a lot of resistance at only 5,000miles and the wires try to find the closest ground source ie the dipstick and arc. Buyt the motorcraft stock replacements they work really well at least for me they do

 

[5.0notslow]

well i just replaced the plugs not even 1k miles ago..

 

[ronstang94]

how easy is it to see arcing? just open the hood at night in the dark while the engine is on?

 

[HISSIN50]

how easy is it to see arcing? just open the hood at night in the dark while the engine is on?

If it's bad, yes. Otherwise adding a conductive medium helps. Mist water from a spray bottle on the wires at night and watch the fireflies (be careful of moving parts under the hood and all that).


I like the resistance theory. Remember, dielectric grease in and of itself does not conduct for crap, so there's no need to go overboard (though the metal to metal contact should eliminate any issue of overuse).

Using copper neverseize on the plug threads is not a bad idea. I'd even shorten the plug gap up a hair on those two cylinders and see if it helps. I doubt you'd feel a difference in the SOTP (I run 0.045" gaps and never can tell a difference).

Good luck.

 

[5.0notslow]

yeah i can see arching on #3 easily to the header vury constant..should i just get new wires? and replace and see it that fixes problem for now?

 

[HISSIN50]

If it's just worn wires, new ones should fix it. If there's an underlying resistance issue, the new wires might breakdown too.

In any case, any wire that leaks will eventually need to be replaced.

 

[saleener94]

If itz arcing bad, the wire is probly no good and you are going to have to replace it. If you are going through alot of wire sets try out those anti-arcing boots they sell at summit.

 

[Venom351R]

I placed my hand on th rotor ( on top ) while checking to see if a problem was fixed awhile ago and got a pretty good shock out of it, does it sound like Ive got the same issue? I have a new cap/rotor and plugs going in soon.

 

[HISSIN50]

I placed my hand on th rotor ( on top ) while checking to see if a problem was fixed awhile ago and got a pretty good shock out of it, does it sound like Ive got the same issue? I have a new cap/rotor and plugs going in soon.

In my experience, this is normal (even with wires that are working fine otherwise) if you had your other hand on something like the engine or front clip (metal).

 

[Venom351R]

In my experience, this is normal (even with wires that are working fine otherwise) if you had your other hand on something like the engine or front clip (metal).

actually yeah, I had one hand on the strut tower brace and the other one resting on the top of the rotor while trying to look under the intake near the fuel rails, that would explain it. I know it hurt like hell!!!