Lazarus
New member
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2005
- Location
- Seattle, WA
Just to keep focused on what does what...some people get the idea that they have to run solid wires to get the "best" spark. These things are only used on muscle cars, and usually by racers who don't understand how high voltage works. Any car with electronics of any kind should have a set of suppression wires to prevent interference with the ECU (if one exists) and with your radio, etc. These wires are also polite to other drivers who are on the road near you. Suppression wires, resistor plugs (common) and rotors with resistance built in (common) do NOT sacrifice your potentially 'hot' spark for the sake of interference. High voltage does not act like 12 volts d.c. from your battery. The exact resistance values aren't really important, but might let you know if the coil is open or shorted, etc. I still can't understand how a bad condenser would make only 2 cylinders fire, and the same 2 cylinders at that! That part is across the points in order to keep them from arcing and wearing out prematurely. If points are pitted badly enough to prevent the coil from firing, you would see the giant pits in the points contacts. Well, back in the points/condenser days you always replaced these parts together, and the stock condenser assumes you have the stock coil - they work together to make the best spark...at the plugs!I also found an old TB thread where someone said with confidence that you must use spark plug wires which are intended for vehicles with points. Vehicles without points run on electronics, which must be shielded from the high voltage noise from the spark plug lines.
-A final note: what used to be standard wires was a thin paper strip covered with carbon granules (conductive) and wrapped in a rubber jacket. These wires actually wear out in a few years or become intermittent. On the other hand, you are wasting your money by spending hundreds of dollars on 10mm pink silicone spark wires. Both will work fine when new, with the carbon wires wimping out after a few years.
-L
-L
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