I picked up a new set of plug wires for my brother's 3.8(he has a misfire and the 3.8's are terrible about losing plug wires).

I open the box and find this.....




I've never seen GM wires that are black on one end, then off color purple with a gusset on the other end....

Does anyone know for certain which end is for the plug?

 

Has no one used ACDelco Premium plug wires before???? I've got to change these tomorrow and certainly don't want to screw up and put the wrong end on the plug.

 

did you try the directions on the box

 

put the black end on the plug

 

There is no mention of it....on the box or on the directions....

 

That's what I was thinking....but with my luck it will be opposite.....lol.

 

Is the purple end of the boot a little thicker where it would slip on the plug or is the black one thicker? Reason I ask is I think the purple end goes to the plug as for the little gusset that it has. Makes the boot a little stronger to hold the 90 degree bend it has as heat from the manifold will get to it.

 

There is not much difference in thickness. The inside of the black one has a couple of ribs in it. The purple one is smooth.

 

Like the ones that fit on...... THE PLUG??

 

I'd say the purple end goes on the plug.

 

I got GM plug wires for my 3.8 and they never had a purple end.

It doesn't matter which side is which. If it did, there would be something saying so.

 

The coil end seems to always look like the black end, so that's why I said the purple goes to the plug. The gusset would seem more natural for the plug end and and maybe the different color has something to do with heat resistance.

 

Thats my thinking as well. I think the Purple end is more resistant to heat then the black end. Composed of different material.

 

I've just completed the job and put the purple end on the plug and the black end on the coil.

Here is the factor that sealed the deal for me. For the wires I was removing, the boot on the coil end had the ribs in it and the plug end was smooth on the inside.

The new ones had the ribs in the black boot and was smooth in the purple.

Turns out the P.E.D. markings on the old wires meant nothing(I thought it may be referencing the distributor for some reason). The P.E.D. was on both boots. However the old design did have arrows on the coil end.

 

I was wondering the same thing....only in reverse. I thought the material was different because it was not as tough and needed the gusset because it was cheaper.

Next time I'm at the Chevy dealership I'll ask a tech there which was right. I think we've got it correct, but I'm still curious.