hey whats up everyone ...kinda new to this site, but ive had my 96 about a year now and its barely been giving me problems. my msd wires were arching not so long ago so i replaced them with some new msd wires as well as new spark plugs..bout 2 months ago! well lo and behold feel my car stumbling again and sure enough pop the hood and light show...constant arching...anyone know what could be causing this its only been 2 months!

jt

 

You mean arcing? What kind of MSD wires are you running? I've got to buy some plug wires soon and all the horror stories I hear about after market wires has me worried. I've ruled out Taylor and was going to get MSD 8.5 Super Conductor wire.

 

Got The Msd 8.5 Its My Second Set..so I Dont Know Whats Goin On..kinda Getting Me Worried Cause Its Only Been 2 Months Man!

Jt

 

Maybe you gapped the plugs too wide.

 

i had my local mechanic put them in for me so not sure....hope its that simple! what else could it be?

jt

 

Was it a wet or rainy day?

 

stupid question, but are they routed correctly?

 

yeah i think they are routed correctly ...mechanic did it got the diagram online and followed it again! stumps me...could it be the spark plugs by any chance?

jt

 

That's what Ricardo was getting at with the posibility of too wide spark plug gaps jacking the air resistance too high at the plug so that the voltage climbs and sends the spark out of the weakest insulation point in the secondary circuit. I wouldn't think that would happen with MSD wires though.

Maybe if they're all doing it, you could replace some of the easier wires on the driver's side with some OEM wires or something just to see if the problem goes away. I think it wouldn't hurt to verify the gap just to see if it is at .050 or so.

You are talking about actual arcing and not just a corona glow at the base of the plug, right?

 

.050..

may want to close that up.. I have delteq and am at .035.. but my compression is high too.

at the very least get on your back and verify for yourself that the plugs wires are routed 100% correctly, and make sure they are seated on the opti, coil and plugs correctly also.

 

I know exactly what he is talking about.. I have that too. But, it goes away at higher rpms. Mine is very faint, but at night you can really see it. I decided to go OTVC routing. I am using the NGK plugs. I cant get mine to go away, with three different brands of wires... MSD Taylor, and AC Delco. It will always be there. I have heard that it happens with too much power in your system, from using the msd blaster coil. that is bogus too cuz I reinstalled the stock coil. I had it on the dyno and it did not show any lack of performance, so I gave up. I fought it for 2 years. Search my name and corona arcing. lol. So, like I said, I just gave up, because I work at a chevy dealership and even they could not figure it out, and they told me to quit being so ****. Lol I work with these guys, they would not tell a paying customer that.

 

The voltage requirement is normally determined by the resistance of the plug gap, the compression, and the mixture. If the ignition can make enough voltage, it will fire, if it cant, then the plug will not fire. Most ignitions can make about 40kV or so and the plug probably fires at 20 kV or so in most cases, so even a stock ignition is pretty hearty. Plug wires leak current when their insulation has less resistance than the plug air gap - electricity always takes the easiest path to ground. If you run the ignition with a wire disconnected, but not grounded, all of the available voltage will try to find ground and this puts stress on the components and insulation. Sometimes the plug will fire and the wire will leak too. On a LT1 car, it's always good to keep the 5&7 wires separate cause a crossfire between those two is bad due to the firing order and can hurt the engine.

 

Any chance you are using the stock AC/Delco platinum plugs? I have seen them lose the little platinum pucks, opening the gap up to 0.075-0.100", and the spark will start to jump to the nearest wire or metal surface. I lost a set of Taylor 8mm wires due to that happening.

For a "stockish" engine, the stock 0.050" gap should not present any problems. But lose a puck or two........