There seems to be a lot of people that have problems with spark plug wires arcing. Why does this happen and what do you have to do to prevent it. Do the wires need to be isolated from certain parts: headers etc.

I will be getting new OVC wires when I put some headers on, is there a brand of wire that resists arching.

 

Bad wires most likely, bad plugs or incorrect gap. Wire dress can help but it is expensive and rarely used, so better get a good set of wires. Personally, I never had problems with Moroso and Taylor's 10.4mm wires, not OVC setup though.

 

I had OVC Taylor wires and they were arching down below above the opti.
I ended up putting the Accel Extreme 9000 wires and had no arching.

 

The only reason I've ever had wires arcing near the opti was because they weren't connected in all the way.

 

My problem wasn't coming from where the plugs snapped into the opti but by the air pump used to be. There was no reason to arch since there wasn't anything around and when you would look at the wires at night even on the other side you could see them arching. Maybe it was a bad batch of wires but I went with the Accel's I had no problem.

 

How in the world did you fit 10.4mm wires on your car???? I had enough clearance issues with the 8.0mm Taylors... and i have MAC headers which supposedly give great clearance space.

My wires were arcing after i did the hot cam, turns out a couple of them were resting on the headers and the headers burned thru them. But even after i replaced them all, they all have a very slight glow right around where the boots connect to the spark plugs. But from what i have heard it is normal and is called a "Corona Glow" even though i never had this occur before the hot cam kit (or maybe i just never noticed it).

 

Check out www.elitesparkplugs.com, he has very good quality over-the-valve wire sets at very good prices.

 

Actually, it was pretty easy, you only need bigger wire separators. First I had them with Edelbrock's TES, currently with Hooker Super Comp. As once Shoebox said, it's only 2mm harder

 

My MSD's 8.5mm eventually began arching. They had quite a few miles on them. I've been told that anything bigger than 9mm will usually have clearance issues. 9mm is usually enough, like what MSD or otvc wires provide.
My car woke up again once I removed the arching MSD's and replaced them with factory wires. Bam, the car is awake.
Sometimes, the wires just get old, or they're subjected to too much heat. Any number of reasons.
I do know when arching occurs, the spark is not near the density it should have when it reaches the spark plug. Its a good idea to change the plugs too since the arching and firing of the cylinder can have adverse effects on them.
I dont think one should see any arching of any kind. The spark should be concealed completely.

 

that is what i thought but i did a search on here and people have said that it is normal and the glow does no harm whatsoever. Even a mechanic at GM that i know also confirmed this after he did some research on this as well. So im still in limbo as to whether or not i believe it is alright... the car seems like power is still all there. So i dunno.

 

It seems like if wires are glowing, there is some sort of insulation problem going on there or just a lack of material. Either way, it seems funny that GM and whoever else just pass it off as normal.

 

that is kinda what i thought... but if you do a search on here for "corona glow" you will see what i am talkin about. Its just a very faint glow that you can see as each cylinder fires right at the boots.

Ive got brand new wires on there, so it cant be lack of insulation. I got the wires from Speed Inc. (ls1speed.com) and i know people there and i was talkin with one of the owners and he said the wires i was buying are the ones he runs on his 9 or 10 sec. vette. So, they definitely arent crap wires.

 

Which wire set are you running? Are they the Taylors? I haven't had any glow or arching with my elite set.

 

I'm going to need a new set soon. I've had Taylor's and had no problems, then switched to MSD's after my head and cam swap and have had 2 sets and nothing but problems. I probably need new plugs on there too, but I think I am going to go with the Accels.

 

Alot of the wires sold, even big name wires, are crap.

Split fire makes a dual wire, dumbest thing every made. Spark will take the path of least resistance, you don't get two sparks with two wires. Their plugs are bull**** also.

Magnecore is what I have KV85, they have been on the car for 60,000 miles with no problem. On an LT1 you don't want to change them more than once.

Here is the site, read what they say, no bull **** or crap wires sold by them.

Solid silicone no layers to break down.

http://www.magnecor.com/index.htm

Z28