SantaCruz163

Alright, I just finished installing new plugs/wires on my brother's 94 Z and we are having some problems now. When we start the car it sounds like it has a lopey cam in it (which it doesn't) and is 'sputtery', 'bogging out' at idle; basically it isn't running right. He took it up the street and was doing the same thing.

What does misfire sound like because I hear like a ticking but I am not sure if it just injector pulse? And I triple checked the postion of the wires on the opti (Passanger side- bottom to top; 2,8,6,4. Driver's side- bottom to top; 1,7,3,5) So I know those are right.

My brother said before plugs/wires it was never running this bad. The only problem he had before hand was it started to miss/sputter above 4k.

Can someone shead some light on this for me? BTW, the car has ~115k miles. But I don't think it is the opti because like I said it never ran this bad before.

simple

plug gap?

all connections are snapped on the plugs tightly (should here a snapping sound)

did you change coil wire too?

SantaCruz163

Yes, all the wires are on snug, I hear 2 'clicks'. All the plugs were in the original gap from the box which I'm 99% is 0.050". No, I didn't change the wire of the coil because I had no clue how to change it. Where does the coil wire run into the opti? Could that really cause this problem?

I should also mention; the wires are ran in the stock locations with stock manifolds.

simple

i got a box of NGK's once and 2 out of the 4 in each box were gapped correctly...should always check the plugs before installation (this goes for any part that has any measurment too it!)

the coil wire, you can see it run over the top of the water pump (drivers side) and then back down too the opti, its about 8-10 inches long, follow it off the coil (coil is on the front of the drivers side head) and you'll see

its hard too say what it could be but a rule of thumb is too start looking at what was last changed!

JohnD

If you can hear a click, you might try looking in the dark and see if you can see any arcing. There is always the possibility you broke the porcelin on a plug. I has a similar problem after a plug change in it was the #5 wire not all the way on.

SantaCruz163

Update: I just finished pulling all the plugs to check their gaps. Sure enough a few were off by quick a bit so I gapped all of them to 0.050". I installed all the plugs, connected the wires and made sure of the wires were in the correct order.

I am getting the same results or before the gaps were off. I also changed the coil wire in the process. I have run out of ideas. Like I said in my original post; the car never had this problem before doing plugs/wires. The car just sputtered above 4k. Just feels like the timing if frigged up and according to my mom "the car sounds louder"

94formulabz

You could systematically pull one wire loose at a time to check and see if it makes it better or worse to isolate a cylinder. When you are monkeying in there with the socket its not that hard to damage the porcelin on a plug and this would help you isolate a cylinder.

-brent

SantaCruz163

Thanks, I'll try that. If no luck I guess the car takes a trip to the mechanic.

salty

This may be too obvious, but are the wires plugged securely into the opti? The cheap wires I bought slipped off a few times...

ZMAN Z28

Yep, recheck all your plug/wire connections again. I acually installed the bottom plug on the drivers side opti wrong, and it looked like it was connected, or it popped off, and rubbed on a pulley or belt. Are all of the wire out of harms way, maybee one got routed wrong, or is brushing up against a header. Like the last poster said, it is very easy to crack the porcelin on one of your plugs. You can also take a spray bottle and spray some water on each of the headers/exhaust manifolds, and observe if it evaporates instantly. If it evaporates slowly, then you have a cold cylinder. Just a couple of options before the opti denial.

Z

fredmr39

The water idea sounds like a good idea...why had I ever heard of this? No temp gun; so I've attempted the "touch-real-quick and hope it doesn't hurt TOO bad" method.... For the record, I do not recommend this method...

MeanGreen97Z

Also there is a wire seperator that goes behind the power steering pulley... wires have been known to come out from there and rip up on the pulley while the car is running. Check them and make sure they are not damaged.

Bersaglieri

Ticking could be arching or it could be detonation, if its detonation then dont drive the damn thing. Detonation to a car is like VX gas is to humans. I am thinking that the problem lies somewhere in the ignition since it never happened until right after the install. I read a mechanic thought it was the fuel filter, replace that just incase but if the problem persists, try looking for things you havent thought of. Did you accidently break something while installing it, wire snapped somewhere, cracked plug (I was gentle and did this one) Hopefully its not the opti, mine turned out to be though. Make sure you have the right plugs, I was sent home with the wrong set of plugs one time too. What kind of wires did you use? Triple check everything is on the right cylinder. Good luck.

-Dustin-

Black1995Z

Look for arcing.. I recently checked mine and saw it arcing. I pulled it off and it looked like it was in perfect shape... replaced it and miss was gone. I guess you dont always get parts that work right... so its worth a look.

blind527

I don't think my #2 wire is on all the way I didn't feel the click. It's a PITA to get in that space with LT's...

I don't feel stumbling or anything noticeable yet.