There just has to be enough resistance somewhere in the system. I hope this has been useful to someone in race car land and prevents the hours of frustration we went through to find the cause of our problem. If there is 12V to Pertronix and Pertronix gap is OK, then likely the Pertronix has failed and new one is needed. Our Digital Dash quickly pointed out the problem - the front four engine cylinders were burning at lower temps than the rear cylinders. After documenting the firing order, I carefully removed the old solid core wires and disconnected (unscrewed) the Champion spark plug ends, and un-soldered the copper discs from the distributor ends. To say a little more on that, I find that both of those numbers that you gave are considered relatively low. 100 ohms is a very very very small resistanceit will be there. Suppressed wires are valuable to suppress radio interference when necessary, but as Ive been saying if you use them you should not have resistance elsewhere, or at least resistance that exceeds 5000 - 6000 ohms. Its not necessarily about making sure the ignition doesnt interfere with your radio. Fact/Fiction, secondary circuit - E-Type - Jag-lovers Forums I believe Robert gives a description, and there is a poorly drawn diagram. Solid core wires do not suppress electro magnetic interference (EMT) which will interfere with electronics in your vehicle. Anyway, lower allows more voltage to the spark plug and that is the goal. Nick, Turns out, solid core wires were indeed installed, so I purchased a set of Flame-Thrower low resistance wires from Pertronix I carefully removed the old solid core wires and disconnected (unscrewed) the Champion spark plug ends , I cut them to length and stripped about 3/8 to 1/2" of the insulation to leave the carbon core exposed. Getting too low with resistance is a problem because the wires are then easily conductive of EMF/RFI through the insulation. Here I was sitting at my bench with a super duper brand XXX Plug lead with nothing inside it but what appeared to be a black rubber band and an old MSD lead with multiple layers of insulation, heat proof fibreglass, large conductor core and some sort of tiny copper wire wound tightly around the core. and electrical stresses. and can tell you what the gap to rotor magnet should be. Show me why that is so if it is. The following errors occurred with your submission. Using silicone lubricant spray, I snaked the wires back thru the conduit to the distributor. Crank the engine and check for a good spark at the spark tester gap.. My boat uses the old style points and condenser system. I also noticed that the MSD silicon insulator was manufactured from a few different layers/colours of silicon AND some sort of white fibreglass looking heatproof material between each of the silicon layers. http://www.pertronix.com.au/ignitor3.html. better, high or low ohms for speark plug wires???? I have a Pertronix in my car so I have its install instructions (somewhere!) Besides, everyone knows the red ones are "faster". Use tab to navigate through the menu items. However, some OEMs have recommended different maximum resistances. (We are all told at school that rubber is after all an insulator right?). Use what has worked for you in the past and if you are new to this sort of thing or if you are ever in doubt, use what millions of racers use worldwide - grab a set of MSD leads and relax knowing that any future engine misfires or headaches will NOT be caused by the spark plug leads! Proper wires solved the problem there too. We took the Truck out Testing and the engine screamed at high revs, ran for hours of testing and everyone was again happy. At the high tension wire to spark plug connection, you need to strip away enough insulation so that you can fold back the core over the wire insulation so that when you crimp the connector to the wire, it touches the core fibre. Weak sparks are orange or red and may be hard to see in daylight. When in the wire, it varies with the length. Not sure what I am doing wrong here. Spark plug ends, rotors, distributor caps and yes buttons, etc. The brand new leads I was running on the Small Block were indeed new, but a Brand and Type I had never used before. Vibration damage Constant wear and tear caused by engine vibration can loosen the electrical connection at the spark plug. Given that you did have a failure, I suggest you check the distributor cap contacts for continuity (ie from inside of cap to outside with ohm meter. Which Is Better? 4wd trophy truck proformance transfer case, coast drive side ring gear dana 80 ifs dana 60 ifs, ifs irs diff oil cooler oil viscosity ultra 4 rock, narrow ifs differential dana 80 dana 60 ifs profor, turbowerx mini exa oil flow rates failure. Best advise about them is not to use them, and particularly if you are not entering JCNA concours with the car. If I am understanding how you are measuring, yes you should have resistance, often about 1000 ohms per foot, but it does depend on your wire. By the way some high resistance wire will NOT send the small tester 1.5 V battery current along a several foot length, so you get no continuity light. It obviously is physically possible and it is also possible to disobey instructions. I then stripped the shiny and brightly coloured (Yes they did indeed LOOK like they belong on a race car) silicon outer layer to reveal the conductor core of the plug lead (the bit that sends the electrical spark to the plug). But, IMO, it does not matter whether the resistance is in the wire or the spark plug end. The failures took several weeks after a new module to fail. The following situations call for immediate replacement of spark plug wires: Use the digital multimeter, set to Ohms . Did it fail from the use of copper wires? You may be measuring them incorrectly with your ohmmeter. But in reality, it does not matter. If a good spark is present, the problem is probably not in the ignition system. Turns out, solid core wires were indeed installed, so I purchased a set of Flame-Thrower low resistance wires from Pertronix. It is unlikely all 6 wires failed. If you are running original type points distrubutor you want as close to zero resistance as possible. In a single 12 inch length of Super Conductor Wire there is only 40 - 50 ohms of resistance! When we had the engine on the Dyno, because of the longer lead lengths needed to fit the engine and computer harness onto the Dyno, our team had used some old leads from one of our big block Hummer Engines. Spark plug wires most definitely will affect the primary circuit. Zero. I suppose I got into the copper core preference from using them on my Triumphs as the distributor cap connections are the pointy-screw variety and do not work well the the silicone/carbon variety of wires. Most wires should have 650-700 Ohms per Foot if they are in good condition. Ray I couldnt agree more that you should run resistance in your system - it works better, but it doesnt need to come from the wires. A suppression style or spiral wound spark plug wire MUST be used. Whilst I appreciate that Kevin is a very smart business person, a race engine builder he is NOT, so I initially shrugged off his Silly idea suggesting to Kevin that all four front cylinders are playing up and the chances of me having Four Dead leads in a single batch were pretty low because the plug leads were brand new only 3 months ago. Not satisfied with the test results, I had to know why one lead worked and the other did not. Spark plug wires most definitely will affect the primary circuit. I have the needed resistance in the spark plug ends. As to your copper wires. But for best spark, have some resistance. My favourite is the sign at the foot of the escalators on the London Underground:- Dogs must be carried. It returns to the coil through the points or in this case the Pertronix module. Perhaps the resistance of the Champion plug connectors saved me. Wire insulation thats damaged by head can allow voltage to jump to the ground rather than jumping the gap at the bottom of the spark plug. Go back to the suppliers website and look at the spec of wires you purchased. 's p#'s. Ahhhthanks for the link. ULTRA NARROW DIFFERENTIALS - TECHNICAL VIDEO, Reverse Drive Quick Change Transfer Case with Under Drive for 4WD Trophy Trucks, COAST TO COAST - RUNNING DIFFS BACKWARDS OR UPSIDE DOWN. Solid metal (copper, tin-plated copper and/or stainless steel) conductor wires are still used in racing on carbureted engines, but can cause all sorts of running problems if used on vehicles with electronic ignition, fuel injection and engine management systems, particularly if vehicle is driven on the street and damage to some original equipment and aftermarket electronic ignition and engine management systems can occur. If you lower the resistance too low(IE: battery cable) you will transfer more amperage which will, melt plugs among other things. The Society of Automotive Engineers suggests the maximum resistance should be 12,000 ohms-per-foot. I would probably disregard use by dates but my wife doesnt stand for such recklessness. Equally important there is NO performance advantage whatsoever to solid-core wires. In addition, the engine light coming on or visible damange to the cables can be signs of a failing wire. Very reliable products. She was the most likeable pedant I ever met. The ignition coil builds voltage until the gap is ionized (jumped across). Not all copper wires will cause failures. Attach the test light to a good engine ground. Terry- I believe you are asking the same question again- why would copper wires possibly cause a Pertronic failure- show me. I can not show you, but I did explain how the secondary circuit and the primary are combined, not separate as you implied. We encourage you to consult with a certified technician or mechanic if you have specific questions or concerns relating to any of the topics covered herein.Under no circumstances will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on any content. After many months of annoying black spark plugs, Proformance Motorsport recently changed our Spark Plug Leads to the Awesome MSD 8.5mm Super Conductor Leads. Quality of the wires should a prime consideration. If you do not understand it, here is a link to a discussion a while back: The low resistance results in less loss in spark energyso more reaches the spark plug. Advertising -
Be sure to first check spark plug wires for visual damage. Ok How about replacment plugs for the coil pack ignition systems that a lot of us have, for a hotter spark, better fuel burn, better MPG, more power, easyer start-up. If there is a regular spark, problem is rotor or distributor cap. That is the lowest resistance of any helically wound wire. Even with the fouled spark plug, the dead cylinder that was fitted with the MSD Lead fitted came back to life and the exhaust temp of that cylinder came back tonormal. Contact Us -
I forget. The coil creates thousands of volts that it supplys to the spark plugs via the plug wires. Without even looking at the data logger or exhaust temps, we quickly removed the first four plugs and sure enough they were again covered in black soot and carbon, resulting in NO SPARK. They have some there that are 500 ohms per foot. To accomplish this, we use a copper alloy conductor due to its great voltage carrying capabilities. Then it hit me! Do what you want with your Pertronixdont mess with my points distributor. The motor sounded awesome, our crew was excited and we all thought Job Done, lets get it bolted into the race truck! Now, you may want to be careful you do not have too much resistance since you have your wire resistance and possibly your spark plug end resistance. Cookie Policy -
That said, I have driven tens of thousands of miles with an in-distributor electronic ignition and copper core wires. A good spark will be blue-white and will be plainly visible in daylight. Solid Core Wires: You cannot run Solid Core Spark Plug Wires with an MSD Ignition Control. Did anybody know that till I told them? If you are running original type points distrubutor you want as close to zero resistance as possible. I feel obliged to take the stairs, And why would they, as the Pertronix Ignitor is not connected to the ignition wires, it just triggers the coil to work, Yes but, the load on the ignition coil reflects back through the coil to the the primary winding (think transformer) to the Pertronics igniter. Ignition Wiring - Rod & Custom Magazine. The suppression wires do an excellent job of controlling the EMI with no degradation to the ignition performance. Attach a spark tester to the wire and to an engine ground. If no spark, problem is low tension circuit and either 12 Volt wiring to Pertronix is not provding 12 Volts or failure of Pertronix, or Pertronix gap changed because screw holding Pertronix to plate loose and Pertronix gap to magnet changed (unlikely). I purchased a set of Flame-Thrower low resistance wires from Pertronix. As to the spark plug caps, WCX600 - IME the new ones are notoriously unreliable. Tom, Powered by Discourse, best viewed with JavaScript enabled, mallory_instructions_unilite_distributor_37_38_45_47.pdf, Fact/Fiction, secondary circuit - E-Type - Jag-lovers Forums. Pertronix Ignitor is not connected to the ignition wires, it just triggers the coil to work. Nick. So then, what typically causes cold start bogging / sputtering for the R53. You sound like you have six of them and they are connected to the electronics in your distributor. Crack the engine and check for a good spark at the spark tester. I also have many brake components that came with warnings of the dangers of DOT5 - which I also ignored. 14 volts does not typically cause a spark. Will low resistance spark plug wires and a high output coil make, F54 :: Clubman Stock Problems/Issues (2015+). Tom. But I can only imagine they would cause lots of rf interference. Now to compare, I then grabbed the old MSD 8.5 Super Conductor Lead, cut it in half and again stripped the Outer Layer off to reveal a much larger conductor core that had a tiny wire strand would tightly around the core. I spoke with a tech (Frank) at Pertronix, who informed me that the Pertronix ignitor is not compatible with solid core spark plug wires. My understanding from one of the usuals some while back is that the Champion spark plug screw-in terminals are not compatible with carbon core or spiral-wound plug wire - they are designed to be used with solid core plug wire only. If you did not see a spark, remove the coil wire from the distributor cap. Therefore I suggest to take the spark plug lead from the coil, leave it connected to the coil, unplug it from the distributor cap, put the end about 1/4 inch from a ground, like against the cam cover, and crank engine. ULTIMATE IFS WHEEL TRAVEL - THE SEARCH IS OVER, SOME THREAD LOCKERS CAN AFFECT BOLT TORQUE - BE CAREFUL. In summary, dont get fooled by Brand XXX race lead with Super Low ohms per foot or silly comparison charts showing how great one lead is compared to the other. Turns but no fire! With lower res. Should I be able to get continuity and a resistance reading from the distributor end of the wire to the spark plug connection? Attach the spark tester to the distributor end of the coil wire. A PO had installed a Pertronix ignitor in my 65 S1 4.2l distributor. Repeatedly. Whether you do a complete tune-up or only change the spark plugs, spark plug wires (also known as ignition cables) should always be checked first. Typical wire resistance is ~1K, ,and the Champion ends can be much higher. But my guess is the same as @EtypeLvr the range on the ohmmeter needs to be adjusted. I have since purchased a 20 Metre length of the MSD 8.5mm wire and the MSD plug lead crimps and I keep them all on my race trailer just in case!! More current, more heat and induced noise in the rest of the electrical system. Most experts will not agree. This has been more than adequately proven by the failures on this forum alone, let alone countless others. As it unravelled it revealed a stiff inner core that felt very different to the rubber feeling core that I found in my questionable plug lead. So, in this case, high series resistance is a good thing, high voltage is a good thing, and less current is a good thing. Ohm specs for MSD and Taylor wires. High voltage output transistors are expensive, they dont put one in their output circuit thats more expensive than absolutely necessary. You want the LEAST resistance possibleso you can have more electric spark energy. Some other voltages were on the wire the meter was not picking up. Repro Champion ends have also created a huge number of problems for many people over the years. ARE "LOW RESISTANCE" SPARK PLUG LEADS ALL THE SAME? I then concluded that whilst the leads I had purchased previously were indeed low resistance (I even tested them with a multimeter), the inner core that provided the low resistance on paper, looked like rubber, felt like rubber and performed like crap at sending a 40,000 Volt spark to my plugs. If, you dont know how to identify the type of wire on the engine. Suppression style or spiral wound spark plug wires must be used. Problem with nonshielded type wires and low resistance plugs is they create higher EMF `s(electromagnetic fields) and while modern ignition systems are mildly shielded they can cause havoc with the computers reading millivolt and milliamp signals and can produce "dirty" power throughout the electrics. .Doctor D has said that the Jeep is a non D.I.S. My question is, is that right? I gather you have the distributor cap with the screw on connectors. An aerial is often made from a length of wire. Any guidance would be appreciated. JavaScript is disabled. The instructions for mine - admittedly its older, dont say anything about the wires. Those who know about ohmsplease share your th. The high resistance of the wires keeps the actual current flow very low but still presents 1000's of volts of voltage potential to the spark plug gap. Tom Das others have noted there is plenty of resistance in the combination of parts, including oft installed supressors, so that zero resistance is of course not a possibility in the entire ignition system, and close to zero for the wires is a goal for points distributors: the wire will have some small resistance, but without doubt, no more resistance is needed to be added in the primary wires. The resistance should ALWAYS be measurable, so there is definitely a problem somewhere in the new wires, Champion ends, or the distributor-side wire ends. My English teacher Miss Handley would point out that you can, but you may not. If problem is low tension circuit, I would suggest to put the points back and see if there is spark. A good friend of mine Kevin happened to be visiting our race shop whilst I was again busy changing my spark plugs (for the 6th time in a few short months) and asked me if the problem could be a spark plug lead. The issue in the post was a narrow one - why did his ignition fail? The meter said no continuity. The Fora platform includes forum software by XenForo, http://www.msdignition.com/pdf/tech%20b top_10.pdf, TJ Suspension and Steering, Tires and Wheels, VerticalScope Inc., 111 Peter Street, Suite 600, Toronto, Ontario, M5V 2H1, Canada. Resistance is not the most important detail to be concerned with when choosing spark plug wires. Problem was no spark. RFI is inportant to me due to the fast that I compete in DBdrag racing and in usac(SQ). Do the Pertronix wires have some kind of connector already attached to the distributor end of the wire? When the resistance is in the spark plug end, all cylinders have the same resistance. Like Geo Ive run many miles with a Pertronix ignition and copper wires. The issue is that most primary wiring now has many thousands of ohms resistance for modern highly computerized cars and .that is the point I am making. Before you do anything, I suggest you track down WHERE the spark failure you had has come from. Captains log: Still alive, Sept 2015.If anyone needs me, send me an email to. Privacy Statement -
DO NOT USE WITH SOLID CORE SPARK PLUG WIRES. He would replace the module, then about a month later, the module would fail. At the distributor end of the high tension wire, the stripped core goes through the little copper washer (no soldering) and when you tighten the screw on connector, the brass washer crimps the wire core against the brass piece in the cap. THEY CAN AND WILL FRY THE COIL DRIVER ELECTRONICS. I removed the Champion end and tested for continuity from the screw to the spark plug connection and did not get a reading there either. None. I know that Spark Plug Lead manufacturers advertise graphite core, carbon core, low resistance leads etc, but come on, whilst the material that this core did indeed have a low resistance (As stated by the manufacturer), the inner core was clearly manufactured from was flexible like rubber substance and was OBVIOUSLY the cause of my poor spark, my engine problems and my frustration. Having solid wires means there is more likely to be a high-voltage oscillation jammed back into the Pertronix module. I had a few arguments with one race shop owner who kept asking me Why do you specifically want an MSD leads when my Brand XXX Super Duper Race Lead are even better? He wanted to show me chart after chart to explain to me that the resistance per foot of his Brand XXX leads were lower than the Resistance Per Foot if the MSD leads I had asked for. cap is probably about 5000 ohms. Its important to keep an eye on your spark plug wires to avoid subsequent engine issues. Look for any signs of melting or cracking. But I also noticed when I got the meter lead near the primary coil wire, I noticed a small spark jumping. You cannot use solid core (typically copper) spark plug wires with this product. Lowest is best. Our problems started after our new engine was bolted in our truck and the engine was run at idle a few times to manoeuvre our race truck inside our race shop or when the beast was loaded on or off our race car transporter. I changed the plugs one more time and when we took the truck for another test session. Much to my surprise (After spending quite a few of my Race $$ on this high quality set of Race Leads), the plug lead I was holding in my hand had an inner core that I can only describe as a tiny 2.5mm black flexible rubber o-ring stretched out straight. Something about EMF. So if the only "problem" your spark plug wires have is being OEM, it ain't gonna help to replace them. DO NOT USE SOLID CORE WRES WITH ELECTRONIC IGNITION!! Even with the fouled plugs, the engine ran fine. Resistance should be zero or close to (ie less than 1 ohm there is oxidation that will raise resistance a bit). I bought some Accels once that were over 600 ohms per foot. Imagine the electrical system you would need to have to if you were using more current and less voltage to generate a spark.
Lower resistance plugs will result in LOWER firing voltage and lessened spark energy. I want the best possible wire but not at the expense of ticking sounds coming though my system. Keep in mind that all of this happens in a few milli-seconds. I immediately thought, Now we were getting somewhere. We immediately noticed a dramatic increase in throttle response, much more low-end power & torque and the engine absolutely screamed at high revs. Most distributor caps sold for Jaguars today have a brush that has 5000 ohms. | ' : ''}}{{lede.tags.join(', ')}}. After screwing the first Champion spark plug end into the wire, I used an ohm meter to test the resistance from the distributor end to the spark plug connection. I quickly removed the longest of my now questionable (3 Month Old, Brand XXX) spark plug leads and replaced the spark plug lead with an old MSD lead that I had lying around on a shelf. Come join the discussion about performance, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more! Being an electronics engineer, I understand that a low resistance lead will result in greater spark at the plug, but I thought how the hell is electricity ever supposed to travel down this black rubber stuff? Modifications specific to the MINI Cooper (R50). Terry, follow the secondary circuit after it goes through the spark plug and to the engine ground. So, whats the verdict? Then after you do each connection. Scott Bryce - Owner Proformance Motorsport. I don't know if this is "normal". Check the fuel system and/or stark timing. I wish they would manufacture them with out the resistor as they are convenient to use, but as of a few years ago they didnt. 2022 DRiV Incorporated. Its possible they have changed the internal components, so it will fail if you use them, but I suspect its because they want you to be good citizens. They want to see at least about 100 ohms in the secondary circuit to help slow down and extend the spark. If a spark jumps from a plug wire to the test light at any point, this is an indication that the insulation has broken down, and the spark plug wire should be replaced. I then had a strange sense of Dj vu I remember having a similar conversation when I purchased the questionable set of leads a few months earlier from another race shop. And youll find the same recommendations on most electronic ignitions, including EDIS. The next two spark plugs (2 and 3) were removed and found to be black with carbon, (not quite as bad as 1 and 2) and the rear most plugs (5-8) were a nice Tan colour as we saw on the Dyno. A quick change of the front four spark plugs (Cylinders 1-4) saw the engine come to back life and BOOM, our race truck engine was again the fire-breathing beast we all saw on the engine Dyno. Consult a tune-up manual for exact specifications.. Many modern wire sets are for modern cars that require tons and tons, like 50,000 ohms of resistance. I stood my ground went somewhere else and purchased a set of MSD 8.5mm Super Conductor Leads and fitted them to the engine. Are you on the proper meter scale? This causes an increase in the voltage required to fire the spark plug, which could damage the ignition coil as well as the spark plug wires. Run low resistance:get close and side by side to that brand new BMWand blow all its electronics!! It should help with figuring out the spark plug wire being used on your engine. The failure is NOT in the wires, it is in the Pertronix itself. Now onto the high tension wires After screwing the first Champion spark plug end into the wire . Moparchat - Home of MOPAR enthusiasts worldwide! If you have lower resistance wires then you will have higher current flow through the wires. Are we speaking about a different system to the usual Pertronix trigger? I could go on, but I wont. Ray I dont dispute that you need suppression particularly in a modern car, but Im just answering the writers question on failure of his ignition system - its not likely caused by his choice of solid wire. The voltages read fine, 14 volts alternator voltage. RFI should not be a problem. I suggested to Kevin that I thought the longer leads running to the front cylinders could have a much greater resistance than the shorter leads (Half the length) that feed the rear cylinders and that the longer leads are resulting in poor spark at low revs, but could be working ok at higher revs.
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