4.1 Spark Plug Wires Problem Solved (Maybe)

[PeteC]

My 87 Eldorado had been running rough so I did a full tune up (plugs , wires, cleaned throttle body etc) over a year ago. It ran better for a while but started runnig bad again. Over the last year I had fixed several problems that made the car run better but still, over time, it would start running bad again. Several months ago I found that the spark plug wires were arcing, so I replaced them with a better quality set: AC Delco wires. The car ran much better, but then started to gradually run bad again. To my surprize the plug wires were arcing again.

So I replaced them with 8.8mm Accel wires. The car runs better than it has for a long time, and the gas mileage is greatly improved (from 12 mpg to 17 mpg city driving).

I am puzzled why the AC Delco wires broke down so soon. I thought they should be good quality, though a local mechanic said he thought Accel and Belden (NAPA) were a lot better. I asked him if there was something in the ignition system that would cause plug wires to break down so soon and he said no.

So hopefully these Accel wires will last.

Anyone else have a similar experience?

[ehall]

I have the Accel wires in my Jeep Cherokee and they work good there.

I have the Belden wires in my 85 DeVille and it has a buzz, but I don't know if that's the wires.

[Edahall]

I also had AC Delco wires that looked like brand new but were arking. I ended up replacing with my own custom made MSD 8.5mm wires. So far, no problems with arking.

[awadecki]

Have always used Delco without issues. But, given how few people buy wire sets for this car, it may be possible that you bought a 10-year old wire set at the store.

[carnut]

Its extreemly important on this car to route the plug wires exactly like the factory does. All retainers and clips MUST be used or the wires will arc. If plug wires are routed too close to the distributor module wiring it will affect driveability.

[ehall]

I don't have any of the original retainers or clips... I've been looking on JC Whitney and some other sites for wiring stands and have not found much except some universal parts that probably won't fit.

[PeteC]

Originally Posted by carnut

Its extreemly important on this car to route the plug wires exactly like the factory does. All retainers and clips MUST be used or the wires will arc. If plug wires are routed too close to the distributor module wiring it will affect driveability.

My clips have long ago disintigrated. The Accel kit had several wire spreaders, but it is not anything like the original setup. So far it seems to be working OK, but I will keep an eye on it to see if I start having arcing problems down the line.