Time for some new ignition wires October 29, 2014, 01:44:22 AM Figured you'd all enjoy this. Not seen with the naked eye, unless using peripheral vision to look for very dim flashes. The entire engine bay appeared to be flashing. This is what I saw with the camera and a 202-second exposure:Stock replacement coil, these wires: http://www.americanmuscle.com/ford-9mm-plugwires-7995-red.htmlThere may be something to running the wires perfectly, rather than just tucking them where they'd fit. Or just junk wires. I'll be replacing and re-checking spark plug gaps tomorrow. Of course, anti-seize and dielectric grease are used. Quote Selected
Time for some new ignition wires Reply #1 – October 29, 2014, 11:08:04 AM very cool looking Quote Selected
Time for some new ignition wires Reply #2 – October 29, 2014, 11:31:16 AM What brand of wires are in the picture and how old are they? Good info for those looking at new plug wires so they can avoid them.Darren Quote Selected
Time for some new ignition wires Reply #3 – October 29, 2014, 01:15:07 PM Quote from: Aerocoupe;439874What brand of wires are in the picture and how old are they? Good info for those looking at new plug wires so they can avoid them.DarrenThey're the red ones I linked to. I found people on mustang forums complaining about those same wires, especially with stronger coils.Not sure why they are reviewed so well. One wire was also a couple inches shorter than the same wire in any other plug wireset I've used.They are probably 5-6 years old. I've had a weird idle for many years in this car though. It just seems to be getting worse lately, so I took a look - I assume the arcing has started to finish off the wires. They still "look" fine, but also consistently dirty. I'd need to clean them and inspect close for burn damage.I apply dielectric to the ceramic, but not the tip of the plug. Anti-seize on the plugs. My engine ground "looks" fine - no breakage and the copper is still shiny. I may replace that with some new, larger wire though, with soldered connections.The camera with long-exposure does something similar in this picture as you would see on sky or water photos - all the fine movements of each arc get added up, turning into a blur. The picture tells me that all of these thousands of arcs in that picture are widespread in many areas, but the arcing is occurring in a smaller area in some places.I was "seeing" dozens of faint flashes per second in various areas. The camera simply reinforced what I thought I was seeing. Some of the flashes I was seeing were reflections off of other surfaces. Quote Selected
Time for some new ignition wires Reply #4 – October 29, 2014, 04:21:19 PM I have run those FRPP 9mm wires for years but no more. A couple of months ago I noticed that the engine in my Thunderbird was idling funny. Not missing per say but it sounded different at idle. Above idle it was fine. For fun I decided to start the car in a dark garage. I got a similar light show to the one you saw. Little flashes of light from different wires at different times. The sad thing is that the wires I was running were 4 years old with maybe 4000 miles on them (they had replaced my previous set where I had burned a couple of boot on the header). I replaced the FRPP 9mm wires with a set of MSD Super Conductor 8.5mm wires. I noticed no real performance difference but my car's idle is much better. Quote Selected
Time for some new ignition wires Reply #5 – October 29, 2014, 07:23:59 PM I have those wires in black on my car. It kinda idles funky too. Got me wondering now. Quote Selected
Time for some new ignition wires Reply #6 – October 29, 2014, 11:03:36 PM So the parts store wires are doing no better. I routed them differently, and re-gapped my plugs from .050 to .045. Cap and rotor still looked new.Wires just thrown in, but placed away from as many metal surfaces as possible:Wires put into plastic retainers to keep them in place...I couldn't get the coil to distributor routed well, so it's arcing on the intake:It idles a little better (maybe), but I still hear an issue through the exhaust note. All of that may simply be me having no o2 sensors in, and no wideband for monitoring, so I could be dumping a little extra fuel into the exhaust and getting some ignition there. Quote Selected
Time for some new ignition wires Reply #7 – October 29, 2014, 11:08:41 PM Oh, and ignore the other purple light on top of the intake/near firewall. I forgot to unplug my garage speakers, and their LEDs are pretty bright. Quote Selected
Time for some new ignition wires Reply #8 – October 29, 2014, 11:52:54 PM I almost forgot - I have the spark plug from cylinder 7 that has orange porcelain on the inside. Rest of the plug looked fine.I can't find anything online about a single orange plug. Quote Selected
Time for some new ignition wires Reply #9 – October 30, 2014, 09:58:26 AM http://www.autolite.com/media/11838/plugtips.pdfLooks like glazing to me.Darren Quote Selected
Time for some new ignition wires Reply #10 – October 30, 2014, 10:48:03 AM Quote from: Aerocoupe;439923http://www.autolite.com/media/11838/plugtips.pdfLooks like glazing to me.DarrenMay be right, but I don't understand just the one plug showing it. I'll have to check that cylinder's injector, plug wire, and ignition system resistance. Could also just be a weird plug that needs replacement. Quote Selected
Time for some new ignition wires Reply #11 – October 30, 2014, 12:23:33 PM Most just change the plug. If it happens again then that injector gets swapped to another cylinder to see if it follows the injector. Now you seem to have some tools and knowledge that 90% don't so if you can check out the plug wire, injector, and ignition system resistance then it saves the labor of swapping things around. My guess is it happened with the bad plug wires you had and you just need a fresh set of plugs.Darren Quote Selected
Time for some new ignition wires Reply #12 – October 30, 2014, 12:31:34 PM Quote from: Seek;439913I almost forgot - I have the spark plug from cylinder 7 that has orange porcelain on the inside. Rest of the plug looked fine.I can't find anything online about a single orange plug.Here's where it gets weird. When I was looking for the source of my odd idle sound I pulled the plugs. Everything looked the same except for number 7. It had a bit of an orange/brown cast I find it odd that both of us would have an ignition/injector issue on number 7. I wonder if this has something to do with the air/fuel ration from the number 7 intake runner? It would make sense as we both have GT40 intakes. Quote Selected
Time for some new ignition wires Reply #13 – October 30, 2014, 12:42:44 PM I have 30lb injectors to go in, which I can do any day now that I have access to my Quarterhorse again. I'll get those swapped in and simply see what happens. My 24lbers were near maxed out at 5k rpms with my old gt40p heads and unported lower intake. With the new torque converter, I can move the transmission's shift point up higher, since the car was still gaining power at the old 5k shift point (12" torque converters and their rpm limitations suck).As far as cylinder 7 - I'll have to look at old pictures, but I think my iron heads were fine across all cylinders. With aluminum, I have this issue now. Who knows where the injectors were previously though - they got mixed up during the head swap last year. BUT, if anyone remembers, I think I remember seeing the valves in one combustion chamber that looked different than the rest. There were pictures on here at some point. Not sure if cylinder 7, but it's certainly possible I've had a dud cylinder for quite awhile. That right there may tell me that I have an ignition or injector issue, or something weird with the intake runners on 7.Of course, that plug needs replacement. It may no longer ignite properly if it was ever running poorly. Quote Selected
Time for some new ignition wires Reply #14 – October 30, 2014, 12:45:49 PM Here's the earlier thread - looks like cylinder #7 or #2. With the pictures I took for that thread, it looks like I pulled that head from the passenger side, so cylinder #2. Seems like a consistent issue though - injector problem most likely.http://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/showthread.php?35582-What-was-wrong-with-this-cylinder-%28pics%29 Quote Selected
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