MolaKule
Staff member
It depends on type of wire, whether it is solid core or RF suppression.
RF suppression wire is approximately 850 ohms per foot.
RF suppression wire is approximately 850 ohms per foot.
exactly. In fact, I've measured wires that "leaked" like this and often found them to be perfectly within spec. But bad nonetheless.quote:
Originally posted by andyd:
age is a factor with plug wires too. Ohms spec doesnt really reflect the loss bled out of the wires from broken down insulation. Look under the hood some night, if you see blue sparks running out of the plug wires or the car mis fires in damp weather then replace the wires. I couldnt believe the difference a new set made after 250k miles on the old ones.
Anything over 6,000 ohms is no good.quote:
Originally posted by Eric Smith:
Does anyone know what spark plug wires are supposed to read? The ones I just pulled off the car 2 at 4-5k, one 9k, and the last at 15k. I guessing the last two are little high. I could test the new ones but I tested the old ones after I got the new ones setup perfectly. Then again they're a different brand so that may not be a good base reading. Or am I the only one bored enough to test spark plug wires??
This is very true. Voltage loss through crossfiring can be much more than what's lost through high resistance. The thing is, once a spark finds it's way through a crack in a wire, it'll continue 'shorting', and get worse. It's most apparent when going up hills and in high load situations.quote:
age is a factor with plug wires too. Ohms spec doesnt really reflect the loss bled out of the wires from broken down insulation. Look under the hood some night, if you see blue sparks running out of the plug wires or the car mis fires in damp weather then replace the wires.
I wish the Wal-mart's near me carried plug wires, period. They haven't stocked any in about four years, and I used the Wells quite a bit. Also, they used to stock regular Champion plugs and now just the lawn mower/marine plugs. I miss the AC's too. Kinda sucks the Delco's I used to buy for 3.00/two pack now cost 3.00 apiece at Advance.quote:
The new ones are from AAP. The old ones were Wells from Wal-Mart. My Wally's has crap compared to what they used to. No AC plugs, just AutoLite, Champion and Bosch. AAP wanted twice the buck a piece last time at Wal-Mart for AC's. No wires at all. They didn't list any for my LUV last time, but I poked around and found a set that worked, I think a MB application. Nobody had wires out where I could look at them, or stocked anything listed for my truck. Had to order them.
This sounds right...quote:
Originally posted by MolaKule:
It depends on type of wire, whether it is solid core or RF suppression.
RF suppression wire is approximately 850 ohms per foot.
Not so. There is a lot more than just seeing the spark. What about when the engine is under full load? What will be the quality of the spark then? An oscilloscope will show you how well of a job the ignition doing firing each cylinder.quote:
Originally posted by kenw:
if you can see sparks, measuring the ohms is a waste of time.