Longevity of spark plug wires

[007]

What is the lifespan of spark plug wires? I have a 1986 T-Type Regal with 26K that I recently bought and it has the original hoses, belt and OEM original spark plug wires. In the dark I see no arching and I have no issues at the moment but was curious how long in years not mileage spark wires are good for.
And yes I am changing the hoses, belts and fluid.

 

[anonobomber]

You can't come on here, tell us you have a t-type Regal, and not share any pictures!

 

[HTSS_TR]

I changed 1 plug wire of my 1994 LS400 with 380k miles about 2 years ago at around 365k miles. The other 7 wires were original when I sold the car 2 weeks ago.

Mileage is fairly importance for some pats under the hood, mainly because of the heat.

 

[KingCake]

Silicone wires will last just about forever. Abrasion is usually what gets them.

 

[Carbon]

I think an ohmmeter can test for an open. The reading on a good wire can be pretty high, but I think it is under 100 kohm.

 

[turtlevette]

Put some dry ice on top of that intercooler. I used to take mine out at night in really cold weather and oh boy, hold on.

 

[redbone3]

Longevity is unpredictable. You can check the wires for continuity with an ohmmeter. Unfortunately, insulation breakdown is difficult to troubleshoot. I chased my tail trying to find out why a 1997 Neon had an intermittent miss. The spark plug wires checked good with an ohmmeter. Replacing them fixed the miss.

 

[wtd]

Spark plug wires never lasted very long on my 98 chevy K1500 truck with the 5.7L. I used to get the fireworks under the hood at night with different brands of wires. It seemed like the AC-Delco replacements were the worse.

I could always tell when the wires seemed to go bad because the truck acted like it had no power. I finally put a set of Magnacor plug wires on it and they have been on the truck for years and quite a few miles and I don't have the sparking anymore.

The bad thing about the Magnacors is that the boots are silicon and I always tear at least one when it comes time for plug changes. I keep some as extras for that reason.

 

[007]

No issues so far but I want to keep it that way. This car is silly fast.

 

[KingCake]

Originally Posted By: wtd
Spark plug wires never lasted very long on my 98 chevy K1500 truck with the 5.7L. I used to get the fireworks under the hood at night with different brands of wires. It seemed like the AC-Delco replacements were the worse.

I could always tell when the wires seemed to go bad because the truck acted like it had no power. I finally put a set of Magnacor plug wires on it and they have been on the truck for years and quite a few miles and I don't have the sparking anymore.

The bad thing about the Magnacors is that the boots are silicon and I always tear at least one when it comes time for plug changes. I keep some as extras for that reason.


You have something wrong. Bad/wrong/misgapped plugs or bad engine ground. Your secondary waveforms probably have huge sparklines.

 

[KingCake]

An ignition coil will never, NEVER, produce more voltage than what is required to jump a gap.

If you're breaking down silicone plug wires then you're coil is generating excess potential because of some kind of ignition problem. I.E excess gap from open circuits/bad plugs.

 

[Vern_in_IL]

Get NAPA Belden plug wires, they have a engine lifetime warranty.

Quote:
Your new NAPA® Belden® spark plug wire set is warranted to you, the original customer to be free of defects in material and workmanship (as determined solely by NAPA® Belden®) for the entire life of the engine on which it was originally installed for as long as the engine is owned by the original purchaser of the spark plug wire set, subject to the limitations set forth below. NAPA® Belden® will repair or replace, at its option, the NAPA® Belden® product if it is proven defective under normal use and service. The NAPA® Belden® product must be shipped prepaid or delivered to a participating NAPA® store in the United States. Proof of the date of sale to the original customer may be required.
This warranty does not include labor or cover the cost of any other components or labor required to restore the motor vehicle to its proper operating condition.
This warranty does not apply to NAPA® Belden® products that have been: 1) altered; 2) improperly installed, maintained or repaired or installed on a second engine or motor vehicle; 3) damaged by accident, negligence or misuse; 4) used in commercial, fleet, heavy duty, off road, public or governmental vehicles; or 5) returned with missing components or parts that were originally included in the package.

 

[NHGUY]

Spray them with non-petroleum based silicone spray occasionally.Will keep them from drying out.

 

[HerrStig]

Spray a fine mist of water on the wies with the engine on. If it starts to run badly your wires need replacement. Does the engine miss on damp or rainy days? That's a hint.

 

[jimbeamalki]

Have only replaced wires once, and that was on an 83 Ford LTD that had an engine fire when trying to start it in sub-zero weather with starter fluid. New wires & plugs and it was good to go. All the car/truck sites I'm on I'm always seeing: Replaced plugs & wires; replaced wires & plugs. Of course I'm always real careful when doing plugs, and handle the wires very carefully.

 

[wtd]

Originally Posted By: KingCake
Originally Posted By: wtd
Spark plug wires never lasted very long on my 98 chevy K1500 truck with the 5.7L. I used to get the fireworks under the hood at night with different brands of wires. It seemed like the AC-Delco replacements were the worse.

I could always tell when the wires seemed to go bad because the truck acted like it had no power. I finally put a set of Magnacor plug wires on it and they have been on the truck for years and quite a few miles and I don't have the sparking anymore.

The bad thing about the Magnacors is that the boots are silicon and I always tear at least one when it comes time for plug changes. I keep some as extras for that reason.


You have something wrong. Bad/wrong/misgapped plugs or bad engine ground. Your secondary waveforms probably have huge sparklines.


Believe me, I checked everything and even had a couple of shops look at it and they could not determine anything. I checked all of the grounds and even replaced the frame to cab strap with the recommended heavy duty one. I always used the correct Delco spark plugs with the correct gap.

The other issue I was having was that I was getting a spark on the coil body itself. The spark would jump from the side of the coil to the metal bracket that surrounded the coil.

I replaced all of the ignition components multiple times with all new AC-Delco stuff.

To this day I don't know what the problem is/was but using the Magnacor plug wires seemed to help the problem. The truck runs good with good power so it no longer exhibits the no power symptoms it used to back in the day.

Wayne

 

[Robenstein]

Originally Posted By: 007
What is the lifespan of spark plug wires? I have a 1986 T-Type Regal with 26K that I recently bought and it has the original hoses, belt and OEM original spark plug wires. In the dark I see no arching and I have no issues at the moment but was curious how long in years not mileage spark wires are good for.
And yes I am changing the hoses, belts and fluid.


When I bought my 86 Monte Carlo SS back in 2001 it had the original belts, hoses, and wires. Plugs had been changed, but the odometer was around 90k on mine. Previous owner drove the heck out of it for a year (60k miles) before selling it to me.

 

[redbone3]

The hotter the spark, the more crucial the wires become.