Testing plug wires (1 Viewer)

[dans67]

The cruiser started running like absloute heck the other day. It will start up fine, run for 15 minutes or so, and then it is hell. It is similar in feeling to trying to keep a car running at 5mph in 4 gear, just as a description of how it feels. I swapped the plugs yesterday, the old ones didn't look too bad, but the po had gapped them at .045 instead of .031. They were Bosch platniums, so maybe he just put them in rather than gapping them. Anyway, I'm trying to test the wires, but I can't get any reading at all. My multimeter is working fine, but when I try to test the wires, it shows infinite resistance on the two wires that I have tested so far, and I don't belive that this is possible. Is there a trick to testing wires? Help, I need to get this beast running as soon as possible.
Dan

 

[Rich]

If it will repeatedly run fine cold for 15 minutes or so, then I don't think your problem is the spark plug wires. In my experience, bad wires caused misfires hot or cold.

 

[dans67]

I doubt that the wires are my only problem, but as wires heat up, a small problem can cause a larger problem, this has happened to me before. I am having a problem testing my wires at any rate, and would like to completly rule them out.

 

[dans67]

Well, I found some of the problem. My multimeter was bad, go figure top of the line "Craftsman" used only once for a furnace job. Not the leads, but the actual meter. The cylinder wires checked out, but the coil wire was horribly corrroded in the coil. I used emery cloth on the wire, and am letting the coil hole soak with electrical cleaner for a few minutes. Is it possible to get just a coil wire? I know that most sets of wires this is a NO, but its worth a shot.

 

[dans67]

That solved much of the problem, emery cloth on the wire end, and lots of battery terminal cleaner in the coil, that along with some prodding with a q-tip. It's running a little better, but is still missing I think. It is idling bad, but I can't really tell what it is. It's most noticible by the exhaust tone, almost a chug.

 

[Beowulf]

Is it possible to get just a coil wire?

Yes, you can get just the OEM coil wire from C-Dan.

-B-