Okay, I was driving home back in December and I noticed my car was sort of chugging, running rough, hopping through the RPMs and such. At WOT there is a loud popping sound comming from the hood, it is more noticealbe when you are sitting in the back. It happended immediatly, it didn't get worse over time. We figured we'd fix it when we installed the cam, well the cam is in and its still running the same as it did before. Since I bought the car (Sep '99) we've replaced the ECM, MAF, Starter, Alternator, Battery, Fuel Pump, Fuel Filter. The car has brand new plugs, timing chain, head, intake, exhaust and valve cover gaskets. In a few places on my #6 ignition wire, the wire was cut through, partially burned by my headers. My question is, could those burns on the plug wire cause that running problem, or is it somthing else I am not thinking of??

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1987 Chevy Camaro IROC-Z
L98 TPI 350 (5.7L)
TH 700R-4 Transmission
Borg Warner 7.75" 9 Bolt Rear End

Current Mods: LT4 Hot Cam, Comp Cams 1.52:1 Roller Rocker Arms, Edelbrock TES 1 5/8" Headers, Hooker 3" Aerochamber Cat-Back System, Performance Resource Chip, Accel Ignition Coil, Cap, Rotor, 8.8mm Wires, K&N Filters, JET TPI Air Foil, All Free Mods, Falken ZIEX Z-Rated Tires.

Best ET (w/o LT4 cam): 14.32 @ 97.7mph
(corrected for elevation)

7.5" 10 Bolt with 3.42s soon to come!

 

 

I'm not an expert so I can't answer this even though I know the answer. LOL Sorry

 

I'm no expert either, but why did you replace all that other stuff and leave the bad plug wires alone?

 

I ran out of money is why I didn't buy a new set of wires. But come on Blade, I was just saying that cuz a mechanic I talked to here in town is baffled, and its kinda a complex situation, you know?

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1987 Chevy Camaro IROC-Z
L98 TPI 350 (5.7L)
TH 700R-4 Transmission
Borg Warner 7.75" 9 Bolt Rear End

Current Mods: LT4 Hot Cam, Comp Cams 1.52:1 Roller Rocker Arms, Edelbrock TES 1 5/8" Headers, Hooker 3" Aerochamber Cat-Back System, Performance Resource Chip, Accel Ignition Coil, Cap, Rotor, 8.8mm Wires, K&N Filters, JET TPI Air Foil, All Free Mods, Falken ZIEX Z-Rated Tires.

Best ET (w/o LT4 cam): 14.32 @ 97.7mph
(corrected for elevation)

7.5" 10 Bolt with 3.42s soon to come!

 

Dan,

You're back already? I thought you were out for a while on manuevers or assignment - maybe I'm thinking of someone else.

Anyway, I'm not an expert, but I am a certified idiot. That has to count for something.

Personally, I would replace any plug wire that had jacket damage, but I'm just an idiot. Your baffled mechanic must be a lot smarter than the rest of us, or has a 25KV megger to test plug wire insulation. No real offense intended, but I wouldn't count on either one, though.

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Later,
Vader
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"I'm'a do Things My Way - It's My way or the Highway."
Adobe Acrobat Reader

[This message has been edited by Vader (edited March 14, 2001).]

 

Really, not meant as a flame, but why are you trying to diagnose a driveability problem when you know full well that your ignition components are beat. Thats just downright silly.
If your 'mechanic' didn't immediately check the condition of your wires/cap/rotor when you described a miss, then i wouldn't let him change my oil. I hope you weren't following his advice when you replaced the rest of that stuff...if you were i bet you have been on quite a ride. Can i be your mechanic?
...ed

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Ed Maher - Moderator @ The Carb Board
92 Z28 Convertible - Quasar blue / Tan top
LB9 4L60 GU2 G80 - stock, soon to be sleeper
-=ICON Motorsports=-

- Definitely prototypes, high powered mutants of some kind. Too weird to live, too cool to die

 

Dan - If you're strapped for cash a $35 set of Delco wires works just as well as anything else I've tried, plus they're lifetime warranty. Something to think about instead of a $50+ set of Accel race wire or MSD SuperC.

 

This mechanic is just a local guy here in town that I talked to over the phone, I didn't bring my car to him or anything like that. My dad just suggested talking to an "expert" so I called a local mechanic. I don't let anyone touch my car unless I am right there with them, I do ALL of the work on my car by my self, I don't trust mechanics, but I figured I'd call one anyway. I guess I will replace those wires and see if that does me any good.

Vader, you must be thinking of somebody else, I have been here at Colorado State University since August learning Mechanical Engineering, so I haven't been out on any assignments! Laterz!

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1987 Chevy Camaro IROC-Z
L98 TPI 350 (5.7L)
TH 700R-4 Transmission
Borg Warner 7.75" 9 Bolt Rear End

Current Mods: LT4 Hot Cam, Comp Cams 1.52:1 Roller Rocker Arms, Edelbrock TES 1 5/8" Headers, Hooker 3" Aerochamber Cat-Back System, Performance Resource Chip, Accel Ignition Coil, Cap, Rotor, 8.8mm Wires, K&N Filters, JET TPI Air Foil, All Free Mods, Falken ZIEX Z-Rated Tires.

Best ET (w/o LT4 cam): 14.32 @ 97.7mph
(corrected for elevation)

7.5" 10 Bolt with 3.42s soon to come!

 

Dan, your burned plug wire(s) can most definitely cause some of the behavior you are describing. It has happened to me twice: once on my IROC, and once on my old pickup truck. Time to change them wires.

But while you are doing that swap job, you also need to determine how to tie them down so they won't get burned through right away again. No matter how thick the wire insulation is, if the plug wire comes into direct contact with the exhaust header they will burn through.

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89 IROC with lots o' stuff

-=ICON Motorsports=-

 

Well Dan, you’ve taken a few potshots but I can’t say they weren’t deserved. I think the point of these was, you changed a cam and a lot of other more expensive parts expecting to fix a problem that may have been solved changing a plug wire, and the wire showed physical damage. There’s a lesson there, but not just for you.

Not long ago I asked for help understanding why cylinder one in my IROC was misfiring. I was consuming oil, but it took a couple weeks before the plug fouled completely and wouldn’t fire at all. When my plug wires were installed (by a local mechanic) he lost the wire separators and used a plastic tie wrap instead. I gave up on that guy and went to another (local mechanic). I asked for his help in diagnosing my misfire and he charged me 1 hour labor to tell me my #1 plug was fouled. I questioned him about the plug wire routing and said I thought it was a shoddy job. He said he did them that way all the time, never had a problem.

Not long after my post I went to AutoZone and got a set of $2.95 separators, rerouted my wires and put them on. This solved my misfire problem. (The intake still has a leak though, a new plug will show it after a few days and I’m using an extra quart of oil between changes, the gasket will have to be replaced.) Why didn’t I do this easy thing first? Well, I am an expert at being an idiot. I let somebody else do my thinking for me, and so did you. Your local mechanic (probably) has more experience than you, but that doesn’t always mean he can troubleshoot a problem with better results, especially when you know the repair history of you car and how it should run.

It just occurred to me, what if the new wires don’t solve Dan’s problem? Then we’ll all look like geniuses.

 

Take a look under the hood in a dark area at night and watch the light show. That should tell you everything about the wires you need to know.

 

Just bought my WELLS 8mm spark plug from Walmart for $10.00. Thats right $10.00. Had to replace the old wires since I had installed my headers. Is that a bargain or what?