Visible spark

[Jered1011]

Hi I have a 99 explorer sport. I can see a spark jumping from the engine block to the plug wire of cyl 6. I recently replaced the plugs, wires, and coil pack. Any idea why this might b happening? Thank you

 

[EB4X]

Your new plug wire is not on snug or it's got a crack in it... I'm right near you in Placentia and have a few spare used plug wires in garage if they wont accept a return on your plug wires.

 

[Jered1011]

Your new plug wire is not on snug or it's got a crack in it... I'm right near you in Placentia and have a few spare used plug wires in garage if they wont accept a return on your plug wires.

Great thank you! I will let u know tomorrow if I need a new wire. Thanks again

 

[Jered1011]

Well I got a new spark plug wire but its still happening. So I pulled it and checked it. No cracks and continuity is good. Ive looked all over the internet and cant find any info about this. Every other instance I can find it has been the spark plug wire. Im thinking I should get another wire from a different auto parts store. Any other ideas? Thanks

 

[Mbrooks420]

You have a broken wire, or a cracked plug. Nothing else is going to make it arc. Wrap the area in several wraps of electrical tape. If this fixes it, replace the all the plug wires.

If the wires were cheap, I’d replace them all. Cheap plug wires work on some vehicles, not these. The chance of intermittent poor running conditions aren’t worth a few bucks.

 

[CDW6212R]

Ditto, both spark plugs and plug wires are very fragile parts, when new, but really fragile when old. Cheap wires often get damaged or broken when taking them off a plug the next time the plugs need changing.

Spark plugs can be bad right of the box, I've had it happen twice in my 42 years of wrenching. So for any odd firing or missing issues, always suspect the plugs and wires until you check them. Then if you don't find anything wrong apparently, go back to the plugs again, and the wires depending on their age and brand.

Plugs and wires are two items that should be bought for long term reliability, not for any parts store warrantee.

 

[Jered1011]

Ok thanks everybody. I did get a new wire and the spark was still there. I put a couple layers of shrink tube on the plug where the spark was happening and the problem stopped, car runs great and no more p0306. The wire set I bought was $69 so decent quality. I will replace the plug and if problem persists I guess better quality wire set. Thanks again

 

[donalds]

You put shrink tubing on your spark plug ?
If you did
You need to replace the plug its cracked

 

[RickOTR]

When it comes to electrical parts. I always go with Motorcraft especially plugs and wires.

 

[Jered1011]

I bought ngk plugs and wires. Never again. Going to put in a whole new set of plugs today. New plug wire set will b here tomorrow. I bought Motorcraft WR5944. This whole experience really has me not liking what autozone is selling. Those could have been returns they put back on the shelf, and I bought. Home depot puts returns back on the floor everyday, drives me crazy. Thanks again for all the help

 

[Mbrooks420]

I bought ngk plugs and wires. Never again. Going to put in a whole new set of plugs today. New plug wire set will b here tomorrow. I bought Motorcraft WR5944. This whole experience really has me not liking what autozone is selling. Those could have been returns they put back on the shelf, and I bought. Home depot puts returns back on the floor everyday, drives me crazy. Thanks again for all the help

Are they supposed to throw the returns out?