Plug Leads exploding

Honest John Back Room » The Back Room Archive
View Threaded
Fri 1 Feb 2002 21:28
Plug Leads exploding - Derek Thompson
Has anybody experienced exploding plug leads and resulting small engine fire which I had on my Audi Coupe- luckily at slow speed and blown out! This serves as a warning to renew leads of unknown age?
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 2 Feb 2002 09:21
Re: Plug Leads exploding - steve paterson
A few years ago I was listening to an odd engine noise, a sort of loud 'clack' every now and then. Eventually traced it to the distributor, which had been fitted with a transparent test cap. Every so often there was a blue flash inside the cap, which lifted off the distributor, and went back down with a loud clack. I mentioned this to a mate of mine who told me that he'd been called to breakdown once, the distributor cap and leads were fire damaged and plastic bits inside the distributor had melted. The customer said the car had been running normally when he parked it, just wouldn't start again.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 2 Feb 2002 13:00
Re: Plug Leads exploding - RogerL
Many years (decades) ago, I spent days trying unsuccessfully to eliminate a misfire on a Fiat 124 which, unusually, ran better in the wet than the dry. One evening someone, inadvertently, turned the light off in my garage and the cause was then obvious. The HT leads were conducting 30,000 volts down the OUTSIDE which is why it ran better in the wet as water is a conductor. Needless to say, a new set of HT leads cured the problem
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 2 Feb 2002 13:43
Re: Plug Leads exploding - steve paterson
Another true tale from yesteryear. Customer had an Austin Cambridge and complained of a misfire when negotiating a tricky bend near his home. Turned out to be the dipstick which was a loose fit in it's hole. When cornering, the looped handle swung round and shorted out a plug top. When the car was stopped the dipstick settled in it's normal position.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 2 Feb 2002 15:16
Re: Plug Leads exploding - humpy
sorry to be pedantic but water is an awful conductor of electricity but the impurities in it are!!
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 2 Feb 2002 15:20
Re: Plug Leads exploding - humpy
Sorry, my grammar is awful. That last post was meant to indicate that the impurities in water conduct electricity but not the water.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link