lightning show at spark plugs

[baccaruda]

so. my brat is running sluggish and rough.

suspected a vacuum leak but a whole can of carb cleaner revealed nothing except a bunch of pretty colors

fuel filters have been in for a month roughly, this problem is a few days old. started intermittently and is now almost full time. a little more reluctant to occur when the engine's cold but it's starting to happen anyway.

I looked under the hood in the dark and observed some lighting effects around the #1 and #3 plugs (and a little around #2, nothing around #4) and i'm sure they weren't due to the carb cleaner!

I'm guessing that my plugs aren't getting their full amount of juice for some reason but i'm not sure where to go next?

[subyrally]

sounds possibly like you may need new plug wires. possibly worn out boots on em. depending on the last time they were changed, it might not be a bad idea to do it anyway.

[NorthWet]

I'd vote for looking at the plug wires, too. But just for grins:grin:, take a look at the spark plugs to see if the gaps too wide or they are totally fouled. Both of which will increase the voltage requirement to fire the plugs, so the spark energy will look for an easier path... like out through aging wires.

[baccaruda]

mmm, the wires are 8mm accels less than a year old.. i'll pull a couple plugs in the AM i guess. thanks.

[rallyruss]

yeah thats the symptom of bad ( or poorly designed ) plug wires. poor fit at the ends alowing spark to jump down the plug. dirty or worn out plugs makethe problem worse.

 

I strongly recomend a new set of ngk plugs and ngk wires. I think you will be happy with the results