We all know for a car to run, an engine is an important component. Obviously, the engine is a major component of a car. For the engine to run, it needs functioning spark plugs. Spark plugs get the electricity through spark plug wires, these wires are just as important as anything else in your car.
Repairs regarding spark plugs or spark plug wires aren’t hard, and you can easily do it yourself, but you need to know how to put spark plug wires in the correct order.
Spark plugs are small electric devices used in almost all automobiles. They are an important component to keep your vehicle functioning. They compose of an electrode center, insulated wire, and an ignition coil.
A lot of people know how to figure out an issue related to spark plugs, not a lot know why the problem is caused. To get a better understanding of spark plugs and how to deal with repairs, you need to have a general idea of what spark plugs do inside your engine.
Explaining the job of a spark plug is not complicated. It is a simple piece of equipment that helps in the combustion process that happens inside your engine.
The plugs are fitted to the engine’s cylinder head. There these plugs are connected to an ignition coil. The ignition coil creates a high voltage. This voltage travels through the spark plug and creates a spark that ignites the fuel.
The spark is a key part of igniting the fuel-air mixture thus it is a critical component in the engine. There are multiple spark plugs in your engine. While one damaged spark plug won’t put your vehicle out of commission, if multiple spark plugs are damaged it will affect the functionality of the engine.
There are a few different kinds of spark plugs in the market. Different spark plugs are made with different materials. Depending on the material the features of the spark plug might also vary. This provokes a lot of debates among automobile enthusiasts.
But which spark plug is best? First, let us look at the type of spark plugs. There are 3 main types of spark plugs. They are copper, iridium, and platinum.
Copper is one of the most conductive materials known to man, that is affordable to use. Since spark plugs are basically a conductor that creates a spark at the other end, you need to keep the resistance as low as possible.
Due to this copper is one of the most popular materials used to make spark plugs. They are much better conductors than iridium and platinum.
They are often used in high-performance engines. The only problem with this type of spark plug is its life span. They only tend to last about 20,000 miles. But they are cheap to replace.
Iridium cannot compete with copper when it comes to conductivity. But they do tend to last. In fact, they last twice as long as copper spark plugs. They can run up to 40,000 miles.
Though they last longer, they tend to be more expensive. These are not suitable for modified or performance-enhanced engines.
Platinum spark plugs aren’t widely used or very popular. They aren’t suitable for many engines either. They rarely corrode, so you do not have to worry about them withering away with time. But still, they only have the life expectancy of iridium spark plugs.
Back to the question, which type of spark plug suits you best? You should always stick to the type of spark plug that the auto manufacturer suggests. Usually, it is either copper or iridium.
Spark plug wires get damaged due to a variety of reasons. Let us look at the 4 most common reasons why spark plugs fail.
Spark plug failures are often mistaken as spark plug wire failures. This is because both give away the same symptoms. More often than not, it’s the spark plugs that are malfunctioning and not the spark plug wires. But why do spark plugs get damaged in the first place? And does spark plug damage induce spark plug wire damage?
This is the most common reason why spark plugs fail. Overheating causes the tips of the spark plugs to break off. There could be plenty of reasons for overheating and when it happens, the sparkplugs are also affected.
Ventilation is also a factor that affects overheating. When there is no proper ventilation, spark plugs tend to overheat. Spark plugs burn out quickly under high temperatures.
Inside the combustion chamber, you should only have fuel, air, and the spark created from the spark plug. Engine oil is not something that should be inside the combustion chamber.
When engine oil burns, it leaves a lot of residues. Also, they do not combust efficiently, so you will get some oil deposits inside the chamber. These impurities coat the spark plug. This will reduce the life span of a spark plug and cause them to fail prematurely.
The spark plug gap is the distance between the center and the side of the electrode. Spark plugs should be set up with the proper gaps in order to get peak engine performance.
This allows the arcing to occur at the optimal voltage which would burn the fuel. When the gap is incorrect, it puts additional stress on the spark plugs and will cause them to fail prematurely.
Carbon build-up will coat the tip of the spark plug and reduce its effectiveness. And this will eventually destroy the spark plug. This is far more common with older cars.
There are plenty of reasons that could contribute to this problem. Usually, it occurs when the fuel-air mixture is not balanced. A dirty air filter, a dirty fuel filter, driving at low speeds consistently, or leaving the car idle for long periods are all factors that contribute to carbon buildup.
Spark plug wires are constantly bombarded with electric current. And damaged spark plugs can affect them. Whatever current that comes out of the spark plugs, flows through the spark plug wires.
So if the spark plugs are getting too much electricity, that electricity also flows through spark plug wires. Therefore, damaged or faulty spark plugs can induce damage to spark plug wires to an extent.
Now you know all the ways how spark plugs can go bad, you need to figure out how to replace them. Taking your car to a mechanic would be the easiest way, but is it the best way?
You could pay a mechanic to replace your spark plugs. But changing spark plugs is not that complicated, as long as you know how to do it. Paying a mechanic is unnecessary, and even if you do not have experience working on cars, this could be a nice place to start.
Keep in mind, you need to know how to put spark plug wires in the correct order, if not you might end up in trouble. There is a distribution order when it comes to electricity distribution into spark plug wires. This order should coincide with the firing order of the cylinders.
Here’s a complete guide on how to put spark plug wires in the correct order.
Before you start this project, you need to have the tools listed below at your reach.
These are equipment that you need to comfortably replace your spark plug wires.
Before you start you need to wait until the engine cools down. A hot engine will lead to a lot of burns. It can cause a lot of injuries and even if you are careful, the thought of a hot engine could distract you.
First, you need to have clear access to the spark plug wires. Clear out any obstructions you may have. You might run into radiation fan shroud, engine covers, duct tape, or any other obstruction. Use your screwdrivers, wrenches, ratchet, and socket as you require.
Start from an edge of the engine and start removing a wire. Grab the wire by the spark plug end and pull it using your hand. Try twisting to make it easier. If you cannot reach the spark plug end of the wire using your hand, you can use a set of pliers.
Once you unhook the wire, trace it to the other end. The other end will be connected to either an ignition coil or a distributor. At this end, you might encounter clips to keep the wire in place. You might have to work with them to remove the wire from the other end.
Now that you removed the damaged or burnt-out wire, you can replace the new wire. Remember you only removed one wire, this is an extremely vital instruction to keep in mind.
When you connect the new wire, you need to replace connect it to the exact same ends that the previous wire was connected to. You should start by removing the wire from the first firing cylinder. Usually, the first cylinder is clearly marked. If not you can refer to the owner’s manual.
Even if you do not have access to the owner’s manual, as long as you track the start point and endpoint of every single wire you replace, you should be fine.
Generally, you would have one spark plug connected to one spark plug wire per cylinder. This means for four cylinders, you would have 4 spark plug wires to replace. But in some cars, you might find 2 wires per cylinder instead of 1. This only means that you need to replace twice as many wires. The process is still the same.
Now that you know how to replace one wire, you need to replicate it for all the other wires. Each wire will have its own cylinder and ignition coil. So you need to attach the wires accordingly.
You shouldn’t disconnect all the wires at once, even if it might seem tempting. The process becomes slightly harder when you do it one wire at a time, but when you are new to this repair, you need to be cautious.
If your vehicle has a V6 or V8 you might have to deal with more wires. This might look complicated, but as long as you stick to the process mentioned above, you will be able to manage it.
Unless you remove one wire at a time, you are in a bit more complicated mess. Or maybe the last person who worked on your spark plug wires messed it out.
In this case, replacing one wire at a time will not give you the correct order. So you need to figure out the order before you connect the wires.
This is the easiest way to figure out the order of wires. The owner’s manual will have detailed instructions on which wire goes to which ignition coil. The manual will have a diagram which you can refer to.
The distributor rotor is covered. To access it you need to remove this cover, which can be done using a screwdriver. The distributor cap is the part that covers the spark plug wire connections. Once you locate this you can find the distributor rotor.
Now you will see a small part that turns every tie the crankshaft rotates. It will either rotate clockwise or anticlockwise. It will not rotate both ways.
The distributor cap would have 4 terminals, depending on the number of cylinders in your engine. The number one terminal will be clearly marked. If not you would have to refer to the manual.
The first firing cylinder should be connected to the first terminal. The order of the cylinders is marked clearly in most cars. If it is not marked, you might have to go to the manual again.
If your car is a V8, cylinders 1,3,5, and 7 are on the driver’s side. And cylinders 2,4,6 and 8 are on the passenger’s side. On a 4-cylinder engine, the numbers are often marked clearly. If not the first cylinder is the closest to the front of the engine.
The firing order will differ according to the model and the maker. But once you find the first cylinder, you should be able to manage. Here’s how you figure out the firing order.
Turn the distributor rotator once. It will land in a terminal, and if it is terminal 3, you have to connect it to the third cylinder. Then the next will be connected to cylinder 2 followed by terminal 4 to the remaining cylinder.
In a 4-cylinder engine, the firing order is usually, 1,3,4, and 2. This might change. It can be 1,3,2,and 4 or 1,2,3,and 4 according to the vehicle.
Spark plug wires generally tend to last a really long time. They often tend to last 60,000 to 100,000 miles or even more. They do not have a specific period.
You generally do not find problems regarding spark plug wires. One of the reasons for this is the spark plugs themselves.
Spark plugs tend to last around 20,000 miles. So during the life span of spark plug wires, you might end up replacing the spark plugs 3 to 5 times or more. At least during one of these times, the spark plug wires are replaced.
Whenever there is a problem with sparkplugs or sparkplug wires the symptoms are the same. This is because they are connected and work as one unit. But what if the spark plug isn’t causing the problem. Then you need to know how to inspect spark plug wires.
This is one of the most effective ways at identifying bad spark plug wires. Now that you know how to locate and remove the wires you should be easily able to inspect them.
First, remove the wire and wipe it with a piece of cloth. Inspect every wire for physical damage such as cuts, burns, corrosion, etc.
Another way would be to turn the engine on and inspect the wires. Look for electrical arcs around the wires. Usually, if there is a voltage leak through the wires, you’d be able to hear a snapping sound.
You can use a multimeter to test the resistance of each wire. Set the wire as per the manufacturer’s guidelines. Once you figure out the setup, you can inspect the resistance of each wire individually.
Here are some of the most common questions regarding “how to put spark plug wires in the correct order”?
There are a lot of factors that affect the cost to replace spark plug wires. Factors include the model, labor fees in your area, and many more.
On average a spark plug wire replacement procedure costs around$170 to $200. You could save about half that amount by doing the procedure yourself.
The problems will start with misfires as the electrical current is not sent into the combustion chamber at the right time. Over time it will ruin the O2 sensor and the catalytic convertor. This is if you get 2 wires mismatched.
If you attach all the wires in the wrong sequence, not a single cylinder will combust at the right time. Thus your car won’t start at all.
If you are hoping that you will be able to identify the order by the color of the spark plug, you can’t. Spark plugs are insulated with rubber which is black. So, all spark plug wires will be black.
Can you drive with bad spark plugs? Yes, as long as most of your spark plugs are still intact. You can drive with a few bad spark plugs, but your engine will misfire and it will cause damage to your engine and exhaust system in the long run.
The same is true with bad spark plug wires. Faulty spark plug wires basically mean faulty spark plugs.
Spark plugs last depending on what they are made out of. Copper spark plugs tend to last around 20,000 miles, but they are inexpensive and cheap to replace.
Iridium and platinum spark plugs last twice as long but they are a bit more costly.
There is no specific time for spark plug wire replacement. Spark plug wires could last more than 100,000 miles. But it is often suggested to replace them 60,000 miles.
Spark plug wires rarely tend to be the cause of the problem, since you often get them replaced before you reach 60,000 miles on an occasion where you are replacing the spark plugs.
Spark plugs are a really important component when it comes to keeping the engine functional. For the spark plugs to function, the electricity is given through spark plug wires. Spark plug wires are just as important as anything else in your car.
Spark plug wires can be really tricky to replace. It seems so easy, and it actually is. But only as long as you follow the instruction for the letter. Unlike many other components in your car, this is a situation where order matters.
So how do put spark plug wires in the correct order? Actually, it depends. It depends on your car’s manufacturer, the engine in it, and the model.
There are ways to figure out the order. Some might be more tedious than others, but usually, the best option is the owner’s manual. As long as you are in charge of the replacement, you can save trouble by changing the wires one at a time and concentrating all the way.
