Electrical Gremlins

[JoeliusZ28]

As many of you know, i recently did an OTVC plug wire kit on my car, and now im on gremlin number 2.

the issue im having is a stumble from 1-2k rpms, under load (half throttle or more). It is also mostly in first and second gear. the car seems to 'hiccup' and mildly buck the drivetrain. If i hold it under load, it will usually buck continually until it gets out of the lower RPMs. It almost seems like something a car would normally do under heavy throttle at low RPMs, but the thing is... it didnt do it before the new wires were installed.

The car still pulls hard as hell, but its definitely weaker on holeshots. It doesnt want to turn the tires from a slow roll like it used to. (low RPM holeshots are the LT1s specialty) The way it is right now i am 99% sure it would sputter on me coming off the line at the drag strip.

it doesnt seem like a plug wire issue but it kind of has to be... so im looking for advice on what to do next. Some people have told me i should stick to factory wires, so im debating trying that.

heh...

[WMCCjames]

Definately a spark issue.....what plugs did you use?

[JoeliusZ28]

Definately a spark issue.....what plugs did you use?

plugs are the same as what i had before... except for one that busted when i was tightening it. So 7 are NGK TR55s and one is an AC Delco. All are gapped at .55 as they were before.

[WMCCjames]

So you have 7 old plugs and one brand new one or you have 7 new NGK's and one new AC?

[81DaytonaPaceCar]

Definately a spark issue.....what plugs did you use?

I'm with James...sounds like ignition of some kind...that last plug give out? Bad wire?

Sounds like something simple.

[JoeliusZ28]

So you have 7 old plugs and one brand new one or you have 7 new NGK's and one new AC?

7 "old" NGKs that were put in 1.5 years ago when i did the headers, and 1 new AC Delco that i used to get the car back on the road for the car show. it is what NAPA had listed for a 95 Z28.

I'm with James...sounds like ignition of some kind...that last plug give out? Bad wire?

Sounds like something simple.

the other detail i should mention is that i HAVE NOT replaced the coil wire yet. I figured I would leave that alone in case i needed to troubleshoot issues with the plug wires first. I had 3 loose plugs when i did the wires. i had antiseized them so im not sure how that happened, but the three that were loose all looked fine prior to me putting them back in.

[WMCCjames]

Did you cut and crimp your own spark plug wires?

[JoeliusZ28]

Did you cut and crimp your own spark plug wires?

yep at the opti end. pain in the ass.

[WMCCjames]

I'm betting you have an effed up crimp or two.

[JoeliusZ28]

I'm betting you have an effed up crimp or two.

and thats the thing... crimping is pretty straight forward so what would i do better the second time around re-crimping them all? I dont have a lot of wire to work with there.

[WMCCjames]

Hey Joel...got to thinking...you said you had a plug wire that was arching and causing a misfire.......check that one first. Electricity will take the path of least resistance so if you have a bad crimp on there it will try and jump out of the boot and arch onto the nearest metal object.

[JoeliusZ28]

Hey Joel...got to thinking...you said you had a plug wire that was arching and causing a misfire.......check that one first. Electricity will take the path of least resistance so if you have a bad crimp on there it will try and jump out of the boot and arch onto the nearest metal object.

that makes sense but that was on the other end of the wire - the pre-crimped end.

Does anyone know if the boots on the wires need to be TOUCHING the opti? ( i mean all the way on) I have them all within about 1/4" it was really hard to tell if i had them all the way on or not. snapping them in took every ounce of muscle i had, and im at the gym 4 times a week.

[WMCCjames]

that makes sense but that was on the other end of the wire - the pre-crimped end.

Does anyone know if the boots on the wires need to be TOUCHING the opti? ( i mean all the way on) I have them all within about 1/4" it was really hard to tell if i had them all the way on or not. snapping them in took every ounce of muscle i had, and im at the gym 4 times a week.

Check the crimp anyways...factory can eff them up just as easy too.

[JoeliusZ28]

a cracked plug is a possibility. i heard one make an odd cracking sound on me but i couldnt feel nor see a crack on it, so i left it. whats worse is i dont remember what plug that was...

[JoeliusZ28]

Check the crimp anyways...factory can eff them up just as easy too.

alright, ill disect it when i get the car back home. im not wrestling those sobs in the parking lot.