RE: Magnecor wires, cont.

[Brett Dikeman <brett@pdikeman.ne.mediaone.net>]

I believe the diagnosis was that his mechanic got a jump-start when he
touched one of the wires :)

Brandon also mentioned that the sparks were visible and audible.

Brett

On Fri, 16 Apr 1999, Mark Nelson wrote:

> Brandon,
> 
> How was this diagnosed?  Did you try changing them out wire by wire, to
> narrow down the bad wire?  It sounds like it was a problem with the wire
> between the ignition and the distributor.  It's possible that the wire may
> have been stretched at one point, causing the problem.  If it was a flaw in
> the design of the insulators, you would have had this problem LONG before.
> There's nothing particularly special about the insulators on these wires;
> they're just standard silicone insulators.  Again, just consider how
> unlikely it is they ALL could have gone bad.  I've had plug wires that have
> been resting on a header pipe on another vehicle, and burned through the
> silicone on several wires, but they still didn't arc.  Arcing seems to occur
> most often when the wire between the ignition and the distributor goes bad.
> 
> Regards,
> -Mark Nelson
> mailto:tahoe@msn.com
> http://www.quattrosport.com
> 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Brandon Hull [mailto:brandon@cardinalventures.com]
> > Sent: Friday, April 16, 1999 9:36 AM
> > To: Mark Nelson; 20VT List; Audi 20v List; Quattro List
> > Subject: Re: Magnecor wires, cont.
> >
> >
> >
> > >What doesn't make sense is why you replaced the entire wire set, and not
> > >just the wire that was arcing??  This simply doesn't make any sense; the
> > >entire wire set couldn't have been bad
> >
> > As far as I could tell, most or all of them were arcing.  To restate the
> > original post:  The insulator on the distributor end of each wire _barely_
> > covered the brass connector beneath.  The stock insulators, by contrast,
> > extend about 3/4" longer onto the wire.  I believe that current
> > was leaping
> > through what is, in microscopic terms, a huge gap.
> >
> > Again, this post originated as a "high load miss" question.  The
> > shutoff of
> > power under full boost was so complete, I believe _all_ the wires were
> > dumping current directly to the block.   The fact that it was observable
> > (sporadic but consistent crackling sound, tiny lightening bolts) at _idle_
> > suggests something is wrong with the insulator design, not any one wire.
> >
> > Brandon H.
> >
> >
> 
>