Guest Posted July 6, 2001 Share Posted July 6, 2001 73'BUICK CENTURY 350-2B<P> MY SPARKPLUGS ARE ARKING ONTO THE BLOCK.i AM ON THE 3RD SET OF SPARK PLUGS AND THE SECOND SET OF WIRES.<BR> I ASKED ONE TECH AND HE SAID THE PLUGS ARE SUPPOSED TO HAVE WASHERS. ASKED ANOUTHER TECH AND HE SAID THE PLUGS ARE TAPERED AND DON'T USE WASHERS.<BR> EVERYONE KEEPS SAYING ITS THE PLUG WIRES BUT I JUST PUT HIGH PERFORMANCE 8MM WIRES ON THREE HOURS AGO AND ITS STILL ARKING! <P> WHAT TO DO?<P>THANKS FOR ANY HELP.<BR> AZ SHADETREE<P> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Old Guy Posted July 6, 2001 Share Posted July 6, 2001 Are the wires arcing through the insulation to the block? If this is the case,it is easier for the juice to go through the insulation than fire the plug. Have you looked at the plugs recently? They could be the culprit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Old Guy Posted July 6, 2001 Share Posted July 6, 2001 I just reread your post ,and apologize for saying "check the plugs" . It is hard to believe that they will arc through unless there is something boosting the voltage considerably Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GSMAG Posted July 6, 2001 Share Posted July 6, 2001 What plugs did you use? How old are they? What did you set the gap to? They should be tapered, not gasketed. Give us a little more info to help you out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 7, 2001 Share Posted July 7, 2001 73'BUICK CENTURY 350-2B<P> I AM ON THE 3RD SET OF SPARK PLUGS THIS MONTH!!!-FIRST SET WERE BOSH PLATINUMS AND THEN SAME WITH THE SECOND SET AND NOW I HAVE ACDelco R45TS.<BR> THREE HOURS BEFORE THE LAST POST I PUT "ACCEL SUPER STOCK CUSTOM FIT PERFORMANCE WIRE SET-8MM"-"SILICONE SPARK PLUG BOOTS FOR HIGH TEMPERATURE APLICATIONS"<P>I ASKED ONE TECH AND HE SAID THE PLUGS ARE SUPPOSED TO HAVE WASHERS. <BR>ASKED ANOTHER TECH(WHO ACTUALLY LOOK AT THE CAR)AND HE SAID THE PLUGS ARE TAPERED AND DON'T USE WASHERS/GASKETS.<P>ITS STILL ARKING! <P>WHAT TO DO?<P>THANKS FOR ANY HELP.<BR> AZ SHADETREE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 7, 2001 Share Posted July 7, 2001 The new plugs ACDelco R45TS are I belive the correct ones. Are you sure the gap is set correctly and to spec?<P>Some random things. Is your coil stock or new? Distrib, same question. Is the ground wire present and functioning inside the distrib?<P>Good Luck!<P>-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GSMAG Posted July 7, 2001 Share Posted July 7, 2001 The TS in the plug stands for tapered seat. These are correct for your car. Cyber asks the question about gap...where is yours set? What distributor are you running...stcok or HEI or something else? Where are you in AZ? If you're close to Scottsdale, maybe we can hook up and I can take a look at what you have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 7, 2001 Share Posted July 7, 2001 73 BUICK CENTRUY 350 2B<P>EVERYTHING IS STOCK OR OEM.<BR>ORIGINAL COIL,NEW CAP,ROTOR AND POINTS.<BR>NEW WIRES AND PLUGS AS LISTED ABOVE.<BR>}}}}***PLUGS ARE SET AT .040 INCHES***{{{{<BR>THIS IS WHAT THEY CAME SET AT, AND I HAVE HAD NO LUCK FINDING A BOOK FOR A 73' CENTURY, ALL I COULD DO IS MAKE SURE THEY ARE ALL THE SAME.USUALLY THEY COME WITHIN BALLPARK.<BR> IF IT SHOULD BE SOMETHING DIFFRENT LET ME KNOW.THE SAME THING GOES FOR THE POINTS.<BR>...OR IF ANYONE CAN POINT ME TO A BOOK ON THIS CAR....HAYNES AND CHILTON DON'T MAKE ONE...AND I HAVE HAD NO LOOK FINDING ANYTHING ELSE...<BR>====BACK TO THE SPARKING====<BR>THE COIL IS EITHER THE ORIGINAL OR JUST OLD.<BR>HAVE A NEW ONE(PART#27470) BUT HAVE NOT PUT IT IN YET...<P><BR> AZ SHADETREE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 7, 2001 Share Posted July 7, 2001 ........ALMOST FORGOT...<BR>***ORIGINAL DISTRIBUTOR***<BR>I WORK M-F 8-5 AT THE FINANCIAL BUILDING AT CENTRAL AND OSBOURN. ITS A DARK GREEN 73'BUICK CENTURY THAT IS ALWAYS BACKED IN...<BR>...BUT YOU CAN'T REALLY SEE THE SPARKING IN THE DAYTIME,YOU CAN ONLY HEAR IT. ITS AT NIGHT TIME THAT YOU CAN REALLY SEE IT.<P><BR> AZ SHADETREE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave@Moon Posted July 8, 2001 Share Posted July 8, 2001 How confident are you in the source for your wires? And were they new wires? (It may sound like a silly question, but here you see it all! ) <P>Cheap, imitation (counterfeit) wire will spark even when new. I put a set of new (non-counterfeit) Delco wires on an old Mazda I had once, and the thing died in the street the next day. I couldn't get it to run again. I tried everything. I took it to Mazda dealer after I finally gave up, in 20 minutes the mechanic called me in. He had the car parked in a dark corner of the garage. He sprayed Dow Bathroom Cleaner ("scrubbing bubbles!") on the wires with it running (it would idle) and it looked like the 4th of July!<P>Are they sparking at the plug boots? If so, are the boots tight to the plugs and pulled down over them as far as they'll go. Did you use the dielectric compound (grease) when you installed the wires? <P>Have you angered any exotic tropical voodoo deities lately? <P>Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 8, 2001 Share Posted July 8, 2001 I had no idea you could buy 'faulty & fake' wire sets... Learn something everyday I guess. The 4th of July, in which city? lol<P>Shadetree, I dunno if '73 would be different, but my '71 uses .030 gap. Dwell is 30 also, +/- 2deg.<P>Good Luck & May the force be with you!<P>-S<BR>(tropical voodoo deities? only a couple) ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest oldtimer Posted July 9, 2001 Share Posted July 9, 2001 the "ts" means tapered and short (electrode), tapered needs no gaskets. spray down your wires with a spray bottle (soap and water) and look closely, i bet its the wires. most gm cars of the points years ran .035 gap on spark plugs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GSMAG Posted July 9, 2001 Share Posted July 9, 2001 It sure does sound like bad wires. The gap sounds a little to wide, I agree with Old Timer. My auto shop teacher musta "learned" us wrong, he told us it stood for tapered seat! Shadetree, you are welcome to come on by after work early this week or next week some time if you'd like someone to take a look at it. Email me off line for specifics if interested. I'm at 56th street and Greenway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 17, 2001 Share Posted July 17, 2001 HOW BOUT THIS GUYS?<P> ==Grounding the engine block?== <BR> Had yet another tech look at it, and after bout two seconds he asked"Where's your grounding wire?".<BR> Battery is grounded to the body, but thats it.<BR>....and I've found that if you use a flash light in the day time you can see quite obviously that it is not comeing from the brand new wires. That it is in fact comeing from the very base of the spark plug.<P> AZ SHADETREE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 17, 2001 Share Posted July 17, 2001 I dunno about '73, but the '71 has it running from a bolt on the voltage regulator to a right rear engine bolt. The schematics in the books are quite vague about that ground strap, which is a shame imho. Some el'stupido in the past cut mine and I have it wired to the thermostat coil bolt on the manifold, works fine I believe. It's cheap to try, can nab ground straps at local AP store for less then $3.<P>Go Get 'Em!<P>-Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GSMAG Posted July 17, 2001 Share Posted July 17, 2001 The braided ground strap goes from an intake manifold bolt to the firewall on the passenger side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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