Hi all,
I have an 85 GS that has an arcing issue at the spark plugs. There is a blue glow right where the spark plug is on the front top rotor. The rear top shoots little blue sparks too in the dark. This was also happening on the wires, too. I ended up going threw three sets. Two of them were Duralast wires from autzone, total crap. Then I got a set of bosche wires and the car seemed to run better, before I found the arching the engine was runnning like crap and sounded like only one rotor was firing. Runs much better, like the rotors are in sync, but I still get some hesitation on idle, especially coming to a stop after driving. Now the arcing is at the plug. These plugs are new, NGK 14's, as I bought em last fall. My friend says that it could be a crack in the ceramic causing carbon tracks and arcing. I never had a problem with ignition like this on any car before, my RX can be a total tempermental bitch, but I love the car all the same. Does this sound like the plug being the culprit this time?

 

Is the wire touching anything or is there an open area in which electricity can jump to metal?
Spark plugs shouldn't cause this directly but it is something to investigate. (check your gap!!!)
Good luck.

Just wanted to add this:
New or used wires can have small openings causing you arcing problem.
There is a lot (a ton in fact) of electricity running through those wires and there section in there, where the power flowing through the wires is finding ground which causes the arc you are seeing.
Always go with higher end companies for this (plugs and wires) they have better quality control and this problem is less common in their products.

 

Thanks,
It may be arcing from the plug wire boot to the plug. I am going to get some new plugs and see what happens. I read somewhere just now in a previous thread that the NGK 14's had a bad batch last year and I got these plugs in the falll. Perhaps, I got one of the bad ones from that production. I did notice a diffrence when I put the bosche wires on. This whole problem began last fall when the starter went. I replaced the starter then the car ran like crap. Thought the engine was cooked, but my friend thought it was electrical. I knew it couldnt be fuel related because I just put a new carter fuel pump, filter, and rebuilt the carb. I replaced the cap, rotor, coils, wires, and plugs. It still kept sounding like one rotor wasnt running right. One night we happened to be looking under the hood while it was running and saw the arcing. First it was across the cheap duralast wires and we both got zapped when we put our hands near the wires. We narrowed it down to that and replaced em, now the arching is at the plugs. So that is why we are suspecting them. I will get another set of the NGK 14's and see what happens. If it is the wires again, what brand is good other than the duralast, bosche, etc.?

 

Sounds like bad plugs to me, or bad contact at the top of the plugs. The voltage is getting to the plug end of the wires, but rather than going through the plug to the gap, it's arcing off to ground outside the chamber.

 

I'm going to buy stock replacements for mine off of Mazdatrix once I knock out a couple projects, they're NGK. If you're not interested in performance for now this would be you best bet.

http://mazdatrix.com/IGN-3.HTM
*At the bottom of page

 

You could also have a grounding issue. If you don't have good grounding at the engine, then the spark will have nowhere to go except "back where it came from".

But your most likely culprit is bad plugs.

Good luck.




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+1

I had some plugs that got wet after washing my engine and it did this. Either get new plugs or put them in the toaster oven for 20 minutes. And don't eat my toast!

 

replace teh plugs and wires with a set of NGK plugs and NGK wires

 

Thanks guys,
I got a new set of NGK 14's and I just put them on. It seemed to sound better and the idle seemed stronger. I adjusted the gold Idol air mixture screw, turned it clockwise till it sounded like it was gonna stall, then turned it counter clockwise till it sounded smooth. Seemed like it was two turns counter clockwise. Took it for a spin and it seemed normal, acceleration was there and no hesitation thru the gears. No stalling at the stop signs either which it was doing last night. I popped the hood and couldnt see any glowing or sparks. I think it was the plugs. Tomm. night I will check again when my friend is around to double check. I got my fingers crossed that my RX will run like it did before the starter **** the bed.
Have a great weekend everyone

 

good luck hope it's all fixed.