So my car started to run a little weird tonight, the only reason i could tell was that it felt a little slower and the exhaust note just.... didnt sound right, almost as if it had a miss....

so i was checking around my engine bay and had put my hand on the leading coil and it shocked me!, and ofcourse i'm pretty sure this is not normal, i put my hand on the trailing and i didnt get a shock, thankfully i had a glove on too, so me being stupid i used a finger to poke around and it shocks me nearest the L2 plug where the spark plug wire goes too....

i ended up wrapping around the base with electrical tape trying to figure out where and why it was arcing, after the tape it stopped, but my question is, could this have happened all of the sudden?, would this have been why my car ran a little lousy?...

thanks guys!...

 

It's a sign of voltage leakage (bad spark plug wire and / or bad coil) and / or bad ground on the coil pack.

Has the engine bad been recently painted?
The coils ground through the brackets of the coil packs, so they need to be bolted onto the chassis well.
Repainted engine bays usually spary over the thread holes, which makes these grounds suspect.


-Ted

 

i've run two grounding straps to the coil itself that go to the negetive on the battery terminal, the spark plug wire seems to fit snugly and securely, as noted the shocking was supressed when i put electrical tape around the base of the coil where the plug wire connects....

what kinds of effect will this "leak" have on my vehicle?, i only ask because it's my only form of transportation for the following week, will it affect my tune?, if the coils are the problem ( which they 99% are ), what should i replace them with?...

 

That's a sure sign you have leakage from the spark plug boot.
As a cheap fix, you can try some dielectric grease in the boot to help with insulation.

As an easy test, try and inspect the areas while the car is running in total darkness.
You might see the arcing or glowing under those conditions.


-Ted

 

thanks for the advice, i'll try that later tonight....

and yes epic, it was an.... epic experience, lol....

 

yeah just be glad theres not enough amperage to kill your ***. although it does hurt

 

my whole arm was tingling for a little while, and i felt it in my chest a little bit....

thankfully i was wearing the gloves?...