| Author |
Message |
Steve (Steve)
| | Posted on Thursday, June 14, 2001 - 8:57 pm: | |
Resistor vs. non-resistor is the question. Usually when you use the resistor extender you use a non-resistor spark plug. If you us the non-resistor extender then use a resistor type sparkplug. The more resistance the weaker the spark so as the wires become brittle over time the leak or produce a weaker spark thus may cause a miss fire. The intention of the resistor is to minimize RFI or noise on your radio.Look at the race car versions where they use a steel core wire and a non-resistor extention.Oh in the newer cars sometimes RFI affects the computers. Steve |
Warren E. Smith (Magoo)
| | Posted on Thursday, June 14, 2001 - 12:24 pm: | |
YOU BET James, Glad I could help. |
James H. (Jamesh)
| | Posted on Thursday, June 14, 2001 - 12:38 am: | |
For everyone's information, I found out from Dave at GT Car Parts that the red spark plug extenders are made for the 328's and the black ones are for the 308's. The red ones have a resistor in them and the black ones do. not The new extenders cost 25% less from GT Car Parts than from Italian Car Parts. Thanks MAGOO for the new parts connection.
Now I wonder why after spending $4300.00 at Lake Forest Sports Car for a complete major service that they did not tell me I had the wrong extenders on my car and my cables were bad. Hmmmmmmm Makes you wonder about bringing your car into a dealership for service. |
James H. (Jamesh)
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 13, 2001 - 1:44 am: | |
David,
On mine, the red ones had resistors and the black ones did not. Also when I compare the two, they were both made by the same company and they were both the same length. |
david schirmer (David)
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 12, 2001 - 10:41 pm: | |
Thanks James for your feedback. I have the black extenders which I am assuming have the resitors in them. I just replaced my plugs with non-resistor plugs just like the ones that were already there. I have read the post that says there aren't resistors in the black extenders so I'm confused now. Maybe I will check my extenders for resistance. |
Kurt Kjelgaard (Kurtk328)
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 12, 2001 - 3:10 am: | |
About red and black extenders - I had both types on my car (328 '86 US) when I bought it and noticed, that they were of different length. The black ones were shorter, not much, but enough to be pulled off the sparkplug by the silicone rubber sealing plug on the cable and and thereby losing direct contact with the sparkplug.
OE for my car are the red ones.
brgds
Kurt |
Warren E. Smith (Magoo)
| | Posted on Monday, June 11, 2001 - 12:00 am: | |
They will have the orig. replacement part that you need. Just give them the info. on your car. I have always found them to have better prices than Italian Car Parts. |
James H. (Jamesh)
| | Posted on Sunday, June 10, 2001 - 11:55 pm: | |
Hi Magoo,
I have 3 new ones already from Italian Car Parts, and will probably order 5 more so I will have 8 new ones and one for a spare. Does GT Car Parts carry the black ones that does not have resistors in them. I will give them a call and ask them. Thanks for the new parts connection.
James |
Warren E. Smith (Magoo)
| | Posted on Sunday, June 10, 2001 - 11:50 pm: | |
Sorry, Phone No. 623-780-2200 G.T. Car Parts |
Warren E. Smith (Magoo)
| | Posted on Sunday, June 10, 2001 - 11:48 pm: | |
Hey James Why don't you order 8 of the extenders and be done with it . I had problems with small hairline cracks arcing over to the plug well walls. Try G.T. Car Parts Ask for Bill or Dave. Better prices than Italian Car parts. MAGOO |
James H. (Jamesh)
| | Posted on Sunday, June 10, 2001 - 11:34 pm: | |
Hi David,
I tested my ignition cables and extenders with an ohm meter. I read from a post earlier that the resistance for the cables were about 1,000 ohms per ft. When I tested my cables, I found two with no continuity at all. The extenders at those two cables also had no continuity. I installed the new cables today and check each cable with the ohm meter before installing them onto the cap and after just to make sure I was getting the same reading. I'm install original cavis wires and was getting a reading of .738 on # 1 wire, .987 on # 2 wire, 1.137 on # 3 wire and 1.224 on # 4 wire. I actually got a slightly (almost not worth mentioning )lower resistance reading when it was installed on the cap, probably because the screw made a better contact. One thing I found that may be helpful to others is that when I installed the coil wire and went to check for resistance, I got no reading, or no continuity. I then took the carbon and spring out again and took some 600 grit sandpaper, rolled it up and sanded the inside of the center area of the cap. After that, it tested ok. Now for the extenders, I also need some help from others on this site. My car came with 7 red extenders and 1 black extenders. I purchased 3 new extenders form Italian Car Parts. The black extenders from Italian Car Parts and the one that was in the car tested out with no resistance, as if it was a solid piece. The red ones tested out with a pretty high resistance. With my meter set at 20k, the readings was from 2.97 to 3.88. So my and maybe Davids question is: Are there suppose to be resistance in the plug extenders? Why does the black ones have no resistance, and wouldn't it be better if they had no resistance? If there is suppose to be resistors in the extenders, what should the resistance be? Any help will be appreciated. As for me, I'm going to order 4 more extenders from Italian Car Parts so I will have a match set. |
'75 308 GT4 (Peter)
| | Posted on Sunday, June 10, 2001 - 11:32 pm: | |
Thanks Mike for the Lucas info J |
Mike Dawson (Miked)
| | Posted on Sunday, June 10, 2001 - 8:40 pm: | |
The brass screws that pierce the wire from inside the cap are the same as used in Lucas caps (MG, Jaguar etc.)but note that the lenghts vary with different positions on the cap. I dropped one of my screws onto my driveway and it rolled into a crack where I couldn't retrieve it. I had an old Lucas cap lying around and I compared screws, they were identical. Can you imagine having to buy a new Ferrari cap just to replace a lost screw! Even buying a Lucas cap just for the screws would be a pretty cheap fix. Mike |
david schirmer (David)
| | Posted on Sunday, June 10, 2001 - 3:38 pm: | |
James, when you tested your wires and extenders, what did you test for and how did you do it? As I understand it, the extenders are where the resistors are located. Did you test for resitance and continuity? Is there a spec somewhere for this? Also, what are the wire specs that you are aware of? Thanks for any education I can get. David |
'75 308 GT4 (Peter)
| | Posted on Sunday, June 10, 2001 - 1:30 am: | |
I've read somewhere that those tapered brass screws are similar to ones found in some british distributor caps (sorry I can't provide more info, anybody else heard about this?). |
James H. (Jamesh)
| | Posted on Sunday, June 10, 2001 - 1:12 am: | |
Hi Warren,
Yes, the wires arrived today and I am going to install them tomorrow. Thanks for such a quick response. I tested my old wires and plug extenders and found two bad extenders and wires.
Seems funny because the car still ran well with no hint of misfiring, but the high HC and CO readings that cause my car to fail the emission test last year prompted me to check these items.
I hope with the two new extenders and a new set of cables will lower my HC and CO readings.
James |
Warren E. Smith (Magoo)
| | Posted on Sunday, June 10, 2001 - 12:26 am: | |
If you have the cables, you have to remove the Dist. caps,I would suggest, one at a time. Remove the screws from the cap and pull the cap away from the engine. Looking inside the cap you will see small brass screws up inside that hold and pierce the wires in the cap. Remove them, pull out the old wires and replace them accordingly. When replacing them be sure that the wire is recessed all the way before installing and tightening the brass screw. Be careful the heads in the brass screws cut out easily. Use the right size screwdriver that fits the head snugly. MAGOO |
Warren E. Smith (Magoo)
| | Posted on Saturday, June 09, 2001 - 11:57 pm: | |
James, Do you have the ignition wires yet? MAGOO |
James H. (Jamesh)
| | Posted on Saturday, June 09, 2001 - 11:55 pm: | |
I am about to install some new ignition cables on my 84 308 and remember someone mentioning to me that installing the ends at the distributor cap is a little tricky. Any suggestions or helpful hints before I start. It seems pretty straight forward to me, but I have never tried replacing them on a Ferrari before. |
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