88TPI406GTA

When I bought my Camaro, the previous owner has an Accel 300+ ignition box on it with stock 7 mm wires. I know that you should run low resistance 8mm wires. Will running the stock wires with an aftermarket ignition (box & coil) kill one or the other due to too much resistance? Also the plug gap is only .32 or so and it should be .45-.47 due to the increased spark power provided by the Accel box, right?

This is a basically stock L98 car...

TIA,

Red Devil

Apparently you don't because your asking right?

You can use stock wires with a CD box. Low resistance wires are somewhat of a bait and switch, cut one open and you'll see. What does the size of the insulation have to do with anything in regard to the box? Spark would depend on the coil as well.
You CAN'T use platinum plugs. Especially Bosch (because of the heavy use of platinum). That will cause problems.

88TPI406GTA

I am diagnosing some serious drivability problems (the car was this way when I bought it) and I know that the Crane HI-6 box that I have owned for a while is big on stating that the low resistance wires are a necessity.

While I have never cut open different plug wires, I do check them with an ohmmeter and the stock wires that I have seen are a higher resistance than better aftermarket ones.

Basically, is a much larger resistance going to do any harm to the CD box? I am using a matched Accel coil and I am trying to figure out if the Accel box could have been damaged.

This car has a custom harness since it was a TBI-TPI swap and so I unfortunately can't just unplug the Accel box, the wires are taped up in the harness.

I was simply wondering if others have had a CD box fail due to using stock high resistance wires.

88TPI406GTA

No one else has experience with this?

dankhound

The wires used will have no effect on the ignition box. They are each on a different side of the coils circuitry. Using low resistance wires will result in a hotter spark which allows a larger gap to be used. Low resistance wires will cause increased spark plug wear.

With all that said i would start your gap out in the .3 range. Running a wider gap can cause drivablity issues.

What makes you think your problem is ignitoin related? What is the problem?

88TPI406GTA

Dankhound,

I appreciate your input...however...have you ever run a CD box? Every one that I have seen requires 8.5 mm low resistance wires and recommends a plug gap of around .45-.50, up from the stock 0.35. Running a wider gap is due to the hotter spark.

The car has multiple issues including oil burning, which I have narrowed down to valve stem seals (compression test), but a huge lack of power and drivability under 3000 rpm.

It also has a DFI 6 and an Accel box. I have been able to communicate with the DFI computer...so I am trying to eliminate the ignition system...I will be trying it later.

The reason for my post was that I was wondering if too high a resistance plug wires (stock) will kill a CD box by causing it to work harder and overheat.

I will return the ignition system to stock and see if this makes a difference or not...

Red Devil

Well, I usually stick to MSD, but I've never seen a requirement of 'low resistance' wires. And again, I question what the insulation thickness has to do with anything.
Dankhound answered your question clearly.
I'll make it even clearer.
No. It will not fry a box.

88TPI406GTA

Thanks for the response Red Devil.

Actually, the resistance of a plug can't be found by cutting it apart...and the thickness of the insulation doesn't matter. What does matter is the actual resistance of the plug wire...stock wires do have a lot more resistance than aftermarket wires...and an ohmmeter can determine that.

My dad is an electrical engineer and since the Accel 300+ has a microprocessor and related circuitry, there hypothetically could be a chance that higher resistance could cause something to fail in the device. That is why I threw out the question.

Red Devil

Never said you could. Never even implied it, I said you could figure the bait and switch by doing that. So why mention the insulation thickness in the 'requirement'?

Not really that much difference. Especially when discussing a street car. Really.

If you have to play with the harness to get the stock one in there, think on seting it up as stock and getting the harness adapter for whatever system you are going to run. That way you won't have such a headache diagnosing this next time.

MrDude_1

it cant hurt it.

the CD box is giving the same amount of power to the coil no matter what.


with high resistance wires, the power of the spark at the plug is reduced, but the load the ignition box sees is the same.

the ignition box sees no diff between the best plug, the best wires, and no plug... anything on the high power side of the coil is seperate from the ignition box.

88TPI406GTA

Red Devil...I misread your statement...I thought you were saying that thickness mattered for the plug wires...my bad.

MrDude1...That basically clarifies what I thought...but since my experience has been limited with CD boxes in general, I wanted to make sure.

Thanks to all replies!

dankhound

You mentioned oil buring. Have you pulled the plugs out and looked at them? It could be something as simple as fouled plugs.

88TPI406GTA

Some of the plugs were fouled...no doubt contributing to the whole thing...but it seems like something more is wrong.

I am going to pull the Accel setup and swap in a stock ignition setup with new plugs and wires for a comparison.

Thanks!