IGNITION PROBLEM: Arcing Sparkplug

Phoenix7 · 04-16-2008, 02:37 AM

Well I asked on the other club a while back and didn't get much help and the problem was never fixed.

Backstory: Visible current on the outside of the sparkplug on my friend's vert. He replaced wires, plugs, and the problem is down to the L2 sparkplug. The Leading plug of the second rotor was ARCING badly. Now it's stumbling too.

Well he has been working on it all day and decided to use the LED ECU CODE CHECKER to see if it was throwing any codes.

None.

We checked his timing and it was way off so it was brought back to specs. It was still stumbling and we weren't expecting the arcing to stop which we believe might be causing the stumbling.

Next he decided to test the coils. We checked the FSM and it tells you to do a voltage test to make sure the coils were getting plenty of power. Did Steps 1-3 and read the warning about causing damage if you do not unplug the battery before removing the voltmeter probes.

It tested at 14.4V.

FSM SPECS: 12V

OK, so the coils are getting pumped with 14V and causing the arcing?

Maybe a ground?

Well I found a nice article on team FC3S.org about the ignition system A GREAT READ!

Well, it got me thinking that we might as well eliminate the CAS as a possible cause of the ignition issues. Well the FSM says that the G1 and G2 signal should be between 110Ω–210Ω and the same for the NE1 and NE2. Well the CAS is coming at 168 and 168.5 respectively.

It's fine electrically. tomorrow we're going to pull it out and make sure it's set properly and recheck the timing and keep tracking down the problem.

Any thoughts or input would be greatly appreciated.

KEYWORDS: FSM, FSM*, LED, CODE, CHECKER, ARC, ARCING, SPARK, PLUG, LEADING, COIL, CAS, CAS*, STUMBLING, MISSING, TIMING

RETed · 04-16-2008, 11:05 AM

What kind of wires?
What kind of plugs? NGK BUR's I assume?

-Ted

Phoenix7 · 04-16-2008, 12:15 PM

yup, NGKs.

Ender · 04-16-2008, 12:54 PM

Did you check the resistance on your plug wires? It's best just to make sure... This one has me confused, I had the same problem, but it was fixed with new plug wires.

Phoenix7 · 04-16-2008, 01:06 PM

they're new NGKs so I didn't bother, I'll check them today.

Kentetsu · 04-16-2008, 02:27 PM

It sounds like you've covered everything other than engine grounding. Might want to run a temporary ground to the motor just to see if it makes a difference...

Phoenix7 · 04-16-2008, 02:28 PM

That's what Higgi was recommending I do also. I'll keep updating and adding pics if I find anything.

Apac tii · 04-16-2008, 03:08 PM

Check to make sure your grounds are good this could be your issue.

Phoenix7 · 04-16-2008, 03:17 PM

I'll definitely do this before pulling anything else apart.

Max777 · 05-01-2008, 11:34 PM

Damn,... did this ever get fixed? Sounds dangerous, and reminds me of when I let my car run for like 10min with a spark plug wire disconnected!

RETed · 06-18-2008, 01:43 PM

Additional grounds didn't work?

-Ted

Phoenix7 · 05-02-2008, 12:21 AM

No, he just drives the van. He's pretty busy and doesn't work on the FC very often, only when he has free time.

JunpoweR · 05-08-2008, 04:45 AM

It could also just be the wires.
Try another set or ground everything always fixes everything.
I hear of that problem happening sometimes with cheap wires and sometimes Magnecore do that also.
Never ever happened to me tho.

Phoenix7 · 05-08-2008, 01:44 PM

I dunno, I haven't talked to him about his car in a while. He replaced the wires and plugs with NGK so I dunno.

TehMonkay · 05-08-2008, 01:55 PM

Did you check that the threads were clean in the housing? I dont know how much of an impact that would have but it's worth checking.

04-16-2008, 03:08 PM	#8
Apac tii Rotary Fan in Training Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Indiana Posts: 38 Rep Power: 0	Check to make sure your grounds are good this could be your issue. __________________ 1988 Mazda RX-7 T2(list of mods here) http://designengineeringworks.com/project_cars.php 2004 Saturn Ion Redline(dd) 1999 Mitsubishi Galant V6(the backup beater)

05-01-2008, 11:34 PM	#10
Max777 Pirate Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Central IL Posts: 1,323 Rep Power: 19	Damn,... did this ever get fixed? Sounds dangerous, and reminds me of when I let my car run for like 10min with a spark plug wire disconnected! __________________ Rotaries:They are NOT that complicated!

05-08-2008, 04:45 AM	#13
JunpoweR Rotary Fan in Training Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 66 Rep Power: 0	It could also just be the wires. Try another set or ground everything always fixes everything. I hear of that problem happening sometimes with cheap wires and sometimes Magnecore do that also. Never ever happened to me tho. __________________ --^v--JunpoweR--^v-- "90 GTUs Crystal White GT35 WB TA Project "90 GTUs Brilliant Black Restoration 1984 GSL-SE Daily

05-08-2008, 01:55 PM	#15
TehMonkay Rotary Fanatic Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 302 Rep Power: 18	Did you check that the threads were clean in the housing? I dont know how much of an impact that would have but it's worth checking. __________________ My car blows up everytime I start it, it's rotary

04-16-2008, 02:27 PM	#6
Kentetsu RCC Contributor Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan Posts: 530 Rep Power: 18	It sounds like you've covered everything other than engine grounding. Might want to run a temporary ground to the motor just to see if it makes a difference...