Plug Wires

[HyperDonzi]

Anyone know someplace online for plug wires? Ours are so bad, there all white cracky, and half the boots barely stay on!!

Tommy

[JWCall]

Summit Racing (http://www.summitracing.com)

[CrackerJack]

Do a search on yahoo for "marine spark plug wires". You should get enough info for a few minutes of reading.

[Sam]

Stock motor ? don't waste your time or money on any high performance stuff. Go to your local marine supply store or OEM dealer.

Sam

[HyperDonzi]

By the time I get around to thw wires it HOPEFULLY wont be stock :D

[Gearhead99]

Do yourself a favor and buy "Good" plug wires not some auto parts store cheapys.

This is one item that you get what you paid for.

With the water enviroment and all you need the best wires.

[Rootsy]

i agree... don't skimp on wires... but also with your stock tbolt ignition and coil the stock replacement mercruiser wires should be more than sufficient... if you are doing wires when was he last time you replaced the distributor cap, rotor and spark plugs?

if you need to do any of these there are a few words of advice to heed in the distributor...

[MOP]

My 2c's buy 8mm silicone wires good stuff, stock or not we operate in a wet atmosphere and need reliable stuff. When you install them don't forget to use grease in the cap towers and high temp grease at the plug ends. All high qaulity wires come with it and it will stop the spark from getting and believe me it does. Just this last fall one of our guys did a coil change and it would not start. One look and you could see the spark shooting from the boot to the to the coils can. A dab of grease and no prob, many people forget this step it is very important. I do it on my road machines also.

[Gearhead99]

Mop,

That is dielectric grease. If you use regular grease it will insulate. Dielectric will conduct electricty.

As said before, get the "BEST" wires available.

[MOP]

Jacobs for one supplies silcone grease, take my word for it even wheel bearing grease will not stop 40,000 plus volts from going where it is suppose to the idea is to seal and that it does. We have been using OMC/ Merc waterproof for as long as it has been available Dielectric products on low voltage I agree, all my 12v connections are treated with Pro-Clean spay, it is the most faithful product I have ever found for stopping corrosion on dash componants and in the engine box.

[b.guggenmos]

Yes. Use dielectric grease on both the boot end and distributor cap end. But dielectric grease does not conduct electricity. The definition of dielectric is anti electric. It is an insulator. That is why it seals moisture out so well on plug wires. Not trying to nit pick but I am a Ford ceritified master tech and that is how it was presented to me in the 80,s when we had missfire and other ignition problems. Thanks, Brian

[doug hess]

Get a copy of NAPA's Marine Catalog, MSP-8
They have great prices, especially if you can get trade discount.

[Greg Maier]

Found this on the net. Should answer the question about what dielectric is:

dielectric material

A dielectric material is a substance that is a poor conductor of electricity, but an efficient supporter of electrostatic fields. If the flow of current between opposite electric charge poles is kept to a minimum while the electrostatic lines of flux are not impeded or interrupted, an electrostatic field can store energy. This property is useful in capacitors, especially at radio frequencies. Dielectric materials are also used in the construction of radio-frequency transmission lines.

In practice, most dielectric materials are solid. Examples include porcelain (ceramic), mica, glass, plastics, and the oxides of various metals. Some liquids and gases can serve as good dielectric materials. Dry air is an excellent dielectric, and is used in variable capacitors and some types of transmission lines. Distilled water is a fair dielectric. A vacuum is an exceptionally efficient dielectric.

An important property of a dielectric is its ability to support an electrostatic field while dissipating minimal energy in the form of heat. The lower the dielectric loss (the proportion of energy lost as heat), the more effective is a dielectric material. Another consideration is the dielectric constant, the extent to which a substance concentrates the electrostatic lines of flux. Substances with a low dielectric constant include a perfect vacuum, dry air, and most pure, dry gases such as helium and nitrogen. Materials with moderate dielectric constants include ceramics, distilled water, paper, mica, polyethylene, and glass. Metal oxides, in general, have high dielectric constants.

The prime asset of high-dielectric-constant substances, such as aluminum oxide, is the fact that they make possible the manufacture of high-value capacitors with small physical volume. But these materials are generally not able to withstand electrostatic fields as intense as low-dielectric-constant substances such as air. If the voltage across a dielectric material becomes too great -- that is, if the electrostatic field becomes too intense -- the material will suddenly begin to conduct current. This phenomenon is called dielectric breakdown. In components that use gases or liquids as the dielectric medium, this condition reverses itself if the voltage decreases below the critical point. But in components containing solid dielectrics, dielectric breakdown usually results in permanent damage.

[Gearhead99]

I sure learned something there.

Thanks Greg.

[Greg Maier]

Until I looked it up on the net, I too thought dielectric was a conducter. I guess insulating grease does the same thing as electrical tape, it protects the circuit and keeps it from shorting out. :confused: