I changed my spark plugs and wires this evening and after finishing, the car is smoking and not running right.

I gapped them 0.40 and greased the plug wires. I worked with one plug and wire at a time to make my work a little more organized and not get anything crossed up.

Under the hood smelt like something was burning or hot. I'm hoping it will be a simple fix. Anyone have any ideas.

Thanks in advance for any and all help !

 

Well did you get the same plugs as before?

Which ones did you get and are they the right HEAT range?

My suggestion is NGK TR-55's! If you used antisieze is it possible you got some on the tip of the plug and this is what is making it smell like smoke?

Do you see any smoke out of the rear pipes and have you checked the wires to make sure they are fully connected?

You do need to check for any CODES that you might have and let us know!

Thanks,Matt

 

considering a vette is one of the easiest cars to change wire and plugs , I have no idea what you could have done

post some pics , good close ups

 

I put in regular copper plugs as I read to use in another post.

Yes it is smoking out the rear.

I tried to make sure I didn't get any anti seize on the top of the plug. Could I have messed up with the greasing. I put a light coat on the bottom of the plug wire.

I also checked to make sure all the wires where snapped in.

I'm going to look up and see how to look at the codes. I forgot what to ppress for them to come up.

Thanks for the posts.

 

The plugs were not pre gapped. If I didnt get them gapped the same, could that cause this. I'm pretty sure I did, but I may have had my head up my rear and got one wrong.

Is .40 correct for pretty much stock car.

I guess tomorrow I will just back track to see where I messed up. I was hoping someone may know off hand what it was.

 

are all the wires pushed on all the way?

 

Make sure you didnt crack a plug. It happens. Good Luck with it!

 

That would be my guess! I like to go to a totally dark place and pop the hood and look for sparks too. That ll tell you if there is any arcing going on. Might need to pull the plug on the running lights to make it pitch dark. Good Luck! - Jason

 

Besides the smell how is it running? Especially under power at higher revs?

 

Here's how to pull the codes:
How to Pull Codes:
1. Turn your key to the "ON" position, but do not start the engine.
2. Clear any present messages by pressing the RESET button.
3. Hold the OPTIONS button down, and press the FUEL button 4 times. (This will get you into the "codes" section of the DIC.
4. The computer will automatically display all the codes your car has created. It will cycle through each code every 3 seconds. (Have a pen and paper handy to write down the codes)

Note: Any code that ends in an "H" is a history code (something that has occurred in the past, but is not reporting as an error currently.)

5. Once the computer has finished going through all of its codes, press RESET to enter Manual Configuration mode. It should start with a module and show "NO CODES" or "# Codes."
6. To optionally reset codes once in manual mode, press and hold RESET until is displays "NO CODES."
7. Press OPTIONS to go into the next module (ie, from PCM, or Powertrain Control Module, to TCS, or Traction Control System.)
8. Repeat Step 6 until you have reset all the codes in all the computer modules.

Note: Only reset the codes if you want to- it is not necessary to reset them every time you pull the codes.

9. When finished, simply take your key out of the ignition.

How to Interpret Codes
Now, once you've pulled the codes (it will usually be a letter followed by four numbers), you can go to THIS SITE http://www.stengel.net/diccodes.htm to get an interpretation of what they mean.

Thanks,Matt

 

Just go through a progressive check. There can only be so many items to go wrong here. go down the wires 1 at a time,,check the coil end,then the plug end. Those little buggers can fool you. See if that does it. If not you can do the suggested look in the dark compartment. If all else fails you can use the old mechanics trick of have the motor idling and (carefully) pulling 1 plug wire at a time and listen to see if it the idle changes or not. If that one is firing,,runs rougher,,if the same ,,you found your culprit!! You can pull the coil end,,but if you get too close you can get a rude awakening !! Has to be either a lose wire Or cracked or defective plug. They DO sometimes make bad ones!! .040 is a good all around gap. Some years went wider,,but .035-.040 you can't go wrong.Many tuners and FI guys drop back to .035 to compensate for increased cylinder pressures!!

 

i'm gonna redo mine all this spring and am gonna run the coppers as well. They are cheap and work great I'd also bet that it's a cracked plug or wires not on all the way. i had the #7 pop off after a bump i hit. Ran like crap and i put it on a scanner. Sure as hell it was #7 and went to pull the plug wire and it was barely on. Sometimes they feel like they snapped and they don't. Tricky bastards

 

just run your hands next to the wires with the engine running

 

I just remembered that i have had the battery unplugged over the winter and plugged it up to start and go for a ride after changing plugs.

Would that have anything to do with it. I know when the battery is dead on my camaro it has to reset the computer by running for a minute or so.

Also, i ran codes and checked them. I didn't see a code on the list that indicated anything with this problem. Is there a paticular code or codes I should look for.

Thanks for all the help on this. I guess I made a simple job into a big job. Oh well, it happens.

 

it will have to relearn idle, but even then it idles somewhat fine til it relearns

 

Thanks guys.

 

Most likely a wire not seated on a plug. IIRC They click twice when seated properly.

 

My dad was famous for doing this and holding the running wire/plug with 1 hand then asking you to come and see what he was doing, then he would touch you with the other hand. Learned the hard way, both hands free or I would not get close.