Hi, Started my 2012 GS today and something was clearly wrong. It was running very rough, like maybe on 7 cylinders. Ran fine when I parked it in the garage several days ago.

Rolled it out to the driveway but then it put on the check engine light and put up messages related to checking Traction Control.

I pulled it right back into the garage and went to a meeting I needed to attend in my other car.

Got on the forum, looked around a bit and it became clear I needed to check to see if a spark plug wire was off, bad or whatever. Car is 6 years old but only has 18,000 miles.

Found the #3 plug, third from firewall on the rider side, to be completely off, not off the spark plug but instead off the vertical connector that lives underneath the plastic valve cover covers (not sure what else to call them.

I am shortly going to try to reconnect the plug wire without removing that cover but it would be a lot easier if it was off.

How hard/easy is it to remove that LS3 plastic cover??? This is on the oil fill side so I assume I also need to remove the oil fill cover???

Easy/hard???? Any tips??? Hoping and assuming this is my problem.

Any help would be much appreciated.

thanks

 

Very simple to remove the plastic engine covers. Just grab and pull up. It snaps in and out easily.

 

With the oil fill cap off.

 

Depends. Is the car manual or automatic?
Manual GS's came with a dry-sump, and the oil fill cap is on the dry sump tank.
Automatic cars had a wet sump with the fill cap on the motor.

 

Like others have said, they pop off easy. I had a wire pop off the coil pack about a year ago and now just leave the covers off so I can check the wires every month or so.

 

Hi, cover came off way easy, and yes, I did remove the oil fill cap. Plug wire went on easy and my corvette is running great again. 7 cylinders just didn't cut it. I was surprised that the plug wire went on to the mating connector with not a lot of force or "catch". I am sort of surprised a wire hasn't fallen off before.

Regarding the wet/dry sump question, this one I do know. Mine is a manual but it is NOT a dry sump. The GS coupe DOES have a dry sump but mine is a convertible and I was told they did not make the convertible a dry sump because typically convertibles aren't used for tight turn racing. Anyway, 2012 GS Vert (Manual) is a standard, 6 quart, pour it in through the valve cover oil system.

Thanks for the help. Cover came off easily and it did make it easier to reinsert the plug wire into the vertical connector from which it came loose and fell. it was completely disconnected. My guess is it was just barely hanging on when I pulled in the garage the previous time (running OK). And when I started it today, the startup vibration was enough to have the wire fall away completely.

Running like a champ again. thanks for the help.

 

As long as you hear/feel 2 clicks when you pushed it on, you're good to go. If you didn't, it will fall off again.

 

Hmmm, I trust you are talking about the upper end of the spark plug wire and not the plastic "valve cover" cover. I shoved it on and it went on fully but I felt or heard no clicks. In fact, that surprised me a bit, leading to my comment above about wondering why that hadn't fallen off before.

Know that I will be watching the wires closely now that I know one can just fall off.

thanks

 

Yes, when you push the plug wire end onto the coil pack connection, you should "feel" 2 clicks - perhaps hear them slightly. But if you push them on all the way, you'll definitely feel them. All OEM and aftermarket wires I've used do this. Put some dielectric grease on the inside of the plug wire boot, that will help them slide on the coil pack easier. Once you have it most of the way onto the coil pack, stick a pick or something small between the boot and pack to "burp" the air out of it, then push the wire on hard until you feel those 2 clicks. Some wires take more effort than others. But if you don't get the 2 clicks, they're not "locked" on like they should be. Good luck.

 

Got it, now that I know how to remove the plastic cover, I can pay much more attention to what you said. And the idea of burping air is a good idea because the rubber boot slides on reasonably tight to the coil pack connector. I could imagine it trapping air above it. I will give that a second look.

thanks for the input.

 

I'm probably late for commenting. I also had a plug wire fall off the coil. My mechanic found it with a ty-wrap on the end, so somewhere before, it must have happened. I bought the car used, with 11,000 miles. Anyway, this also happened on my brand new GMC truck, 6.2L engine. Maybe GM has a connector problem with plug wires and coils??

 

Nope, not too late. I still haven't gone back to see if the wire that fell off my coil plugged back on with the double click like someone here said should happen. I've only driven it once since this happened and just haven't had time.

I had announced that when I did plug it back on, I did not recall feeling any particular clicks and it could make sense if it was just a smooth press fit that oner time and gravity, they should all fall off eventually.

Bought my2012 new and it now has 18,000 miles. When I had last pulled the car in the garage before this happened, it was running fine. My bet is the plug wire was still barely hanging on and barely making connection. But just the shaking of the engine when I started it this next day was enough to have it simply fall off. It was completely disconnected when I saw it. Not that it matters but it was the 3rd plug from the firewall on the riders side, the one right next to the oil dipstick.

Whether I find the double click or not (and this person also suggested bleeding any air that might get trapped in the plug wire by burping the rubber connector with something long and thin after installing the wire onto the coil, I will be paying close attention in case this should happen again.

Pretty easy diagnostics as I said to myself "this car runs like it's running on 7 cylinders and, of course, IT WAS!!!"

 

One issue I've found with the engine covers is getting the holes in the cover to line up with the pins on the engine. The rubber grommets can bend and deform and you'll think they are good but they aren't. I'll feel under the cover to make sure the pin is lined up correctly with the grommet. The real issue is the driver's side and dealing with the gasoline line. I don't know of an easy on-off procedure for the driver's side and threading the fuel line through the cover.

 

Very good point. In fact, I never have taken the cover off the driver's side because of exactly what you pointed out. I saw the line that you say is the gas line that sort of cuts through the cover and since my issue (for the moment) was NOT on that side, I instead chose to only remove the rider's side cover where I had a spark plug wire fall off. When I put THAT cover back on, I first tried just sort of placing it where I thought it wanted to go and I could tell that was a bad plan. So I immediately then did just what you said. I felt under the cover and found the holes in the underside of the cover. So I just brought those two places to the two pins I could feel there, used my fingers to get those pins in the right place, looked at what I had and then felt it was close enough to then hit it gently with the flat of my hand and it seemed to pop in place ok with the two pins down lower and the two bendable catches (??) that attach to the tube up higher.

So what procedure is recommended for removing and replacing the cover on the rider's side??? Is the fuel line a big problem??? Pretty easy???? Thoughts??? I haven't had to do that yet but would like to know how.

 

On the fuel line cover, I have engine / cover "Warm", pull loose from retainers, then flex cover one side up other down and slide over line..

Or you can buy a Fuel line disconnect tool.. Make sure you relieve pressure before using..

I leave mine off... Problem solved..