Got Zapped!!

[JackFish]

Decided to have a look at my distributor tonight, haven't got a timing light, just checking it out for the first time since buying the car.
Prior to starting the car I loosened and rotated it to check its freedom of movement. Leaving the bolt half-tightened I started the car.
Went to rotate the dizzy again and got zapped as I came closed to touching it. I got arcs half and inch long going to my hand.
After "testing" a bit more I determined it was from the spark plug boots. :shockin:
OK, I will admit to replacing the original wires with ebay "splitfire" $10 special-extra-cheap wires, , and I promise to get some good ones.
But arcing to my hand, really are these wires THAT bad?
Or could it be something else?

 

[LameHoof65]

That would certainly be a serious problem if you have the HEI and accompanying module..but if it is just the standard centrifugal/vacuum type I can't even imagine that kind of "arc".

I've seen a fella' bitten by a truck with HEI and, let me tell ya, that's a slammer.

 

[pedal2themetal45]

Decided to have a look at my distributor tonight, haven't got a timing light, just checking it out for the first time since buying the car.
Prior to starting the car I loosened and rotated it to check its freedom of movement.

Timming is kind of a perticualr thing... You'll need a timming light.... You can set timming by ear but it won't be perfict or vary acureit.. even racer's use a light.. a couple of degree's of timming can make or brake ya.
just my .o2
tim

 

[JackFish]

I can get a light, that isn't the problem, but I can't time it if I can't touch it!
I was wondering if it could be a bad ground.
Number 1 plug wire is between 6 and 7 o'clock when looking at the cap from the driver side. Is that weird? Should it not be about 180 degrees around?

 

[pedal2themetal45]

OK
Yes cheap wires well bite ya
But I think as long as you grab the vacuum advance to move the dizzy or keep clear of the wires you should be able to adjust it...

It could be 180 but if it ran good it most likely isn't. If it was 180 off it would miss and not run good at all... or run at all...

I kind of have the same question on mine as I was hooking stuff up last night (plug wires and stuff) I notice (I thought anyway I was on TDC for #1) that the rotor was pointing at the #6 wire of the cap about 5 o'clock or so.. but the dizzy is off of an 82 fairmont and it may have been set from the factory with the #1 at about 11 o'clock (with the vacuum pod pointing at about 4 o'clock..) So I'm going to recheck for TDC befor I start it.. and when I pull the Dizzy to prim the motor I'll adjust it from there.

Tim

 

[Anonymous]

I have had $100 MSD wires bite me, too!!

I always grab the lower part by the vac advance cannister to turn it.
Been bit too many times!

 

[Anonymous]

I can get a light, that isn't the problem, but I can't time it if I can't touch it!
I was wondering if it could be a bad ground.
Number 1 plug wire is between 6 and 7 o'clock when looking at the cap from the driver side. Is that weird? Should it not be about 180 degrees around?

That is typical location for #1 plug wire. There are i think 35,000 volts going through a stock coil( if i remember right) luckily very little amperage. Normally it won't jump very far, .035 on the plug. cheap wires will bite. as everybody said use the vac adv for a handle to turn the dizzy with. The experience will leave you a little gunshy though LOL

 

[JackFish]

The experience will leave you a little gunshy though LOL

Woo-hoo, you can say THAT again! :shockin:

You know, when I was a kid, there was a summer boardwalk by the lake that had place that sold cotton candy, ice cream etc, and had pinball machines.
Over on one wall was a red box with two doorknob shaped handles.
You put a nickel in it and grabbed the handles and rotated one of them. The voltage would start coursing through your body before you could turn it all the way. The dare was always just to grab and crank it really fast, it gave a heckuva jolt.
Boy I'd like find that little box...

 

[powerband]

Grab on hold of that there wire kid - It'll recharge your battery!.

Sparkplugs are High Joltage but can't generally hurt you (except when you whip your elbow back into the shock tower etc...)

Try the cathode terminal on a TV/Monitor "barrel". Now that will crisp your donuts and send you across the room.

I had the Piezo-crystal start element out of an old BBQ that the kids would zap each other with for fun. I later saw some quack medicine telemarketer was selling the exact same thing for arthritis or psoriasis cure or something. lot's of fun - just put end against skin and press red button -- ZZzzappp.

If we could only harness static electricity, hmmm, Where's Nikola Tesla when we need him.

Powerband

8)

 

[WhitePony]

If we could only harness static electricity, hmmm, Where's Nikola Tesla when we need him.

Too late. He died almost 60 years ago in poverty. He had some great ideas, but he was one wierd dude.

I wonder if the shock coming from an MSD unit is worse than a straight shot from a points type ignition?

 

[MustangSix]

I wonder if the shock coming from an MSD unit is worse than a straight shot from a points type ignition?

Yes. Yes it is...... :shockin: Much worse. It will make you dance for several minutes while you recover feeling in your hand and arm!

 

[Anonymous]

I wonder if the shock coming from an MSD unit is worse than a straight shot from a points type ignition?

Some friends were going to play a joke on a guy by pulling his coil wire off of the dist cap and laying it on top of the wires, about 2" from the center terminal.

The guy gets in the car and starts it up and starts to drive away, when they yelled at him - to tell him of the joke. The wire was arcing to the center terminal from 2" away!! The MSD is one bad mother...