spark plug wire issue, How/why did this happen rite after replacing the wire? Options

[Malhar95]

today i replaced my sparkplug wires (bosch replacement)at the autozone parking lot. i drove it back home, about half a mile away. 3 things:

1. car was alot smoother at first.

2. i floored it, shifted smooth from 1-2, then kinda took long to shift from 2nd to 3rd at ~65mph.(its auto)

3. stoped it in front of my house, i felt asif its idling weird (my friend who was at the passenger seat said he didnt notice anything.)
so i popped the hood, felt asif a wires loose, so i pulled it out and the car naturally shut off immediately. made sure all the connections were fine then tried to start it again, and my battery was too weak to start the car..

now im waiting for my brother to come for a jump.


my question is:

the battery dying, is that a coincidence, or related to replacing the wires. could i have messed anything up or not done it rite?

ive done it before so its not like i dont know how to replace wires, pretty simple but can somebody tell the process again so i can make sure im not stupid?

This post has been edited by Malhar95: Sep 6, 2011 - 2:28 AM

[stephen_lee]

alternator may have died or got unplugged

[HectortheRican]

I can't really think of anything that could go wrong with an ignition wire replacement short of putting the wrong wire in the wrong cylinder.

Did ya use di-electric grease? That stuff helps when you have to pull the boots back up.

[Malhar95]

I can't really think of anything that could go wrong with an ignition wire replacement short of putting the wrong wire in the wrong cylinder.

Did ya use di-electric grease? That stuff helps when you have to pull the boots back up.

no i didnt. anything negatiive?


well jump start started it, disconnected the battery negative once it started to test the alternator, still stayed on, reacted a little but still on. pluged it back up,

shut it off, started it, shut off, start . did this few times and everythings normal.


now i hear some kind of rattling when i rev the enigne,

scary part is that its very similar to my old engine when my bearings were bad. any advice. its really scary but it comes and goes. like i drove it to home depot.

no noise to the gas station,
some noise from gas station to homedepot
no noise from homedepot to neighbourhood.
some noise from neighbourhood entrance to my house.

popped the hood, asked my brother to rev it, no noise.
did it more, a little, and now it stopped.


could it be the bearings?
it does become faster when rpms increase.


could it be a bolt somewhere that got loose from me flooring the car when i was testing the wires?

[stephen_lee]

remember that oil light flashing?

ya, its that serious.

[Malhar95]

remember that oil light flashing?

ya, its that serious.

thats whats getting me scared mainly,
but johnathor said its just something sensor related, thats why i didnt worry. and now...

his exact word were "dont worry u know i did this sh** rite!"

any chance it could be something else?

[Malhar95]

could it be something to do with timings? like because the plugs and distributor are old and just new wires. maybe its timing itself.
thats what i read on some threads.

[stephen_lee]

timing being wayy advanced will cause a "knocking" sound. but that will promptly kill your engine as well.

[Malhar95]

timing being wayy advanced will cause a "knocking" sound. but that will promptly kill your engine as well.

So there IS a chance it could be the timing? Cuz it's not that loud as last time, u really has to listen to hear the knock. Like turn the radio off and pay attention.


I'm suppose to fix the timing with that light timin gun thing rite?

[mkernz22]

add oil? it wouldn't hurt.

[Malhar95]

add oil? it wouldn't hurt.

Oil reads good. But should I add more? Isnt it bad adding too much oil? Does that flood it?

[stephen_lee]

timing being wayy advanced will cause a "knocking" sound. but that will promptly kill your engine as well.

So there IS a chance it could be the timing? Cuz it's not that loud as last time, u really has to listen to hear the knock. Like turn the radio off and pay attention.


I'm suppose to fix the timing with that light timin gun thing rite?

yes

[Malhar95]

timing being wayy advanced will cause a "knocking" sound. but that will promptly kill your engine as well.

So there IS a chance it could be the timing? Cuz it's not that loud as last time, u really has to listen to hear the knock. Like turn the radio off and pay attention.


I'm suppose to fix the timing with that light timin gun thing rite?

yes

how do do u test if its timing or bearings?

[stephen_lee]

timing wont change when all you did was change plugs/wires.

but if u must. get a timing light, follow instructions on hooking it up to your car. (if its a digital advance or any of that special crap, leave it at 0*) bridge E1 and TE1 in the diag box. point the light at the crank pulley. make sure the "V" cut out in the crank pulley lines up with the 10 on the lower timing cover when the light flashes (it'll be obvious). if not, loosen the bolts on your dizzy and rotate the dizzy till it does. tighten, and retest timing.

This post has been edited by stephen_lee: Sep 7, 2011 - 9:29 AM

[Malhar95]

timing wont change when all you did was change plugs/wires.

but if u must. get a timing light, follow instructions on hooking it up to your car. (if its a digital advance or any of that special crap, leave it at 0*) bridge E1 and TE1 in the diag box. point the light at the crank pulley. make sure the "V" cut out in the crank pulley lines up with the 10 on the lower timing cover when the light flashes (it'll be obvious). if not, loosen the bolts on your dizzy and rotate the dizzy till it does. tighten, and retest timing.

Well I didn't change the plugs, just the wires...plugs were ordered online so still waiting on shipment. Wires were under warranty so I just replaced them there.

Thanks for the instructions, but I meant to ask how do I diagnose if it's a timings that's making the knocking noise or if it's the bearings?

[SwissFerdi]

If the timing's off, you can fix it and eliminate that, and if it makes the noise disappear, then you know what was to blame. If the noise persists, you might have to look at the bearings.

This post has been edited by SwissFerdi: Sep 7, 2011 - 11:38 AM

[stephen_lee]

If the timing's off, you can fix it and eliminate that, and if it makes the noise disappear, then you know what was to blame. If the noise persists, you might have to look at the bearings.

this.

check/adjust timing. thats the only way to be sure. its easy.

[Rav4Race]

is your problem sorted out already?

[Malhar95]

is your problem sorted out already?

naah cant get a hold of a timing gun, this guy's suppose to come today and check it out.

thanks for asking.

[Rav4Race]

I think u should start by recharging your battery (thing that i suppose has already been done). Is it possible to get your old wires back for a test? To see if the problem persists or disappears. No battery light On? Sometimes new wires react to metal contact...try to get it strapped. Alternator checked?
I don't hink its that serious but i think u should start by reverting back to your old wires first or get another wire from a friend. Hope u sort it out soon.