Protection, Dock Storage & Most domestic vehicles use spark plug wires with a fiber glass core covered in latex graphite, which provides between 10,000 and 12,000 ohms of resistance per foot of wire. If the ignition wires, or "spark plug" wires, wear out before the specified mileage, they must be replaced early. Maintenance, Boat Cleaners & Spark Plug Wires. Covers, Boat Wiring & They were infinitive Ohms. Ropes, Boat Grills, Boat Drink Once a plug’s resistance gets higher than that, it’s time for a new plug. The shortest ignition wire is only 2.85 kohm. According to the first link, from Popular Mechanics, spark plug wires are supposed to have 10,000 to 15,000 ohms per foot. This is necessary due to the aging of the spark plug wires from exposure to extreme temperatures (hot and cold), engine chemicals (oil, grease, coolant, etc.) Use the highest scale (20M) because there is a lot of resistance there. Battery Charger, Marine Audio & Accessories, Boat Both Joe Pando of MSD and Tim Musiek agree that spark plugs can only use the electrical energy that they were designed for and for the purpose that they were designed for. Because of this, resistance rating became the standard when comparing spark plug wires. Pumps, Marine Pump Replacement Deals, Boat Seats Accessories, Electronic Navigation MSD’s 8.5mm Super Conductor Wire will measure about 50-ohms per foot of wire while the Street Fire brand wires have about 500 ohms per foot. Solid core wires are usually made with a stainless steel or copper core, both of which conduct high electrical current very well. To minimize the chance for energy loss, EMI or EFI getting through to the outer layers, most manufacturers use a treated layer between the conductor/suppression layer and the insulation. The drawback to using carbon fibers is a higher resistance in the plug wire which reduces the amount of electrical charge that can be delivered to the spark plug. Furniture, Boat Seat Pedestals & Fenders, Boat Trailer Not hard to differentiate between the two. Older plug wires will typically show more resistance, indicating they need replacement. The lower the resistance, the better quality conductor materials are used in making the spark plug wires. By reducing the resistance in the plug wires, the coil does not have to work as hard because less voltage is lost to the resistance between the coil and spark plug. Hardware, Boat Trailer Fine-wire plugs were designed for use in late model engines that are tasked with the seemingly ridiculous goal of lasting for 100,000 miles in a production engine. Resistor plugs were developed in the 1960s to suppress some of the spark energy, thus lowering RFI to an acceptable level. Next, determine the amount of resistance you would like. Check your fuel injectors for resistance. Thinking of replacing spark plug wires (hadnt been done by me since getting the car in 2001). Boat Gel Coat - Spectrum Color, Pumps and As the spark current travels through the plug wire, it has a certain amount of resistance working against that current. Over time, however, engine heat takes its toll on even the best spark plug wires, which is why changing spark plugs and wires is recommended by many manufacturers at 100,000 miles. Most resistor spark plugs use a monolithic resistor, generally made of graphite and glass materials, to filter the electrical voltage as it passes through the center electrode. 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