Downside of hood vents - Arc free Spark Plug wires?

[TheWeiss]

This is a two part post.
Part One - I installed a set of hood vents from Hyline Offroad. They look great and do help me keep my overheating issues at bay (for the most part). I took pictures during my install and I plan to post them in a separate thread at some point. I know everyone who puts vents in or considers doing so worries about the water that inevitably gets under the hood. Most people with hood vents say it's not a problem and their Jeep runs fine every after a significant amount of rain. I have not had the same experience and the water that gets in tends to pool, in large part, in the area where the spark plugs attach the the spark plug wires.

Part 2 - The water that gets in to the area mentioned above causes the spark to arc through my plug wires, at the boot, and into the block. I have a set of aftermarket wires, Livewires which are made by DUI, that have been on for a while. Does anyone know of a good set of wires that certainly will not arc? I'm looking for advice from someone who plays in the water a lot.

Also worth noting is that I have had three out of six of the wires break and the 90 degree point and definitely not from abuse. In fact, I don't think I could be more tender with them when I replace my spark plugs.

[Mudderoy]

This is a two part post.
Part One - I installed a set of hood vents from Hyline Offroad. They look great and do help me keep my overheating issues at bay (for the most part). I took pictures during my install and I plan to post them in a separate thread at some point. I know everyone who puts vents in or considers doing so worries about the water that inevitably gets under the hood. Most people with hood vents say it's not a problem and their Jeep runs fine every after a significant amount of rain. I have not had the same experience and the water that gets in tends to pool, in large part, in the area where the spark plugs attach the the spark plug wires.

Part 2 - The water that gets in to the area mentioned above causes the spark to arc through my plug wires, at the boot, and into the block. I have a set of aftermarket wires, Livewires which are made by DUI, that have been on for a while. Does anyone know of a good set of wires that certainly will not arc? I'm looking for advice from someone who plays in the water a lot.

Also worth noting is that I have had three out of six of the wires break and the 90 degree point and definitely not from abuse. In fact, I don't think I could be more tender with them when I replace my spark plugs.

I do not know of a good set, but have you considered heat shrink tubing, or some high voltage electrical tape?

[xj4life2]

I have a 4" deck plate in my hood and the back lifted 1/2", and I live where we get lots of rain and snow so water under the hood is inevitable. I have never had any issues doing this at all. As for good wires I have used Taylor wires for years and basically swear by them. They aren't cheap but in my opinion worth the money

[XJ4IV]

your boot insulator is cracked... it wouldnt do that even if you poured water into the little chamber with good boots HOWEVER if you are miss firing that MIGHT be due to water leaking into the cylinder which happens on mine on VERY rare occasion but it DOES happen on my number 2 cylinder... Ive ONLY noticed it when washing the engine bay... WITH a hose LOTS of flowing water.
that being said out a handfull of dielectric grease inside each boot this will protect the water from seeping into the sparkplug

[4.3LXJ]

Yes, Taylor is the way to go. I have lots of rain and splash water from wheeling on my wires and never a miss.

[TheWeiss]

As a update on this issue. I replaced the plug wires and distributor cap and after a couple rainy days I think I can safely say (knock on wood) that the problem is fixed. I think the cause is as follows:
The metal connect that attaches to the spark plug broke off at the 45 degree bend in the spark plug wire on a couple of the wires. The wires functioned fine when dry but with the addition of the some water and the age of the wires (100K miles) it became easier for the spark to arc to the engine block than it was for the spark to travel through to the spark plug. In addition, I found a healthy amount of corrosion on the terminals inside the distributor cap (I think it was the Jeeps original dist. cap).

So liquid exacerbated the issues of: The aged plug wires, breaks in the wires, and corrosion on the distributor cap. Nonetheless, problem solved. Thanks for everyone's input and advise.

[Mudderoy]

As a update on this issue. I replaced the plug wires and distributor cap and after a couple rainy days I think I can safely say (knock on wood) that the problem is fixed. I think the cause is as follows:
The metal connect that attaches to the spark plug broke off at the 45 degree bend in the spark plug wire on a couple of the wires. The wires functioned fine when dry but with the addition of the some water and the age of the wires (100K miles) it became easier for the spark to arc to the engine block than it was for the spark to travel through to the spark plug. In addition, I found a healthy amount of corrosion on the terminals inside the distributor cap (I think it was the Jeeps original dist. cap).

So liquid exacerbated the issues of: The aged plug wires, breaks in the wires, and corrosion on the distributor cap. Nonetheless, problem solved. Thanks for everyone's input and advise.

Thanks for the follow up on the post. It's easy to fix the problem and then leave the readers hanging wondering if you found the solution. :drinking:

[BlueXJ]

Did you take the advice offered in regards to Taylor wires? I even have Taylor wires on my lawnmower and chainsaw.

[LizardRunner]

Taylor is the only way to go. I have them on the bike, van, RV, boat and of course Da Lizard has em. As for keeping some of the water out, you can add rain covers to the inside of your vents so water can't fall directly in.

[TheWeiss]

Because I had the Screamin' Demon coil I was concerned that the spark might be too hot for the Taylor wires so I decided to go with a new set of Livewires to keep insure that I used wires (and a distributor cap) that were designed to work together.

Though I was a little disappointing that the first set of wires had some brakes, when I looked back at my records I figured that I got 100K miles out of them so the quality issue, while mildly upsetting, was probably reasonable given the overheating issues I had for 50K of those 100K miles.

[4.3LXJ]

My wires are silicone header wires. They don't break down.