Sparky!

[redlegacygt]

So my mom's 91 legacy L was stuttering and sounding like it wanted to shut off. I figured it was prob. spark plugs and a fuel filter. So we got them changed and according to my dad, drove fine home. But then after about an hour of sitting, when they went to drive it again, it started stuttering again. So i took a look at it last nite and noticed that there is sparking at the top of the ignition box. Right where the Number 3 plug wire is. when the car is running, you can watch it spark. What would this be, a bad plug, a bad unit, or plug wire? Its going to sit until we figure it out and we just might take it back to the garage since it only happend after they fooled with it :lol: So does anyone have any ideas?

[SHOfast]

What part is sparking? Plug wires go bad and this is what results, but coils can also go bad causing this. Take a closer look to see which part it is and replace it. Both the wires and coil should be well insulated and not arc.

[legacy92ej22t]

Are you talking about the coil pack? The black box that sits on top of the intake manifold and has the spark plug wires attached to it? It could be that. If you just replaced the spark plug wires then I would tend to think they are ok. is the #3 wire pushed all the way onto the coil pack?

If you need a new coil pack you can get one from Williamsport Auto for around $25.

Or you can buy one from me for $20. ;)

[redlegacygt]

yeah its the coil pack i was talking about.( couldnt think of the name due to lack of sleep) I dont believe the plug wires we're replaced, but they should prob. be anyway. It arc's right at the end of the wire. I thought it might not have been on all the way,but it definetly seemed snug. What i might do is just pick up both plug wires and a coilpack just to be safe.

[Plays_with_Toys]

Just switch your 3 and 4 plug wires (at both ends to keep the firing order correct) and if the sparking moves to the number 4 spot, you know its the wires. If it stays at the 3 then you know its coil pack.

[NewGenSTi]

Yeah, try switching the wires like mentioned above, but it sounds like maybe there is alot of resistance causing the spark to look for hte closest place to go. pop the wire off and see if it is corroded inside if thats the case replace the wires. Napa sells em for like $20 or somthing like that and they work great

[redlegacygt]

i switched the 3 and 4 plug wires and it stopped, but started again when i switched them back. I'll most likely just go get new plug wires and see if thats the trick before getting the coil pack.

[NewGenSTi]

If you end up needing one I have a spare laying around here somewhere I can let go for a couple dollars. I know they are like $120-150 new

[Plays_with_Toys]

Go get OEM plug wires, they are like $2 more than auto-store brand ones. $2 for quality is a price I'm willing to pay.

[NewGenSTi]

Go get OEM plug wires, they are like $2 more than auto-store brand ones. $2 for quality is a price I'm willing to pay.

I agree on this, but my car just happened to start running crappy near a Napa so I picked up a set there and it ran 100 times better and they fit right and everything. I just assumed oem subaru wires would have been a tad more expensive