Spark Plug Wires

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Revision as of 21:41, 13 August 2011

Spark plug wires (leads) from many 4-cylinder engines will the Datsun 1200, although the wires might be a little long. It is easiest to buy a set specifically for the B110's A12 engine.

Overview

• Resistor type wires are recommended to prevent radio static.
• Large diameter wires (8mm, 9mm, etc) will have no effect unless you are running a non-stock high-energy ignition system.

Inspection

You can test the spark plug wires, they last for decades.

• One by one, remove a wire from the cap. If the metal end is corroded, yet the other plug wires look good, that indicates the cylinder is not firing correctly.

• Check the spark plug wires with an ohm-meter. It should read somewhere around 1,000 ohms per inch
  • If a plug wire reads 0 ohms, or much lower than the others (per length) it is bad

• Replace those wires that are bad. Looks for burns, cuts, bubbles or detached metals ends

Likewise inspect the cap & rotor. Mine are 30 years old still working perfectly.

• You can carefully scrape the metal contacts inside the cap to bare metal
• Scrape the edge of the rotor to bare metal
• Look for burn marks inside or out, look like black scratches. Replace if any are found.

Inspect the high tension leads:

1. Visually inspect the spark plug wires carefully for cracks or burn marks. Throw away any that have them.
2. Measure resistance with an ohmmeter. Resistor wires (modern wires) should be around 10,000 ohms per foot. Antique or racing wires will have far less resistance. Throw out any with resistance too high.
3. Check the metals ends of the wires and the distributor cap. If one end is oxidized compared to the others (e.g one plug end is oxidized, the other three are shiny), that cylinder isn't firing correctly. Could be the cap, the wire, a vacuum leak, bad cylinder compression or some other reason.

Part Numbers

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• AcDelco 9044N (88861957) $13
• Autolite 86406 $15
• Borg Warner CH421SP $12
• Borg Warner CH421 $16
• Bosch 09065 $15
• Beck/Arnley 1754217 $14
• NGK 9393 (NGK NE67) $13
• Niehoff 12409NPS 7mm Black Silicone $13
• Niehoff 12409N 7mm ULTRA Black Silicone $14
• Powermax 700194 $10
• Xact 4620 $12

Interchange

Spark plug wires (leads) from many 4-cylinder engines will fit, although the wires might be a little long. It is easiest to buy a set specifically for the B110's A12 engine.

For example, each set for B110 fits several other engines. It probably depends on exact how the manufacturer cut the wire lengths.

Beck/Arnley 1754217 Spark Plug wire set fits:

• B110 1971-1973
• 410 1965
• 411 1967
• 1600 Roadster 1966-1970
• 2000 Roadster 1968-1970
• 520 Pickup 1966-1968 (L16 or J13 engine)
• 521 Pickup 1969 (L16 engine)

Borg Warner CH421 fits:

• B110 1971-1973
• 520 Pickup 1968 (L16 engine)
• 521 Pickup 1969 (L16 engine)
• Fiat 124 1968-1969
• Triump Spitfire 1963-1969, 1972-1974

Nissan Competition

Source: 1984 Nissan Competition Catalog

• 99996-H2020 COMPETITION PLUG WIRE SET
  • For racing purposes only
  • [These are probably solid-core wires, which interfere with radio communications]