I put my hand on top of my distrubuter the other day (all plugs on) while it was running and it gave me a pretty good shock. I have been having an ignition problem for quite some time. I forgot about this until a friend came over and did the same thing. What would cause this?

Bad plug wires, or a crack in the distributor cap.

Could also be a capacitive or an inductive shock

[This message has been edited by phonedawgz (edited 02-03-2012).]

The 30 or 40 thousand volts shooting down the wires could have something to do with it...

"Don't whizz on the electric fence!"

[This message has been edited by Stubby79 (edited 02-03-2012).]

If the wires are good and the plugs are gapped correctly, this won't happen. Chances are that your wires and/or plugs need replacing since it is now easier for the spark to jump through the insulation than to travel the length of the wire and jump at the plug.

replaced the wire and plugs, double checked all of the gaps just to insure...still shocking me, i try to run a screwdriver over the top to see which wire its jumping through but never works. It seems to only work when my hand is waved over it

did that on therealshadowx's 1985 Gt after I rebuilt the old 2.8L...though the shock I got was like that from a tazer. I fell to the ground and my left arm was tingling for a few minutes.
getting shocked with 30,000 + volts from an MSD = not fun...though the guys standing net to me were laughing histerically. LOL

cracked cap, or worn out boots/shielding on the wires.

quote Originally posted by oldrock2401: replaced the wire and plugs, double checked all of the gaps just to insure...still shocking me, i try to run a screwdriver over the top to see which wire its jumping through but never works. It seems to only work when my hand is waved over it

Did you get the cheap wires? Cheap wires leak right outa the box.
That is why I use the thickest rubber gloves I can find when adjusting the timming on customers cars.
Stop useing your hand to find leaks.....that what friend's hands are for
To look for spark leaks, look at night when it is dark. You will see the spark jump, also use a spray bottle with water and mist around the wires, it will make harder to find spark leaks easier to see.


edit to add: You want to get GOOD spark plug wires, you want wires that are less than 300ohms a foot, if they are it WILL say so on the box, if it doesn't say on the box they are not and prob 6,000 -8,000 ohms per foot. Spiral wrapped core, not copper (copper adds noise, and not all spiral wrapped are low ohms either.) FYI
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[This message has been edited by sardonyx247 (edited 03-14-2012).]

Here's a little trick you can use that can help you find where the shock came from and determine if you have bad plug wires or distributor cap... Take a simple automotive test light (the kind with a bulb for checking a circuit for voltage, not the type with a battery that's meant to check for continuity) and clip the alligator clip end to a good engine ground, then take the probe end and move it closely around the distributor cap, plug wires and boots. Take your time and check it all over. It's easy to miss areas if you do just a quick check. You can check the full length of the plug wires as long as you can reach them, etc. When you get to the bad plug wire or crack in the distributor cap, the spark will arc to the test light. No, it won't blow the bulb. You can usually hear the spark snap and engine miss, and when you do, observe where the spark is emminating from. I've found a lot of bad wires, caps and coils this way over the years that were causing intermittent running problems, especially when wet as mentioned above with the water spray test. This is just another way to find the stray spark. The water and night methods work too, they just usually aren't as precise and may not always show up stray sparks unless it's a constant or near constant stray spark.