compression testing

[roadrunner]

so we touched on this and i was wondering... if youre to disconnect the plug wires(all of them)wouldnt they still throw a spark and hit in the direction the were pointed? probably a ridiculous q for those in the know but.... ive not read the instructions yet either. and i dont know what i was expecting but it didnt look like what i thought it would. fairly simple. (btw ty flyte for the lend :thumbup: ) this is an exciting thing for me. ive not ever do it before. fun fun fun.

[roadrunner]

anyone???? anything????

[TOM-CAT]

The wire ends should be shielded pretty well with rubber booties. If you are still concerned you could put a couple pieces of electrical tape over the wire ends. But really you should not have to worry about them throwing a spark.
:2cents:

Good luck and tell us how it goes. :thumbup:

[roadrunner]

The wire ends should be shielded pretty well with rubber booties. If you are still concerned you could put a couple pieces of electrical tape over the wire ends. But really you should not have to worry about them throwing a spark.
:2cents:

Good luck and tell us how it goes. :thumbup:
cool. ty. i suppose i just needed a bit of encouragement. i mean, it would suck to get zapped, or worse. of course ill update..

[kneedragger26]

Going by your question, spark plug wires are insulated far enough away from a ground to not spark. They seek ground hence the wording "DC" or direct current. (You can always stick your finger in the hole and crank it over to see if I am lying.)

Also it will find a good ground if you decide to hold one while it is disconnected.

If you want to do a compression test then spark has nothing to do with it. Just disconnect the source of spark if that is the concern.....



If you want you can always hook up the spark plugs while performing a compression test and you will have a little light show along with it.:lol:

[rickster]

Jennifer, the safest way to do this is to plug (oops, a pun already) the spark plugs back into the boots, then ground the shell (metal body) of each spark plug and crank away. This will prevent wayward sparks, as well as protect your ignition system. Some systems are very sensitive, and can be damaged if the current on the high-tension (the side that makes the spark) side of the coil isn't directed to a ground.

[roadrunner]

Jennifer, the safest way to do this is to plug (oops, a pun already) the spark plugs back into the boots, then ground the shell (metal body) of each spark plug and crank away. This will prevent wayward sparks, as well as protect your ignition system. Some systems are very sensitive, and can be damaged if the current on the high-tension (the side that makes the spark) side of the coil isn't directed to a ground.
leaving them in and just pulling one at a time wont work? how would you ground them pulled??

[rickster]

You can leave the other 3 in if you like; it'll just be easier on your battery, starter, etc. if they're all out, plus the readings are a little more accurate if the engine's spinning faster, which it would with all four plugs out. Re-insert the sparkplug(s) back into the boot(s), then place the plug's metal body against the head, frame, cylinder block, etc. You can secure it with a zip tie if you like. Don't forget to have the throttle all the way open, too.

[roadrunner]

awesome... that makes sense. plugs wouldnt wanna touch plugs right??
i was suppopsed to get on this this last weekend but ive always got reservations whenive not tries something in the previous.. im sure this is easy but one wonders...