Spark plug wire repair

Wishiniwuzfishin

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Jan 17, 2010
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I had to do a repair on a spark plug wire on a 1974 115HP Johnson I just bought. I repaired the wire connection to the plug spring connector. Spark plug cable had stranded wire core which I soldered to the plug connection spring after wrapping it tight around the spring end piece. Since doing the repair I found a post by Joe Reeves on another forum stating NOT to solder the wire to spring(didn't say why not to). Should I melt solder off or will it be ok as is? Thanks in advance for any replies.
 

Joe Reeves

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Re: Spark plug wire repair

That's not exactly what I said. There is no need to solder the wire actually. What you did doesn't hurt anything except should you want to charge that spring connector at a later date....... BUT what I said is as follows.

(Replacing Regular Spark Plug Wires)
(J. Reeves)

If you also need the spark plug boots and the spring terminals that connect to the spark plugs, purchase them from your local dealership (OMC Part #581027). This includes one boot and one spring connector. Price is about $3.25ea.

Purchase whatever amount of spark plug wire you need. Be sure to purchase the kind that has a steel twisted wire leading through the center of it....... not the carbon type plug wire that many automobiles now use.

Using your old plug wire, cut the new wire to a length about 3/4" to 1" longer. If you have no old plug wire, just make sure that the wire is longer than you'll need as you can trim the other end later.

The rubber boot, spark plug end.... With the wire cut to the length required, trim back 1/4" insulation again but do not solder tint the wires. Simply fan out the wires and fold them back against the insulation, cutting the excess off as explained above. Holding the spring wire terminal, estimate where the prong should be inserted so that the spring will be flush against the exposed wire. Hold the spring terminal away from the wires end (sideways) and insert the prong into the insulation and into the center wire, then swing the spring terminal in front of the exposed wire portion (makes a tight fit for continuity purposes).

Spraying the inner portion of the boot where the wire will insert with a small amount of WD40 makes the installation of the wire a easy project. That's it.... you're done.
 

Wishiniwuzfishin

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Re: Spark plug wire repair

Yes, thats the post I saw. I guess I did read it incorrectly. Sorry I misquoted you. I've never heard the term "solder tint". What exactly does that mean?
 

F_R

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Re: Spark plug wire repair

Yes, thats the post I saw. I guess I did read it incorrectly. Sorry I misquoted you. I've never heard the term "solder tint". What exactly does that mean?

It means a fat finger on the keyboard. He meant to say "tin". "Tinning" a wire means to coat it with solder prior to making a connection and then making a permanent solder connection.
 

Joe Reeves

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Re: Spark plug wire repair

No, I really meant "tint". Back in the pre-computer days when keyboards and fat fingers were of no consequence, many of us mechanics referred to coating single or wound/combined strands of wire with a light coating of solder as tinting rather than tinning. The term is still widely used today.... a strand of copper wire.... we coat it with a thin layer of solder.... the copper wire is now coated/tinted with a thin layer of solder whether it is soldered to another component at a later point or not. Whether the use of the "tint" term is correct or incorrect, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. (grin)
 

Wishiniwuzfishin

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Re: Spark plug wire repair

Thanks for the replies and 1 more question....The wire that I repaired is now shorter than original and is not routed correctly. I think I've read that the spark plug wires are replaceable at the coil end without replacing the coil. Looking at mine now (mounted as normal) it almost appears that they are sealed to the coil. I guess if I remove the coil the connections are underneath? I just bought the motor and am still going over it to determine its total overall condition. I have had it running twice in my driveway on muffs, but it's hard to find days nice enough to do that right now in NE Ohio. So far it seems to be a pretty decent motor.
 

F_R

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Re: Spark plug wire repair

No, I really meant "tint". Back in the pre-computer days when keyboards and fat fingers were of no consequence, many of us mechanics referred to coating single or wound/combined strands of wire with a light coating of solder as tinting rather than tinning. The term is still widely used today.... a strand of copper wire.... we coat it with a thin layer of solder.... the copper wire is now coated/tinted with a thin layer of solder whether it is soldered to another component at a later point or not. Whether the use of the "tint" term is correct or incorrect, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. (grin)

Call it whatever you want, the idea is the same, right? I just assumed it was a typo. Here is the beginning of a whole chapter on soldering as found in my old textbook. Before you even think about tinning the wire, you need to tin the soldering iron. Solder has a large tin content, thus the word.
 

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Joe Reeves

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Re: Spark plug wire repair

Within the coil is a threaded prong. The spark plug wire simply screws onto that prong. To replace, unscrew the present wire, then apply a slight bit of WD40 on the new wire so as to have it glide into the coil hole easily, then screw the new wire onto that prong.
 
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