HELP...changed the plugs wires...rough riding

[sedoriku]

Guys, I need your help here. Today, I changed the spark plug wires (what a pain) for some MSD, with heat shield all around to prevent the melting on the headers. I unplugged the wires one by one to make sure I wouldn't cross them. I wanted to change the spark plugs at the same time for NGK TR55, but I gave up when the first one didn't even move a little bit. Anyway, just changed the wires, started the car and... Well, there is clearly one or more cylinders which are not working I think, the car is really rough to drive, vibrates a lot and I have a lot of backfire, and really feels like I only have 50% of the power. I checked all the wires twice, they seem to be all well plugged everywhere, so I don't understand what is going on. I used a lot of water from a hose to cool the engine before I was working on it, may it be a problem?? Moreover I have a strange smell now on the car, like something is burning...?!!?!?!? Of course the SES light went on, and when I driving the car it sometimes starts to blink, and then stays on..
One more thing, on my way back, the ABS INOP light went on too.
I thought this wire change wouldn't be a big deal, that it would only take a long time, so I decided to do it by myself (Pep Boys was asking $220 to do it, dealership $280), but now I wish I didn't touch anything, Im screwed, and Im sure if I take it to a mechanic he will charge me a lot to fix everything...
What may be the problem?? May it be one wire which is bad?? They are all new from the box (by the way, the kit I ordered is for Firebird from 98 to 02, my car is a 97 Firebird, but I don't think it would make a difference...).
Please HELP MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[38fury]

Well you can check to see if the old wires still work . . . as for water as long as it didn't get into a cylinder you'd be ok, recheck to make sure that they are connected i know it is a sob to gets those damn wires to clip onto the plug esp the #4 that thing sucks to mess with

[Jtownrook99firebird]

idk... I know my car ran like hell when a couple coils went out... I'd check those~also just b/c u just changed the plugs doesn't mean that one hasn't been "blown" out since u changed them... also... did u hear every single one of those plugs click when they went in? same w/the wires... also I would retrace the wires go'n by the firing order instead of memory~they coulda alwayz been wrong from some dumb a* mechanic that worked on it in the past~maybe evn b4 u owned it~ and u never evn knew~I marked all mine w/a marker b/c that did happen 2 me. As far as water in the engine bay... should be okay so long it didn't get "inside" the motor and evn then just a little prolly wouldn't hurt much I don't think? Also if any of the products u used are accel... throw them in tha garbage and get someth'n else cuz most likely... it doesn't work properly. that's the most I can think of 2 help~g'luck

[sedoriku]

mmm.....the old wires are...in the trash!!! Moreover I cut the wires on the passenger side to get them out, so I won't be able to reuse those. As for the water, the plugs were still on when I put water everywhere, so I think the water won't make it into a cylinder.
I checked twice that all the wires were plugged on the plug, making sure I could hear this little sound when they clip. I just don't get it, can't understand why it doesn't work. Do you think I may have crossed some wires?? Does anyone know which number on the coil (they are numbered from 1 to 6) goes to which cylinder?? (lets say #1 is the cylinder on passenger side closest to the firewall, and #4 is the one on the driver side closest to the firewall) That would help me to check if I crossed any wire... may it be a reason for backfiring(kind of explosion when I accelerate) and rough idle with lot of vibrations?? Or is it clearly a cylinder or more which are not running??
And what about the ABS INOP light which came on?? May it be a wire that I somehow moved or pulled and it may touch somewhere on the engine, melting the wire?? Because this light didn't come in right away...

[sedoriku]

The wires are MSD... So you think it may be the coils?? They were actually quite rusted on the connection... How can you check if a coil is bad or not?? Can I use a tester?? And yes, I need to retrace the wires, but I need the firing order for that, anyone knows it??

[sedoriku]

My friend is almost certain he put the wires in the good order, we are going to check it out again tomorrow ( I got the firing order after a little search). The wires are all brand new, so I don't think there would be a problem there. I didn't change the spark plugs though, but the car was running fine before even though I got the SES engine (misfire) I could not feel it. So do u think it may be the coils?? How come they were working fine before and they would just suddently go wrong??

[vanbibber]

are all of the wires connected to the right coils?

the coils should be marked for each cylinder so just make sure all the wires are connected to the right posts. i had the same problem when i did my tune ups on my v6. i had one wire on the wrong connection post and it ran crappy. i went through and found which one it was and it ran fine after that.

[sedoriku]

Im gonna check again tomorrow if the wires are connected to the right coil, would it makes the car run really crappy if wires were messed up?? And would I have those explosion sound coming out of the pipes too?? I will check if I have a spark coming out of the wires too (though I doubt the wires could be bad, they are brand new MSD... by the way, you can connect either way I guess, you don't have to connect one side to the coil and the other to the spark plug... they can be connected either way, right??). I hope I will be able to fix it by myself, I don't want to end up paying $300 to get everything fix by a mechanic...
AND I HATE THE GUYS WHO DESIGNED THIS ENGINE. WHAT WERE THEY THINKING WHEN THEY PUT THE PLUGS THERE???

[vanbibber]

how do you think i feel? ever tried to work on a lt1 before? you literally have to take of the passenger manifold to get to the front and back plugs. not including the other PITA things about the LT1 such as opti spark and intake manifold leaks. the v6 is a mother f'r also but at least you have enough room to work with.

dont take it to a shop just yet. if you can take it to autozone they can test the coils to see if they are working properly. if it ran fine before you messed with it, it wont be anything you cant do yourself. think of it as a "get to know you car better" session. S*** happens, its probably just something minor.

[sedoriku]

Vanbibber, I hear you on the LT1 engine, I heard that they are a real nightmare to work on... how could the engineers ever design an engine so poorly when it comes to maintenance. A basic thing like changing wires just become the hardest thing ever to do.
Anyway, I will check at Autozone tomorrow if they can test my coils, and check again the wires to see if they are in the good order too. Still don't really understand how I could mess it up, it seems to be pretty simple to just change the wires... And now my car runs like crap, there is no power, the engine almost stall when Im in first gear...
When I was trying to get the wires from the passenger side of the engine, I pulled them pretty hard, and there were other wires there, do you think I may have unplugged a wire somehow?? And is there a special route to take for the olug wires?? I just went the easiest way.

[slick-metal]

this is how i checked my coils...i dont recommend doing it as it is not very safe!!

I took a rubber glove and a insulated pair of long pliars .. I started my car, then one by one, i pulled the wires off the coil...if you hold the wire end just above the post on the coil tower, you should hear a clicking/pop noise, that means its ok...keep doing it one by one till maybe one of them does nothing....if you find one that does nothing, take that wire, and try it on the other post on the same coil pack...should do no damage, since its either just the up or down stroke. if it does not follow, then you know you got a bad pack cause then you know the plug and the wire are ok [img]smile.gif[/img]

also, try taking some fine sand paper to those coil pack connections to remove the rust...

also make sure your plugs are tight if you tried to take them out.

as for the ABS light, that could come on even if you have a short anywhere in your electrical system

[sedoriku]

I heard that some ppl got problems with their coils after they put a lot of water over the engine... that's what I did, may it be the cause of my problem??

[sedoriku]

Just started the car, and I thought maybe a miracle would have happened...but no, the car is still clearly running like crap, vibrates a lot at idle and I have backfire when I step on the gas pedal...grrrr.... Will go to Autozone to get the code (the SES light is on) and see where I have a misfire. I hate when something that seemed that easy just goes wrong... I hope I will be able to fix it by myself, don't want to end up paying $250 to fix it.

[green97]

That is what happens when you have them in the wrong firing order.... when I did mine a little while ago I mixed 2 wires up and when it started it did what you are saying now....

[sedoriku]

Would the SES light comes on if the plug wires were crossed?? I have to check that again and I may have crossed the wires, getting a bad firing order.