Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

I took the 400 out for a short drive to get a cup of Joe with some pals. I put about 7-8 miles on the car. I noted nothing unusual.

I returned and parked the car in the garage, opened the hood as usual and then turned off the ground to the car.

Later I went back into the garage and cleaned/moved some parts around ( I gotta sell some of this extra stuff) from shelf to shelf. As I was cleaning my hands, I looked into the engine compartment and noted that the # 3 spark plug wire to the distributor cap was disconnected from the hole? How in the heck did that happen? How well does a car run when only having 7 of 8 plugs in operation? Curious?

Many thanks..........

How far disconnected was the plug wire? If not too far, then the spark can still jump, except that there are now two gaps for that cylinder, not just one.

Craig

Back in the day there used to be occasional reports of a bad connection between the wire and terminal arcing at the cap holes or sockets. If it was long or severe enough it could create a build up of ozone or other vapors with enough pressure to pop the boot loose. If there was no chance the wire was caught by acc linkage and pulled or accidentally knocked loose some other way, maybe a possibility.