Installed a Pilo coil pack, Kingsbourn wires and Denso IK20 plugs gapped to .065 as Pilo recommended in my MCS about 2 weeks ago.

Everything was great until I washed the car today. I decided to rinse out the engine compartment and intercooler as it was pretty dirty. A little later I went to start the car and it immediatly sputtered and died. I checked under the hood and it was damp but not wet. I pushed the car back in the garage and checked that the coil and wires were dry and everything was tightly connected.

I had my wife start the car and it idled ok. She revved the engine and I could see sparks jumping from the #2 plug wire where it connects to the coil to the #3 plug wire where it seats in the valve cover! It looked like the sparks were coming right out of the silicon cover!

Pilo's support site recommend a smaller gap for the Denso plugs. I regapped to .050. I checked the plug wires and none appear frayed. They have the braided heat shield on them so I can't see the actual cables.

The sparks appear to have stopped. Has anyone seen this before?

 

You simply got water on the ingnition, no big deal. I've done the same thing and once it dries out there has never been any problems at all. The check engine light may come on, but will go off after a few starts.
Not sure I would have re gapped the Densos.

 

From Denso Iridium's website:
You should not have touched the Denso gapping. Right out of the box is spot-on for the MINI. Pilo's recommendation is for traditional-style spark plugs!

Also, inspect the Kingsborne wire insulation very carefully for cracks or imperfections.

 

it can leave carbon trails that are conductive. You may be prone to this in the future.

Matt

 

Thanks to all who replied. Next time I'll wait until I can get Randy Webb on the phone to give me the real install instructions.

Nothing like too many vendor recommendations! Denso says don't regap "In most cases". Pilo says to regap to .065 in their install manual. There was no mention of "traditional-style" sparkplugs. Who would use those in a Mini anyway! :smile: I'll regap to .032 and see how it goes after I get some new wires.

I pulled the wires and checked them closely. There are some carbon spots on the #2 and #3 wires where the arcing was occuring. Should I get new Kingsbourne or go with another brand?