The ignition wires on my plane were looking old when I bought it in 1987. Radio noise has been getting worse. And I have been wondering if a bigger mag drop on the left mag could be helped with new wires. The wires to the lower plugs are too long and are all doubled up and tie-wrapped together so I thought is was time to try some new ones. Supposedly, Slick has the best harness on the market right now so I ordered a new set through Aviall with assurances that it would fit perfectly. Guess what. The new one is just exactly like the old one in terms of length of wires to the lower plugs. Aviall contacted Slick who said the harnesses are made to the engine manufactures specifications and they will not fix them. But---- they will send the tools to Avial who will loan them to me and I can shorten them myself. Now isn't that a fine note for a $300 item.
Has anyone else noticed that premade ignition harnesses have wires that are too long for the lower plugs? This new set had wires that were from 19 inches to one inch too long. How can it be the Continental has a specification out there that is so far off? Here are the lengths I measured the would fit correctly:
B1--31 inches
B2--25
B3--37
B4--32
B5--46
B6--40
I suggest if you buy a new set of wires, request that the lower plugs have wires of this length.
Wish me luck in making my new ones fit.
Ignition Wires
Moderators: GAHorn, Karl Towle, Bruce Fenstermacher
Gary that is pretty typical for ignition harness. Every one that I have ever installed has been as you discribe. Just a tip, start at your spark plugs and work all the extra slack back towards the mags. Then tie up the extra slack there because that becomes very handy to have when you are changing mags. Good luck.
Shawn
Shawn