ENG. MISS, HESITATION & ROUGH PIERCED SEC. IGN. COMPONENTS

ALL MODELS WITH GAS ENGINES

During the diagnosis procedure for an engine miss, hesitation or roughness, a spark plug or spark plug wire condition may be suspected. Several types of commercial or homemade diagnostic equipment required the secondary ignition boots or wire to be pierced. This is normally done to check for spark plug firing or to perform a cylinder balance test. Secondary ignition components should not be pierced for any reason.

Piercing a spark plug wire and/or distributor boot may create a condition that will not be immediately apparent. Over time, the hole in the pierced boot may allow a ground path to develop creating a plug misfire condition. Heavily moisture laden air in the vicinity of the pierced boot may accelerate this effect.

Piercing a secondary ignition wire creates a gap in the wire's conductive core. This gap is a point of high resistance. The current flow in the wire will increase to compensate for the higher wire resistance. Over time, the wire may fail creating a plug misfire condition. The time required for the condition to appear depends upon the extent of damage to the conductive core.

To help prevent future conditions that are spark plug wire related, do not pierce any secondary ignition component. Only use diagnostic equipment containing an inductive pick-up to check for spark plug firing or to perform cylinder balance tests.

SERVICE DEPARTMENT PONTIAC DIVISION GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION

General Motors bulletins are intended for use by professional technicians, not a "do-it-yourselfer". They are written to inform those technicians of conditions that may occur on some vehicles, or to provide information that could assist in the proper service of a vehicle. Properly trained technicians have the equipment, tools, safety instructions and know-how to do a job properly and safely. If a condition is described, do not assume that the bulletin applies to your vehicle, or that your vehicle will have that condition. See a General Motors dealer servicing your brand of General Motors vehicle for information on whether your vehicle may benefit from the information.