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How can I tell if a spark plug boot is good? Can I run a continuity test on it. If I use a test light using 12 volts on one end, won't it run through to the other end?
Spark
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1,952 Posts
Yes but you also have to make sure there is good contact between the boot and plug.
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I actually had the plug in the socket and held it to 12 volts and stuck my test light in the other end to check, and i got nothing. This would prove the socket is bad right?
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I'm not sure, the plug fires so fast That the light might not pick it up?...have you laid the plug against the jug to see if it is firing?
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Yes I have done it a couple of times and it fires sometimes and then it usually doesn't, but what I was saying to check the boot I took it with the plug in it and hooked up jumper cables to the plug, 12 volts, then i grounded a test light(you know the cheap ones with light in it) and stuck it in the other end to see if the 12 volts would pass through and it didn't. The plug and the boot were not hooked up to quad at all.
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1,952 Posts
Oh ok I misunderstood. If it were mine I would get another boot and also another plug. I have had bad plugs that were new.
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I will. I was just racking my brain trying to figure out the spark issue. It ran then, I did some carb work and then it wouldn't fire. Every once in a while I would get a little fire grounded to the block. So I decided to check the boot and thats when I didn't get the volts through it. I just wanted to be sure that it was a good way to check for any breaks or anything. Thanks for your help.
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1,952 Posts
No problem. Thats what we are here for. But cleaning the carb. has no effect on the firing issue.
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23,587 Posts
I doubt if you can test it properly with a test light. Those test lights are designed for 12 volts and the spark going through one of those boots is going to be around 30,000-40,000 volts. There may be a lot of resistance that the high voltage could go through, but would stop the 12 volts. You can do a resistance test with an ohmmeter. I don't know what kind of 4-wheeler you're testing, but a repair manual will list the specs for the ohmmeter test.
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It is a trx450. I know the volts are higher but wouldn't it still register from one end to the other. Just to let me know that there are no breaks or shorts in the boot. It wouldn't reduce the 12 volts enough to not even light up would it?
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23,587 Posts
I don't know, but it's possible. Do you have any friends that ride that would let you borrow their spark plug cap to try on your ATV? Since, they just screw off and screw back on, that would be a quick, easy way to tell if it's bad or not.
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