In What Order Do You Put in Spark Plug Wires?

Spark plugs are connected to spark plug wires, which must be in a specific order.

Two important parts of your vehicle's engine are the spark plugs and spark plug wires. The spark plugs provide an ignition within the engine's cylinders, however, the spark plugs cannot be used unless they are connected with spark plug wires. These wires must be connected in a specific order.

Firing Order

The firing order is the order in which the ignition system fires the spark plugs. Each different engine model has a specific firing order that must be adhered to for the engine to work properly; therefore, when the spark plug wires are connected, they must be connected in accordance with the engine's firing order.

Determining Your Engine's Firing Order

Before you begin a project in which you will be disconnecting or replacing spark plug wires, it would be helpful to find out your engine's firing order. You might be able to find your engine's firing order in a repair manual, through online resources or by contacting your engine manufacturer.

Working Without a Firing Order

It is possible to replace or disconnect your spark plug wires without knowing your engine's firing order. You can disconnect or replace the wires one at a time so that there is no possibility of mixing up the firing order. You should not disconnect all of the wires at once if you do not know the firing order because then you will not be able to reconnect them again properly until you do find this information out.

References

• Boxwrench.net: BoxWrench Engine Specs Database
• Mr2.com: Testing Spark Plug Wires
• Inner Auto Parts: Spark Plug Wires

Resources

• NGK Spark Plugs: Wire Sets