New spark plug leads

[-Scott-]

Are they supposed to do this when you pull them off the plug?



Bought them today, they didn't seem to "seat" properly, so I tried to pull them off again. I suspect this isn't supposed to happen, and plan to take them back tomorrow. Does anybody think this is "normal"?

[DamTriton]

If they are resistor leads then there may not be an issue (NO PUN INTENDED)

Some leads are basically a carbon powder in a matrix and the end connectors may only have "point contact" with the ends of the matrix as there is no wire to clamp anything too.

Does it look like the ends have been crimped to anything? Can you see a wire inside the rubber boot? Looking at them they seem to be identical and "undamaged", the ridging may not be a crimp per se, but a way of locating them in the rubber boot against the end of the "wire" (matrix).

[guzzla]

Not sure what brand they are but I used a set of Top-Gun leads in my cruiser cos they were half the price of Toyota leads - Surely there couldn't be that much difference in quality...

HA!!! how wrong was I- 6 months later I went to check the plugs and all the leads had melted to the plugs. Took me about 5hrs to get 6 leads off the plugs and then another $300 to get the factory Toyota leads I should have got in the first place.

By the way, I believe you have a faulty set of leads - no way should they fall apart like that IMO.

[chunks]

No they shouldn't do that, but it happens often enough.

[-Scott-]

Well, after a 22km round trip, the boy managing the Repco store today tells me he can't contact the supplier (Federal) to authorise a refund, so I'll have to wait for the store manager to come back to work.

No, he won't take my credit card details to organise a refund over the phone at a later date. No, he won't keep the leads for the manager to see tomorrow. And I should be grateful that they're even open "on a god-damned public holiday."

If I'm lucky, I'll be able to organise the refund through a closer store (that didn't have the leads in stock - they found the leads at another store for me.)

Not happy.

[chimpboy]

the Repco store

There's your problem then

I went into a Burson's store recently for some hose; I was surprised at the price because it was less than half of Repco's. I told the guy behind the counter; he said, "yeah, we get that a lot actually."

Repco are terrible.

[-Scott-]

the Repco store

There's your problem then

Repco are terrible.

Yep. I've been getting lazy, because Repco is my closest store, and there's a bloke there who's actually pretty good (despite having the name Jason ).

When they didn't have the leads in stock he checked the computer and actually rang the other store to confirm that the parts were in stock, and put a hold on them for me. A 25% off sale helped nudge me towards the purchase too.

I actually called in at two other auto parts stores on the way to this Repco store, but one didn't have the leads in stock, and the other was closed (on a god-damned public holiday - go figure!)

I also had some misgivings about buying "Champion" leads, and I took the old leads and compared them, one by one, for the correct length. I was surprised at how good the leads looked. Unfortunately, I'm not particularly surprised by 2 out of 6 falling apart, or by Repco stuffing me around with a warranty claim.

AFAIK (and the ACCC website seems to say the same) it's the seller's responsibility to refund for faulty goods - they take it up with their supplier themselves. The boy implied they had to get the manufacturer to confirm that I hadn't broken them myself.

[351ciofgrunt]

REPCO = Ripping Every Poor C__t Off

[-Scott-]

Update:

Not unsurprisingly, the store didn't call today.

A little before midday, I rang Repco's head office in Melbourne, asking for their official refund policy. The bloke on the other end of the line said that returns are sent back to Melbourne for assessment, and a refund would be provided in due course. Nothing to do with their supplier, and he couldn't explain why the boy in the store wouldn't take the leads. He asked for my name & number, and told me that the area manager would be in touch - within two days. I asked if I had to return to the place of purchase, and was told I should be able to return to any Repco store.

Mid afternoon, my boss asked me to do a run to pick up some stuff for a job in progress. As one of the stops was near another Repco store, I decided to call in and try my luck.

No problems. A quick look at the failure, a few questions as he typed away on the computer, and he processed a refund on my credit card - pretty much as should've happened on Tuesday. Couldn't understand why the original store didn't process a refund, couldn't understand why the leads should be returned to Melbourne.

I can't understand what happened on Tuesday. I can only put it down to a boy out of his depth in a man's job.

In other news: Mitsubishi want $200+ for a set, special order. I might stick with the current set for a little longer.

[date]

See my seaparate posting on spark plug leads today. The original leads and plugs on my Pajero were NGK and they worked fine up to teh 105000 km mark. Since then (and Topgun), I have had troubles but hopefully have that sorted by now.

[-Scott-]

See my seaparate posting on spark plug leads today. The original leads and plugs on my Pajero were NGK and they worked fine up to teh 105000 km mark. Since then (and Topgun), I have had troubles but hopefully have that sorted by now.

Yep. Saw that. Thanks.

Based on guzzla's post, I wasn't going to try Top Gun leads. Based on Mitsubishi's price, I wasn't going to try genuine.

I'll try measuring the original leads as per my Gregory's manual - I'm not aware of any problems with them, I was simply changing them as a pre-emptive thing, because I noticed the idle wasn't quite as smooth as I would like. However, I did find one sparkplug had an insulator that was loose, and slid down to the ground electrode, so I guess that wasn't helping things.

A job for another day.

[chimpboy]

I was amused to notice that one of our cars has Top Gun leads in it... not something I noticed before but after having read through this thread it stood out.

I have a set of replacement cables here that I bought from the UK as a set with a new electronic distributor (replacing the old points), coil, etc.

Does anyone have any general thoughts on ignition leads? The marketers have all sorts of comparative claims like resistance, noise suppression, 7mm vs 8mm, etc. I have no clue how much any of this matters. Any general tips?

[MrGrim]

I was amused to notice that one of our cars has Top Gun leads in it... not something I noticed before but after having read through this thread it stood out.

I have a set of replacement cables here that I bought from the UK as a set with a new electronic distributor (replacing the old points), coil, etc.

Does anyone have any general thoughts on ignition leads? The marketers have all sorts of comparative claims like resistance, noise suppression, 7mm vs 8mm, etc. I have no clue how much any of this matters. Any general tips?

size dont matter to much
standard leads silicone for most cars up to mild performance ..
spiral wound stainless for high performnce and lp gas

i use 12mm twin wound stainless ( not cheap )

[BowTieGQ]

A mate is branching out by creating his own brand of auto parts. It's getting quite big. He's due to start leads soon too. He said you' d be suprised how many "manufacturers" leads are made here in Melbourne. Dandenong to be exact. Large factory with signage. He has been there to discuss his labeling etc. He said all the brand name ones are from there and the same. Just different labels. And the cost to make them? I nearly cried.