Hi, I'm new and a chick who knows very little about cars. I did change my own tail and headlights though, which I'm proud of. Haha.

I recently got a tune up on my 2002 Lancer, which included spark plugs but not spark plug wires. I basically have no power anymore, car will barely move when I use the air conditioner and it shudders when I attempt to give it some gas. Dudes at Pep Boys told me I need new spark plug wires.

I'm broke but need this done so I'm going to attempt it myself. Crazy? Probably!

Especially considering my next couple of questions...

Where are the wires located? Is it under the two little caps I see on the top of the engine? I've done a lot of internet research and I've come to the conclusion those are the spark plug boots. Is that right?

What am I actually buying? 2 or 4 spark plug wires and do I need to replace the boots?

Anyone have any advice or even a link to some instructions? I'd be forever grateful!

Thanks, guys.
-Stacey

 

If you look at the pic under the /// on the road race bar. That is a boot. Under the "O" that is wire #1.

The two "caps" are your wires. Boots do not count as wires. The cords going to the caps are your wires too. Our generation Lancers only have 2 wires and two boots. The boots give power to the wires. It goes Wire_boot_wire_boot

If you wanted to do the whole thing your going to need 2 new boots and 2 wires.
If something goes bad its usually the boots that need to be replaced but there is a possibility it could be the wires too. Start with the boots first though.

Replacing them are easy. All you really need is a 10mm socket IIRC for the boots and thats about it. The wires will pop right out when pulled.

Any codes thrown? Pull those first if yes and check back. Dont buy anything until you pull those codes!

 

More like... sexy

Unless your car had similar issues before your tune-up I highly doubt your wires are at cause here. It seems odd to me that your car would all of a sudden start acting like that right after you got it worked on.

I'd look into improper plug gap before plug wires.
Also make sure the current plug wires are going to the correct plug.

So, you got 4 plugs
1234

#1 has a wire connected to the black thing(coil pack) that's on top of plug #4
#2 has a coil pack right on top of it, so the wiring of that one can't be screwed up
#3 has a wire that connects to the coil pack on top of #2
#4 has a coil pack right on top of it, so the wiring of that one can't be screwed up

You'll also want to make sure are the current wires and coil packs are fully inserted.

 

Hmm...yeah I didnt think of he gapping. Check that! To do that you're gonna need a gapper from an auto parts store $.99 a socket wrench, about a 6' extension, and and extended spark plug socket. Its not hard to do at all. At the most should take an hour to check.

 

You guys have been more helpful than I could have imagined! Thanks so much!

I'm going to have them pull the code (check engine light IS on) and see if maybe Pep Boys just didn't do the spark plugs correctly.

It was shuddering just a little before the tune up. But it got MUCH worse afterward.

Thanks again! You guys are awesome.