Sprk Plug Wire

[Ron Burgundy]

I was getting the boat ready to go out today, but when I was putting on my engine cowl I snagged one of my spark plug wires. The wire pulled out of the boot as pictured below. Can you tell me my options? Not sure if it can be repaired, or if I need a new wire.

[margaritaman]

Buy a new set of plug wires

[curtiscapk]

Run to the car store!!! Fast while the fish are biting@! I actually rigged one of mine but it happened on the water....

[Ron Burgundy]

It looks like the wires go into direct ignition coils. Is that what I am seeing?

[ronb]

They come off at the coil, there is a 'hat' on there designed to keep water out. A new one from the marine parts store is your best bet, not sure if you would be able to find a 'single' wire at an auto parts store or not, long, long ago they used to carry singles, everybody buys sets now. What you have there is a typical single coil per plug situation, and while you may be able to use something like a stock 5.3GM set of wires, I don't know what the cost would be, or what you'd do with the extra plug wires....

You could try to take it all apart and fix it, but that is a patch not a solution.
To redneck it back together, get your favorite lube (silicone based) and spray the beejeebus out of the boot that is attached to the spark plug (after you take it off the spark plug) then with a pair of needle nose pliers, reach up inside the boot from either the wire end or the spark plug end and pull out the metal snap connector. Then spray the torn apart wire with the same lube and shove it into the boot where it should be and keep shoving it until it comes out the spark plug hole. Once it is out of the spark plug hole of the boot, you can straighten out the wire clamp end on the spark plug connector and then bend over the center wire on the spark plug wire and shove it into the connector and crimp it (they make a special pliers for this, but you can do it with 'normal' tools in a bind) then connect it up to the spark plug and push the boot back down the wire and onto the plug (do not pull the wire through the boot, push it)

Everything *should* work if done properly, but you will spend the rest of the day second guessing the repair...
-ron

[Ron Burgundy]

I think I'll just scrub the trip for today and do the the right way. Dang it. Maybe a sunset cruise.

That 'hat' you described pulled off too. Do I just pull the wire harder to get it out of the coil? They almost look like one piece.

[ronb]

In the picture it looks like 2 pieces, on my plug wires I always use silicone lube when I assemble them, otherwise the rubber will effectively sieze onto the coil, distributor cap, or plug and tear apart as you are now victim of. If it is acting like a stuck pig, try twisting it, or using an awl to dig under the rubber flap to gently lift it (if you are planning on reusing the wire) otherwise you can just cut it off with a utility knife (being careful not to gouge the coil).

-ron

[Ron Burgundy]

I added a photo above. You think it's just sticking in the coil? I didn't pull too hard.

[NH Tooner]

I think they twist in the coil. try twisting counter clockwise.

[Ron Burgundy]

I'm not so sure. I just called a place and they said $95 for one wire. I think the coil and are one piece. I'm calling around. Hope they were wrong.

[Ron Burgundy]

They're right. Yamaha dosen't have seperate wires. They are part of the coil. I get to go drop $100. I'm psyched.

[Ron Burgundy]

This keep getting weirded. Although the spark plug wire and coil aren't seperate, apparently the boot and wire are seperate pieces. The parts guy said I should be able to push the wire back into the boot. I bought another boot for $10 just in case. Going over to the boat now to see if I can make sense of this.

[GregF]

I have never seen a wire that would not pull out but I am new to Yamaha. It wouldn't shock me. Did you look at the parts catalog on boats.net?

[GregF]

OK I looked. I am not sure what motor you have but the ones I looked at do show the coil and wire as one part. You can save $25 on boats.net.

I would consider cheating. Crimp a new end on it and silicone the dog shit out of it. Order a new coil online

[Ron Burgundy]

I'm not sure the wire/coil is really the problem anymore. It looks like the wire just pulled out of the boot, which it is designed to do. The boot is reusable with a new wire/coil. It should just slide back it.