I had the plug wires replaced on my 98 F150 w/4.6L about 10K miles ago (April) with OEM Ford 8MM wires. The receipt show that a wire/dist kit was installed ($140 part/$140 labor). Now the spark is jumping across all 4 wires on each side and arching to whatever metal is around (coolant hose bracket on left front for example). The truck is needless to say not running well. I replaced the alternator 2 weeks ago and this started. Are the Ford wires that bad that they could have cracked already? Should I bother taking it back to the dealer if he's just going to put another set of these on? What wires do folks recommend? I can get Bosch 8MM at Auto Zone for $70. I don't mind spending the money and time (thats why the dealer in the first place) to get this right. Thanks.

 

I have the Bosch 8mm plug wires and am very happy with them. But in your case, I would try to get the dealer to resolve the arching issue.

When I replaced my factory plug wires at 36,000 miles, they were arching under the hood like the 4th of July!!

Good Luck and keep us informed.

 

Excessive plug resistance or excessive plug gap can aggravate your situation. If wires are new they should not be arcing like that.

 

Taylor Spiro pro wires are $95 retail. When you see them you will immediately see they are worth it.
I have the Jacobs ignition and mine are not arching. While you have the wires off check the plugs (gap, wear, ect).

 

You might give the dealership you had the wires installed and ask to speak with the service manager. With it being less than 10,000 miles since you had the wires installed, I'd think you would have a pretty good shot of haveing the wires replaced for free (or at the very least at half price.) I've got 90,000 miles on the stock wires that came with my truck with no problems whatsoever. (which should be the same wires you have.) You should certainly expect to get a lot more service out of a set of wires than 10,000 miles. If your going to replace the wires yourself, stick with Accel, Taylor Spiro, or Bosch wires.

 

That's the thing, the original wires went 95K with no problems. The new wires had no problmems for 9K miles until I replaced the battery and alternator. Now, it's like the Philadelphia experiment under my hood. I've narrowed it to the second wire back from the front as the wires go up and over the alternator. That wire is solid neon blue at night when it's dry. When it's wet, they're all blue and arching all over the place. I'm going to try the Bosch wires for a relatively painless fix. I don't feel like dealing with the garage and tying the truck up for a day again. I'd rather eat the cost of the wires if it makes the problem go away. I'll check the plug for gap on that wire that really bad.

 

The bad news is the wires are bad.
The good news is you could easily see the problem and now can fix it.
Good luck. Let us know how it goes...