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Bumblebee ignition wires

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M

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OK... I give up. Can anyone tell me how to attach the caps to the ends of Bumblebee ignition wires?

I purchased a wire set from Moss, thiniking that they would be ready to install. Instead, the set came with a length of wire, uninstalled plastic caps, and a small split washer. No instructions (as usual).

The caps, where the wires are inserted, have a small screw in them, which would imply that the copper core wire is screwed into the cap. But that doesn't work.

Also, there is no explanation what the split washer is for.

I read elsewhere that the plastic caps, which leave the top of the spark plug connection unsheilded, heat up and crack over time.

Guidance on how to connect these caps? Or, is it better to find better boots at an auto store and use them? Or just chuck this bumblebee kit and start over?
 
Andrew

Thanks. That solves the mystery of the split washer.

Any guidance on (a) how one attaches the caps to the bumblebee wires, and
(b) is there an alternative to using those plastic caps (longer boot that covers the top of the spark plug, for example)?
 
The caps are supposed to just screw onto the ends of the wire. Why doesn't that work? Is the wire too big to fit into the hole in the caps? I believe the original wire was 1/4" od, but the reproduction may be 7mm (which is very slightly larger).

I see Andy has covered the washer.

I've not tried running those original style caps, but one of our local club members was stranded on the way home from VTR 2000 by a similar cap (might have been a repro, I don't know) failing. The interesting part was that when the cap resistance/gap got too high, his Lucas Sports coil started throwing the spark <span style="font-weight: bold">through</span> the rotor to the distributor shaft, which eventually created a carbon track that shorted out the spark entirely. Made for an interesting roadside tech session! Even after we knew it had to be defective, the rotor looked perfect in every way.

Haven't tried them yet, but my plan is to use a set of NGK YB05FP
207-080.gif

once I can find some suitable wire.

PS, these are designed for use on motorcycles, where the plug caps & wires are directly exposed to the elements. The body is a hard plastic, similar to Bakelite, but the boots are soft silicone rubber that should seal very well.
 
Hmm, I was assuming (and we all know what that does) Moss supplied the Lucas 78106-style caps:

Lucas78106plugcapillustrationHolden.jpg


But it seems that, at least at one time, they supplied the Champion caps instead

ChampionWCX600Rplugcaps.jpg
 
Hi Ed I put those bumble bee wires on from Moss years ago. I had put them on my 58, but did not like them because they would arc out the back of the hard plastic cap that fits on the plug. Now I was working on my 61 and thought I would try them. I was looking through some old ignition stuff and saw that on the old Lucas wires that used that same had plastic cap they had used a small rubber boot, like the one in Randall’s picture that fits between the back of the cap and the wire. I took those little rubber boots off the Lucas set and put them on with the bumble bee set. They seem to work real good now with no arcing. I do not know why I did not get the secondary boots with the kit from Moss or if they suggest using them, but without it the electricity seems to take another path of resistance right at the plug because it is open in the back. This can create some real issues on a tr3 because they have run the temperature gauge tube and fuel line right on that path. I am going to watch the bumble set up real close to see if it arcs and even if it does not I will most likely replace it with some factory sealed plug wires that do not have the 90 and just use the bumble bee for show.
Steve
 
Many thanks for all the information.

First, Why doesn't the cap screw into the wire? I don't know. I telephoned Moss technical and the technician couldn't get the cap to screw on either. He said that he had never seen this before. He suggested using a amall brad or nail to poke a hole next to the copper core wire as a starter for the screw in the cap. I'll try this....

Second, Lucas right angle caps came with my bumblebee wire set, but no markings on the cap, so I can't tell if they "suppressed." The two shown in Randall's photo look the exactly like mine except that they have markings and mine don't.

Third, I think Moss supplies the Champion caps with their standard black wires. I'll check.

Sp53: I don't see the rubber boot you are referring to on Randall's photos, but that certainly would interest me because I would like to cover that bare connection on the cap. If you find factory sealed plug wires that do not have the 90, have copper cores, and are designed for side entry distributor caps, please let me know (a PM?) so I can purchase a set. Many thanks.

Randall: What do the codes MC/WCX600R and MC/78106 stand for?
 
Ed just go to the auto parts store and purchase a set copper wires for V8 or 4 cylinder then get the ends off. The boot I am referring to is in Randall’s first picture between the wire and the plug.
Steve
 
LexTR3 said:
Randall: What do the codes MC/WCX600R and MC/78106 stand for?
Click to expand...
I cribbed those shots from Holden's web site https://www.holden.co.uk/ so those are their part numbers. However, I believe the 78106 is the Lucas part number; and WCX600R is the Champion part number. And since I found those in their "motorcycle" section, it's tempting to conclude that the "MC/" stands for "motorcycle"
grin.gif
 
I agree. I used a set of Accel wires from a Chevy V8. They were really inexpensive solid core and have silicone boots already attached on the plug end.
Two sets for the price of one, too.

btw - they're yellow but no black stripe.
 
sp53 said:
Ed just go to the auto parts store and purchase a set copper wires for V8 or 4 cylinder then get the ends off.
Click to expand...
FWIW, my local store no longer carries copper-core wires. All they have are "carbon core" and expensive "spiral-wound" wires. My experience has been that the carbon core stuff does not last too long (tends to burn out where the cap contacts pierce the center conductor). And the spiral wound wires were 8 or 9 mm, too large to fit into the stock cap.

So if you want to go with modern wires, I would suggest also using a top-exit MGB distributor cap (which takes the common push-in terminals) rather than a side-exit cap. (There is a side-exit cap with push-in terminals, but I believe it points the wrong way when installed on a TR.)

If you want to know if your caps are "suppressed", check their resistance with an ohmmeter. Non-suppressed will show nearly zero ohms, while suppressed will show several thousand ohms.
 
Andrew. That rubber cap looks just right to me. I'll try to locate some to purchase.

Sp53 and Randall. Our local auto store no longer carry copper-core wires. They say they haven't for years.

I think I'll try using the bumblebee wires I got from Moss and try to attach the rubber champion caps, if I can find some.

I located some Champion spark plug caps 90 degrees angles -- bakelite type (the style Moss used to carry), but they cost $17.42@, which is too much! I can get a black wire ignition wire set with caps already installed, from Moss, for $26.95.

I'll check the ohms. I assume that the "suppressed" caps are for suppressing RFI/EMI interference. Since I have no radio in the car, I probably don't neet a "suppressed" cap. Perhaps they are all "suppressed" these days? Don't know.

BTW: Are the rubber caps actual lead caps, or are they meant to fit over the bakelite lead caps?
 
Hey Paul(Brosky)- You see that. Got you written all over it.
 
Red caps! What will they think of next. I priced them... however.... and they're about $7@. Perhaps I'll stick with the black ones (won't clash with the yellow and black bumblebee wires! Ha, ha. --- On second thought, perhaps the red ones will do because the black ones are $10@!

BTW. Do you know if the wires screw into these caps, or do you have to use a special clip and a special crimping tool to crimp the wires. My tool box is starting to fill up with "special" crimping tools!
 
FWIW, the YB05FP motorcycle caps I pictured above were $2.42 each @ Rockauto.com. They screw onto the wires (like the original Lucas caps). The body is a medium brown (about what I think of as "natural bakelite"), the boots are black.
 
I bought the "bumble bee wire set from Moss also, I could not screw the spark plug cap on and know that it was tight, I used some eletrictions glue for a while then finally removed them altogether and got a set of pretty blue wires from Napa .
 
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