At 11:47 AM 1/17/2003, gary hradek wrote:
>     I have to agree about the platinum plugs.  I would
>like David's39;s input on this if he is reading.
>There is no way a high resistant plug can over tax a
>coil.   It will shoot its wad, no more or no less and
>it does not care what is at the other end unless what

If I'm David's39 <g> -- (quickly, haven't much time) yes, something like
that *could* be possible.  I don't think it's true of platinum plugs --
electrically they're like any plug, the gap pretty much controls what's
going on.  But high voltage is constantly pushing and prodding at the
insulation, trying to find a way out, and so if some condition resulted in
an abnormally high coil voltage it could conceivably cause an insulation
breakdown.  Or if there were lots less resistance than the circuit expected
there might be an overheating problem.  Again, I have a lot of trouble
seeing a spark plug having this sort of effect.

Much more likely IMHO to have problems if the ignition module is
overdriving the coil, because of replacing points with an aftermarket
module like Pertronix for example...a lot of Atomic-Four owners have lost
coils that way.

But high voltage is queer stuff, so if a real expert comes along they'll
probably tell me I'm all wet... <g>

david

--
David Beierl - Providence RI USA -- http://pws.prserv.net/synergy/Vanagon/
'84 Westy "Dutiful Passage"
'85 GL "Poor Relation"