Yikes. My wife said our van was losing some power while driving and idling rough. This is what I found… Obviously that’s not normal, but is it a common problem for the spark to actually jump so far from the plug? What would cause it? Is it safe to drive to the garage or should we get it towed?
Safe to drive. It will run badly but it is ok. Rub a little vasaline on that boot before you go. Should help a bit.
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The cause is those dry and dirty rubber boots at the end of the wires… Clean them off with a rag and maybe a light lubricant. Buy yourself some Di-electric grease and put the grease into the end of the boot and reinstall the wires onto the coil packs. This will go a long way into stopping this issue from happening if it doesn’t outright cure it.
I would assume you haven’t had plugs and wires changed for awhile. The mechanic will rightfully suggest this. This is not hard for a mechanically inclined person to do. The back 3 plugs are not in sight, but very accessible.
Most technicians would advise not to operate the engine with a misfire, doing so can damage the catalytic converter.
Those spark plug wires will need to be replaced and possibly the coil pack also if there is a deep carbon track in the plug wire towers insulator.
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Thank you all for the advice and insight.
Not common, but definitely possible. Electricity at low voltages (like 10-200 volts) just follows the wires. But at really high voltages it can jump through the air without much problem at all. Lightening for example. Even though the ignition voltage is high in cars it usually doesn’t jump like that b/c there’s an easier path with a shorter jump somewhere up ahead; i.e. the spark plug gap. A common cause for this is the electrode at the end of the SP wires isn’t making a good contact with the spark plug, or the spark plug isn’t properly grounded, or is damaged. So check the spark plugs and their gaps too. Overly wide SP gaps could contribute.
Good and instructive diagnostic photo btw!! Thanks.