Please help car is acting weird after tune-up!

[realness]

Hi,

I changed the spark plug wires, spark plugs, and distributor cap and rotor today in my car. The parts are all brand new BOSCH and the spark plugs are regular super plugs not platinum. (I had platinum BOSCH in the car before I changed today.) After I installed all the parts and turned on the car, it began to idle really rough, which it never did before I change the parts today and the car was also shaking. I then noticed that smoke was coming from the engine underneath where the spark plugs wires connect to the spark plugs. I turned off the car and made sure everything was securely fit. I checked the connection between the spark plugs and the spark wires and made sure it was on tight. I also checked the connection between the spark plug wires and the distributor cap and made sure it was on tight also. I turned the car back on and still had the same results as before rough idle, car shake, and smoke. I turned the car off and put the platinum plugs back into the car to see if that would make a difference and I still got the same results as before rough idle, car shake, and smoke.

I would greatly appreciate it if someone can give some advice as to what I am doing wrong and how I can fix this problem.

Thanks!
:(

[winfred]

probably mixed up a plug wire, the cap is numbered just check that the wires go to the correct hole, it happens to the best of us

[realness]

probably mixed up a plug wire, the cap is numbered just check that the wires go to the correct hole, it happens to the best of us

Thanks I will check that tomorrow morning and let you know I hope thats the problem.

[Jon K]

I agree with winfred.

[joshua43214]

or some reason gettingthe wires in the proper order is hard for many people. I have actualy had cars towed in from other shops with the plugs wires hooked up wrong.

Don't use a book for hooking up the wires, use the numbers on the cap.

[Jon K]

Most engines - especially ones like the VW VR6 are actually hard to confuse. The plug wires are different lengths and the wires take shape of the route they follow such that it'd be unnatural to reinstall them any other way.

[realness]

I checked the numbers on cap and the numbers on the plug wires and they all matched up.

Is there someting I need to reset?

Do you all have any other ideas of what could be wrong?

[winfred]

theres a very slim chance you got the wrong cap, it's the same design but it's numbered differently double check the numbers on the old cap to the new cap, if that checks out start pulling plug wires one at a time while it's running looking for a change in idle to isolate the problem (you only need to pull them out a couple inches and put it back to hear a difference, don't lean on the car and you are less likely to get zapped), that way the problem may become obvious, like if you have one bad hole it may be a bad wire or if it's more then one it could still be a mix up, stuff doesn't just die when you do a tune up theres something up


I checked the numbers on cap and the numbers on the plug wires and they all matched up.

Do you all have any other ideas of what could be wrong?

[Ausmpower]

Possibility that one of the leads is stuffed?

You did pull them off by the boots right?

Are they all seated in the cap properly?

I'd suggest looking at the leads, check them for continuity with a multi meter.

[realness]

I think I may be fine the car is idling smoother. I took the cap and rotor off and put it back on again. I let the car run for a while and took it for a spin. I think oil may have spilled onto the exhaust and that was the cause of the smoke.

Thanks for your help. I will keep you posted if something changes.
:D