My knowledge of engines is limited and to some of you this might sound like a stupid question be here I go. I have 93 Caravan V6 3.0L. How do you tell if the spark plug cables are in the correct sequence? The distributor cap is marked but how do I tell if cables are connected to the right plug?
Not if somebody's changed the exhaust manifold gaskets.
Plugs closest to the radiator are even numbers, left to right 2, 4, 6
Plugs closest to the firewall are the odd numbers, again left to right (passenger -> driver's side) 1,3,5. #1 is accessible through the alternator bracket.
Distributor rotation is counter-clockwise. On the distributor cap, viewing from the front of the vehicle (standing in front of the radiator), the nipple for #1 is at 12 o'clock (furthest away), #3 at 10 o'clock, #5 at 8 o'clock, #4 at 6 o'clock (closest to you), #6 at 4 o'clock, and #2 at 2 o'clock.
Be aware, however, that underneath the distributor cap, the rotor contacts are offset, such that when cylinder #1 is firing, the rotor points directly towards the driver's side of the vehicle. "True" firing order is
1-2-3-4-5-6, but the apparent firing order (from the perspective of the plug wires and how they're connected to the cap) looks like 1-3-5-4-6-2.
Oh, and one more thing: when properly connected, using the wire looms for the sparkplug wires, the plug wires divide nicely into 'front bank/rear bank' as they come off the cap.
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