gh78

Help! What should I look for as to the cause of a low speed engine miss Its only at idle it smooths out as soon as I hit the gas a little.
Thanks

mapman

You might get some of those electrically isolated "tongs" used for pulling spark plug wires.

Loosen the spark plug wires in the distributor cap.

Start the car, and disconnect ONE spark plug wire at a time.

If that wire makes the car idle WORSE, then that particular plug/wire is NOT the source of your problem. Then RECONNECT that wire.

Disconnect each spark plug wire in turn, noting which ones HAVE NO EFFECT on engine idle. (Reconnect the wires as you test each one)

Those wires, that when pulled did not cause the idle to get worse, are the problem areas.

Pull those plug(s) and examine them for condition. It may be all you need new spark plugs or new wires.

Does the car smoke on start-up?

jcswm

If you put your han over the top of the carb does it smooth out any, You might just need to richen up the carb a little

zwede

Pop the hood at night in the dark. Look for sparks jumping from the wires to metal surfaces. Also use a spray bottle with water and spray a fine mist onto the wires (this makes them more likely to arc). If you have headers especially look at the plug boots where they go past the header tubes.

comp

with all of the above... also check the resistance in the plug wire/s on the bad cyl./s