Testing spark

[James]

Looking at the OTC 6589 Electronic Ignition Spark Tester. I am not a big fan of the inline spark testers. My hesitation is although it is a cheap tool to buy, I don’t see why not stick with my handy test light to check for park jump. What are your thoughts?

Topic

[Dave]

I assume you are referring to using the test light to check for arcing wires or leaking insulation?

The HEI tester you mentioned is to test if the coil is putting enough spark out.
As well as the ones with adjustable gaps. They are meant to be an indicator of sufficient spark voltage or energy.

The ones that are clear plastic and have like a noid light in them are meant to look for weak spark or intermittent spark loss. They take some getting used to and are more of a comparison from one cylinder to another or of intermittent spark.
They each have their own purpose or limitation and I have and use all including the test light depending on what I need to check for.

[Author]

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