I am going to try & change out my spark plug wires, but I have read many warnings about getting shocked & it sounds really nasty.

I am sticking my hand blind into an area that I can't see anything....with several exposed terminals.

Is there anything I can do to 100% avoid this rather than "Be careful"?

What about disconnecting the battery, will that kill any current to the coil?

Thanks for any input!

 

If the truck is not running you have no shock potential, it is quite safe. Now touching one while running can shock, and while the current is low, the muscle twitch will make you jerk and cut yourself, knock expensive tools and parts to the floor, utter bad words, etc.

Read this post before you begin https://landroverforums.com/forum/di...ires+discovery

 

You dont need to worry about coil shock...You will get enough sticker shock when you go to mod your truck...

 

Thanks for the words of advice - I saw the following in the sticky & it sounded like I was liable to get shocked at any time.

 

Electrical tape, like what you get from Home Depot, in a single layer, will not do much to slow down a 50,000 volt spark.... there are some devices that can hold a charge and zap you. Spark plugs are not one of them, because when the volts are there it makes the spark and is gone. The coil produces the high voltage pulse when the power is removed from it in a very quick instant. Once that is over, it won't produce any more output until engergized again. The ECU grounds the device and releases the ground to fire the coils based on sensor info, and actually has separate timing advance for each cylinder.

Now if you ever find yourself working on an old TV set with a picture tube, yes, ground that HV lead to the tube, or it can pop you even when turned off (25,000 volts in an insulated glass "capacitor"). Many old TV repair guys kept one hand in their pocket, to avoid having a high voltage shock pass across the heart.

Moral - use your head, don't work on energized high voltage electrical parts. If truck is running, don't touch spark plug wires if you can avoid it. Old wires with cracked insulation, or a torn boot can reach out and touch you. You will likely survive, but it could make you jerk without control and stick your elbow on something hot, or the fan, or the serpantine belt. Or drop your beer.