Hi, this morning i was checking / cleaning my car, and as these days i feel that it has lost some of it power, i was wondering that it seemed an electrical problem, i am about to send it to the mechanic, for a sparkplug cable change. Yesterday i was reading Mike Kojima's Engine Modifications Article, i had this idea, that i wanted to take a look at my sparkplugs before they were changed, so i took off one by one all the cables and star to look inside them, the first 3 were clean, but then the 4th, was terrible, filled with black dust that i think is electrical product, of a bad contact between both.
Well. i got surprised and then i cleaned a little bit with the tip of a little screw driver i had, then i though... I think i was feeling my car a little under powered because of this cable, i think i was even driving with just 3 of my cylinders!, and i did a test, without pluging the bad one, i started the engine, and let it run for 20 seconds, and then i notices that if i let the engine run without touching the gas, well the engine, will kind of increase sound, and the return to normal, every 5 seconds, like demanding more power... i was hearing this behavior a couple months ago, because i start my car 5 minutes before leaving to work, and i tough.. this is strange, my engine never stays the same in "minimum".. and then after i removed the bad cable, i could see this but more increased, so i though.... Well i wasn't using just 3 cylinders, but maybe just 3.5.... and then after i cleaned a little bit the bad cable and re-pluging it, i did the same test, and Wow!, now my engine was the same revs when i didn't touched the gas, and well my questions are the following now..
Here are pics of one good cable and the bad one
Good Cable
Bad Cable
If i had a bad contact on one of the cables....
Should that explain my under powered car since a couple months?
Should that be the answer on why i felt i was spending a couple more bucks on gas week after week?
Is this the solution on why when i was using compression to slow down my car, i felt less stoping power from my engine?
Thanks a lot for your time, i am learning a lot for your comments, and i never though that i would like cars and their maintenance.

Well. i got surprised and then i cleaned a little bit with the tip of a little screw driver i had, then i though... I think i was feeling my car a little under powered because of this cable, i think i was even driving with just 3 of my cylinders!, and i did a test, without pluging the bad one, i started the engine, and let it run for 20 seconds, and then i notices that if i let the engine run without touching the gas, well the engine, will kind of increase sound, and the return to normal, every 5 seconds, like demanding more power... i was hearing this behavior a couple months ago, because i start my car 5 minutes before leaving to work, and i tough.. this is strange, my engine never stays the same in "minimum".. and then after i removed the bad cable, i could see this but more increased, so i though.... Well i wasn't using just 3 cylinders, but maybe just 3.5.... and then after i cleaned a little bit the bad cable and re-pluging it, i did the same test, and Wow!, now my engine was the same revs when i didn't touched the gas, and well my questions are the following now..
Here are pics of one good cable and the bad one
Good Cable

Bad Cable

If i had a bad contact on one of the cables....
Should that explain my under powered car since a couple months?
Should that be the answer on why i felt i was spending a couple more bucks on gas week after week?
Is this the solution on why when i was using compression to slow down my car, i felt less stoping power from my engine?
Thanks a lot for your time, i am learning a lot for your comments, and i never though that i would like cars and their maintenance.