Here's what I got out of an Accel coil after 6 Months on my 88. The engine started to die when I ran it through the car wash and idle was a little choppy. Now I'm running an AC Delco GM Genuine coil - no issues. YMMV
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A lot of GMT400 owners don't realize that when you task a
single ignition coil to feed
high KV pulses/sparks to all *8* cylinders, that if the very best materials & manufacturing methods
aren't used, sooner rather than later in this high duty cycle environment the coil
will lose control
of all the bottled lightning inside.
One of my new favorite videos shows a single-headed SBC 350 blinding a couple of experimenters
with science. Although this is an older 'coil in cap' HEI ignition, it's neat to see the sparks leaking out of one
of the unused spark plug wire terminals at least 3 times in dramatic fashion on the 2nd engine test firing:
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(Note: My theory is that the missing wires caused the HEI internal voltage to climb to max. Despite our efforts to the contrary, High KV HEI electricity
will not be denied. :0)
IMO, here's the single best 20 second SBC motorhead training video currently on YouTube:
Single headed V8 with thunderbolt HEI display
And like you did, troubleshooting an intermittent coil issue by lightly misting it is a valid/productive test procedure.
Right up there with watching for visible sparks in the engine bay on a dark night or in a lights-out garage. Or
happening to hear that sharp HEI stray snap sound. Just don't become part of a stray HEI discharge path -- it will
light you up. :0)
Who knew that all things having to do with ICE ignition could be so interesting?