Hyundai Repair: Ignition problem - 01 Elantra, long rain, spray water

Question
QUESTION: I have a quick question regarding an ongoing issue with my 2001 Elantra. When there is a lot of humidity, like after a night of heavy rain, the car will either refuse to start, or turn over but run very roughly.

After replacing my spark plugs and wires, I believe the problem is with the ignition coil. When I replicate the humid conditions by spraying water onto the coil with the vehicle running, the top of the coil, where the ignition wire boots connect arcs between the boots. This causes the engine to run rough for several seconds, like after a long rain.

I don't know if this is normal, or means the coil is bad. From visual inspection, I can find no cracks or other defects in the coil or in the brand new ignition wires.

Please help!

ANSWER: Hello Thomas,
You did the right thing. If it is arching when you spray water on it, that means your coil is faulty. You need to replace it.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for the reply! Here's an update.

I got the coil tested electrically, and no fault was found. It's the mechanic's opinion that the wires simply aren't fitting on the ignition coil for some reason.

I had recently replaced the wires with a set of Xcel brand (from Advance Auto), so they would be the second set that caused this problem. Last night, I took the Xcel set back and purchased a BWD Select set, and again the same problem occurred. In fact, my check engine light came on today, and when I checked the wires, one of the plugs was nearly off the coil! In all three sets, the boots are about 2/3 the length of the towers they are supposed to be covering.

I'm at a loss right now. All of the places I purchased the wires at told me the same thing - that the wires I was buying are specific to my car, and should fit right.

I'm looking at some OEM wires from NGK that appear to have very similar boots as the previous ones. I'm wondering if there is some kind of fitting that I don't have, or if I don't have the right type of coil (which is unlikely), because I can't think of a single reason why the wires would consistently not fit.

Answer
Hello Again,
I can not think any other reason than incorrect wires or incorrect spark plugs. There is no additional adapter or seal for the wires. Best thing to do is to take those aftermarket wires and go to the nearest HYundai dealer. Compare original wires with your wires.