It is mandatory to maintain a balanced spark gap between the two electrodes. A short gap can weaken the spark plug and a wider gap might prevent the spark from firing at all or may misfire at high speeds. Before creating a balanced gap between the electrodes, refer to the user's manual for a balanced figure.
Repeated overheating of the spark plug tip can cause the plug to prematurely fail. Overheating can be caused by many things like pre-ignition and a malfunctioning cooling system. Pre-ignition can lead to heat building up in the combustion chamber causing the spark plugs to fail.
You can save a lot of time and money by keeping your spark plugs maintained, and you can even do it yourself! Maintain spark plugs by disconnecting the spark plug from the spark lead. Make sure to remove any detritus from around the spark plug to prevent it from falling into the engine's combustion chamber.
Continuing to use a spark plug with worn electrodes puts stress on the ignition coil and can shorten its life. Please replace spark plugs sooner rather than later. Beware of only using your vehicle for short trips or slow driving! This can lead to carbon fouling or oil fouling.
Scratched and broken spark plugs usually indicate that there is a foreign object in your engine. Meanwhile, split or chipped spark plug insulators are a sign of pre-detonation. Check for ignition timing faults, engine overheating, a faulty EGR valve or a clogged combustion chamber.
If the tip temperature is higher than 850°C the spark plug will overheat which may cause the ceramic around the centre electrode to blister and the electrodes to melt. This may lead to pre-ignition/detonation and expensive engine damage.
Many factors can cause a spark plug to fail; from incorrect heat ranges to improper gapping, to chemical contamination. Yet 90% of spark plug damage claims are due to improper torque. Many factors can cause a spark plug to fail; from incorrect heat ranges to improper gapping, to chemical contamination.
Since platinum is harder, it holds its sharp edge much longer than a conventional spark plug, up to 100,000 miles. Longevity is a key advantage of platinum spark plugs. Another advantage of platinum spark plugs is that they run a little hotter, which burns deposits off the spark plug better and helps prevent fouling.
NGK gives them a life expectancy of 40-50k miles. But they have to temper their projections as driving conditions and motor modifications differ. Typically we have found you can expect 60,000 to 80,000 miles on an unaltered motor. NGK Laser Iridium Spark Plugs have iridium center and a platinum ground electrodes.
Standard copper spark plugs last around 20,000 – 30,000 kms. The spark plugs play an important role in your engine, they produce electrical sparks that ignites the mixture of fuel and air in your engine's combustion chambers, causing the pistons to move up and down.
Lubricate Spark Plugs & Other Parts
For part of your car repair and maintenance, you can use WD-40 to remove carbon residue, and keep moisture away from spark plugs and spark plug wires.
Is it safe to spray WD-40 in a spark plug hole? Yes. WD40 is a water displacer, not a very good lubricant, and a bit of a solvent. If you need to spray anything int he cyclinder, it should be a penetrant like PB Blaster or even some oil.
Dielectric grease is a simple compound of oil and silica filler that's very hydrophobic and is excellent at sealing out moisture and preventing corrosion.
Ordinary copper and nickel spark plugs should be changed every 30,000 to 50,000 miles, unless otherwise suggested by the spark plug manufacturer. Platinum and iridium spark plugs tend to last longer than standard copper and nickel spark plugs. Expect to change them every 60,000 to 150,000 miles unless otherwise noted.
FACT #4: YOU SHOULD CHANGE SPARK PLUGS EVERY 100K MILES OR SO. So, if good spark plugs are the key to avoiding these issues, how long do spark plugs last, exactly? The general rule of thumb about how often to change spark plugs is that they should be replaced after about 100,000 miles of driving.
Investing in high-performance spark plugs is a surefire way to save some money in the long run. Better gas mileage is just the beginning. These premium spark plugs last longer than conventional plugs, which means you'll be able to go a longer time between tune-ups, keeping your maintenance costs down.
What's The Lifespan Of An Iridium Spark Plug? The average, modern iridium spark plug should last for 3-4,000 hours of engine uptime, depending on the gas quality. Each make and brand of spark plug should come with its own estimated rating for hours of use without degradation or failure.
Iridium spark plugs are better at starting engines than other types of spark plug because the spark is highly concentrated in the central electrode, and consequentially requires less voltage to operate. This makes ignitions faster and more reliable, and also reduces power consumption.
Iridium Spark Plugs – Service Life
Denso Iridium spark plugs use a much thinner electrode than even the NGK. Given how long the NGK electrodes last you could argue the NGK are over engineered and reducing their diameter would have no effect on their service life.
Increased Fuel Economy – Misfiring spark plugs can reduce fuel efficiency by as much as 30%. New plugs that are replaced at regular intervals maximize fuel economy, saving you money. Smooth, Dynamic Starts – Convulsing starts will be a thing of the past when new spark plugs are installed in your vehicle.
Although many motorists and technicians prefer to stick with the same brand when replacing spark plugs, there's nothing on the label that limits a particular brand of plug to a particular vehicle make or model.
Soft, black, sooty dry deposits on plug indicate carbon fouling. Carbon fouling is an indication of a rich air-fuel mixture, weak ignition, or improper heat range (too cold). Carbon deposits are conductive and can create a path for spark plug misfire.
Black, dry soot on the electrodes and insulator tip indicates a carbon-fouled plug. This can be caused by a dirty air filter, excessive driving at low speeds, too rich of a fuel/air mixture or idling your vehicle for too long.
A good spark will be blue-white and will be plainly visible in daylight. If a good spark is present, the problem is probably not in the ignition system. Check the fuel system and/or stark timing. Weak sparks are orange or red and may be hard to see in daylight.