Listen closely because your spark plugs may be trying to tell you something. Spark plugs can provide valuable information about your vehicles performance and can predict potential problems. When new spark plugs are installed, replace with plugs of the same heat range. How to read spark plugs to diagnose engine troubles. The heat range numbering system used by spark plug manufacturers is not universal. Check out the images below, courtesy of ngk spark plugs, and get ready to do a little light reading the next time you pull your spark plugs. So, you may well understand the importance of this device in keeping the engine running. If they are black then you are too rich, if they are light gray or white then you are too lean. A healthy spark plug will have a little bit of electrode erosion but no abnormal deposits while the color would be a light tan, gray, or brownish. To read a spark plug and assess engine troubles, you first have to remove it.
Ive been running with the through the hood ram air for a while and have noticed that ever since i have my spark plugs have come out redbrown in color. If the spark plug is black and oily, they are oil fouled. Spark plugs are one of the most misunderstood components of an engine. If the ground strap is showing a good color line but the porcelain is showing no color at the base then your plug may be too hot, drop down a range. Correct heat range for engine and operating conditions. Your automobile keeps moving on the road because of the constant ignition. If you notice any black, dry soot on the spark plug, this is a sign of carbon fouling, which means your engine has been running too rich, and. Even just by staring at it, you can already grasp the message. If your engine is running too lean, the spark plug will be white. Just the mere spark plug color can determine the condition of the bike.
Spark plug pictures for lean to rich running engines. I recently just set the correct gap on my spark plugs, and now the bike is running rich. I am checking my spark plugs to see how my engine is running. If you notice any black, dry soot on the spark plug, this is a sign of carbon fouling, which means your engine has been running too rich, and you should visit a mechanic to figure out the cause. Is there an issue with oil control or ignition timing. If your plugs indicate that something is seriously wrong with your engine, ask a professional for an opinion. Reading spark plugs, what everyone should know about sparkplug reading.
Remove the spark plug and examine the insulator the porcelain color. Understand how to read the spark plug color car from japan. This is how your plugs should look after theyve been used for a few miles. This glazing of the porcelain actually becomes a conductor and the spark will jump from the electrode to the porcelain resulting is a very weak small if any spark. And, too high compression, or insufficient engine cooling. If the engine is running too lean, the spark plug can look greyish white. Normal spark plug color combustion deposits are slight and not heavy enough to cause any detrimental effect on engine performance. This leaves high molecular weight fractions of fuel that will not burn, but eventually deposit condenstate on the in. A lean spark plug will have little to no color on the insulator tip. You need to check your spark plugs to see if you running rich or lean. Conversely, lean spark plug indications from excess engine heat can actually be made with a rich alcohol fuel mixture.
Upon examining the old plugs, they appear to have held up well under the rich tune 14 afr and there is no damage after occasional running lean for a few weeks because of a faulty fuel pump relay. Is your spark plug black, wet, greasy or dry, dusty or covered in soot, white and crusty or speckled with crystals, i will show you how to read your spark plug and show you what is normal. If its fuel injected, reading plugs is not an accurate way of determining whether or nor the engine is running lean unless you do a full throttle run, then immediately shut down the engine and check the plugs. This guide was designed to assist the technician, hobbyist, or race mechanic in understanding, using, and troubleshooting spark plugs. Conversely, if the insulators white and flaky then your engine is running too lean. Recordrunning sprint car engine temperatures are typically run at 220f cooling system temperature. However, your spark plugs will become either too clean evidenced by a lack of normal color or white when your engine is running significantly lean. You will usually see splotchy deposits on the plugs after the run, either green or yellow in color and of course the tell tale shiny glaze. This is the most accurate way to see how the plugs and fuel mixture are when running.
Spark plugs are generally a brown or grey color, which is caused by normal ignition. This plug eventually fouled and the bike would not start. Whenever you are rejetting or tuning your carburetors. The plugs on the right would probably indicate imminent failure for a 2stroke. Im still really bad at telling what color my spark plug should look like, any thoughts on if this is a good color or if its to dark. Replace with the equivalent autolite spark plug at the proper interval. I was wondering real quick if the spark plug gap will change the air fuel mixture.
If your spark plugs look good, problems with your ignition system can also preventing a spark. If your motorcycle does not seem to be running right, take a look at the spark plugs. After a test run, the spark plug can be examined with the naked eye or under a magnifying glass for minute particles, cracking, or surface bubbling. If the engine is running too rich the spark plug will look black, sometimes a glossy black if its really rich. How to diagnose and read the color of your spark plug. Blisters on the insulator tip, melted electrodes, or white deposits are signs of a burned spark plug that is running too hot. The worlds largest oe oxygen sensor manufacturer now offers a full line of premium technical sensors for the aftermarket, featuring more than 6,800 skus. Spark plugs and what they say from engineering of cixi. Dont look at plugs youve been running on the muffs. This means that the spark must jump the 716 gap and the spark plug gap in the motor while running. Ideally you want the ceramic part of the plug a nice dark tan to medium brown color with a slightly darker ring right at the base of the threads of the plug. Check for correct application of spark plug heat range too hot, wrong spark plug for engine, cross firing of ignition cables, over advanced timing, lean fuel mixture, defective egr valve, accumulation of combustion chamber deposits, hot spots in the combustion chamber due to poor heat dissipation, improper installation torque applied to spark plug, andor head gasket protrusion into the combustion chamber. To read a spark plug, start by checking the color, since an undamaged spark plug will be light grey, or possibly tan. Spark plug color evidence of what is happening inside.
Plugs are ideally suited to engine, engine probably in good. Note the brown to greyish tan color, and minimal amount of electrode erosion. Causes can include the engine overheating, incorrect spark plug heat range, a loose spark plug, incorrect ignition timing or too lean of an airfuel mixture. My old oem spark plugs also dilkr8b6 have become noticeably worn at about 64k km. Heres another person saying spark color doesnt matter. If your engine is running perfectly, then this part of the plug would soon become a tan color. The color should be read by looking at the porcelin insulator and compared to the plugs shown on the next few slides. Put new ngk plugs in last night and did an oil change, but the exhaust just wreaks of co which is the test i failed at idle. The porcelain is the insulator between the center electrode and the spark plug housing. You can then also increase engine rpm to verify spark at higher speeds.
Spark plugs change color and that change goes along with its. Plug colors tell the mechanic how the engine is running and can be very important. Nice, greybrown deposits, lightly coated core nose. You need to check if there is any problem in the cooling of your engine, or there is any scope for lean fuel mixture or incorrect. Black sparks indicate that the temperature of the combustion chamber is too low. I checked the colour of the spark plugs and knew it was running a bit. Either way, youll need to tune your carb to adjust the fuelair mixture. A motorcycle running lean will have little or no wear on the spark plug because its not igniting near as much fuel as it should be. If your spark plug has started to look white in colour, this indicates that something is making the plug run too hot. If everything is very white with glazed deposits on the insulator tip, a too lean fuel mixture is likely or the spark plug is too hot for the engine, or at least for the conditions for which it was used. Furthermore, indicating the plug is in the correct heat range and has been operating in. So i know that if the jetting is correct the plug should be a tan color, black rich and white lean, but i pulled the plug on my yz250f and seeing a black ring around the edges and some of electrode, but it looks white on the tip of the electrode. Go out and run the engine in the water under the condition rpm youre investigating and kill the engine as quickly as practical and then pull the plugs. Finally, poor engine performance and a loss in fuel economy are traits of a worn spark.
Learning how to read a spark plug is quick and easy, and can equip you with the skills to determine when to change out your spark plugs for optimal performance in short, the reading of a spark plug involves evaluating the condition and color of the tip of the spark plug. A few tips on what the different colorations mean would be good too. Like the mechanical version of the magic 8ball, your spark plugs may have the answers for you. Checked the valves last night and they were very close to spec, the real issue is the thing failed smog, is running rich, i cant get it registered because of the smog issue and i dont know jack about setting a carb. Spark color to determine ingition coil performance. How to fix the issue of running lean when a motorcycle runs leans, the likely culprit is the fuel delivery system.
Symptoms of running lean are overheating, bogging or loss of power, and delay of returning to idle from higher rpm s. How to tell if a motorcycle is running lean and how to. These can range from a faulty spark plug lead, shorted kill switch or flywheel key damage. The pipes should be a medium to dark gray or tan color. With a full line of spark plugs, coils, and wire sets, ngk covers 95% of import and domestic vehicles on the market. What color should the spark be when using a spark tester. This is my 3rd set of spark plugs ngk, bosch and densos. How to assess trouble by checking your spark plugs dummies.
But on an automotive engine with a higher compresssion ratio and under. In regards to dialing in my jetting, what do these pictures of this spark plug tell you. By reading the color of the plug you can tell a lot of things about how the engine is running. A common symptom of your car running lean is that your spark plugs are clean or turn white. Look at the spark plug porcelin for the color and condition of it. Brown to grayishtan color and slight electrode wear. I dont believe you get a good idea of whats going on in an unloaded condition. Ive check the cylinders when i had the im off and found no further redbrown anywhere in the engine. If your plug is grey or white, than you know that your engine is running too lean and. For example, a 10 heat range in ngk is not the same as a 10 heat range in champion nor the same in autolite. Numerous questions have surfaced over the years, leaving many people confused. A low compression engine running at a steady state with a constant fuel supply wont quench even a spark plug with a yellow spark. And if you are running with the choke on, something is wrong. A light tangray or brownish color, along with very little electrode erosion, indicates optimal operation conditions, including a healthy engine and correct spark plug heat range.
The plugs on the left would be ok for a 4stroke, but in a 2stroke they are lean, hot, and dangerous. Too hot a spark plug, low octane fuel, lean airfuel mixture. Plugs change colors and the different colors can explain such things as if the engine is running too hot or if the engine is worn. Was wondering if changing the spark plug gap could be the reason. If your showing good color on the porcelain but the ground strap fails to show an indicator then your plug is too cold, go up 1 heat range.
A normal spark plug will have brown or grayishtan deposits on the side electrode. You can actually read your spark plugs for valuable clues about how your engine is operating. Why are my spark plugs white and i have oil leaking out of their sockets. If the plug is wet and oily, there are a couple of possibilities. The top of a new spark plug is covered in white ceramic insulation.