Are you a car owner? If you have been driving a car, or any land vehicle, then perhaps you are pretty familiar, or at the least know that you have a spark plug. Spark plugs are a part of your car’s ignition system. It is the one that creates the spark or fire that makes the engine run. The ignition system sends a strong electrical current to the spark plug through the spark plug wires. To make the engine run properly the timing of the sending of electrical current is very crucial, which is controlled by the ECU of the car or the distributor for the older cars. The mixture of gasoline and air inside the engines cylinders plus the spark from the spark plug makes a controlled explosion that makes the engine run.
Spark plugs encounter huge amount of stress during that process of combustion. Strong electrical current and the engine vibration add more strain to the spark plug. That is why the spark plug needs to get replaced every now and then. The owner’s manual will give you the appropriate interval to replace your spark plug. But take note that this may vary depending on the spark plug that you are using. So now let’s learn about the different spark plug problems that you can avoid.
When you start your car and your engine is cranking but is not starting then one of the first things you have to check is your spark plug. If there’s no spark at your plugs, then this means that you’re encountering some problem with your ignition. You have to check it further. You need to check about the ignition module, bad coil, crank sensor, or the distributor pickup. It’s best to hire a car mechanic to avoid any misdiagnosis.
On the other hand, if your car is running but it is misfiring, then it has got to do with your spark plugs again. What’s causing this misfire is because it may be time to replace those spark plugs. It may be that those spark plugs are already worn or fouled. On the other hand, it could be that you already have one or more bad wires in your spark plug. To know if this is the spark plug problem you are encountering, you will need to observe the pattern of the firing system for each of the cylinder. You’ll need the help of an oscilloscope. If the firing voltage is higher than normal, then it means there’s a loose spark plug wire, or a worn out spark plug. On the other hand, if the reading is lower than the normal voltage, then it means a fouled, damage, or shorted spark plug wire. If you don’t know a thing about what I’m saying, it’s best to hire a mechanic to do the fix.
