Things to know about spark plug use and maintenance

1. Avoid long-term unclean carbon deposits. During the use of spark plugs, the electrodes and skirt insulators will have normal carbon deposits. If these carbon deposits are not cleaned for a long time, they will accumulate more and more, and eventually lead to electrode leakage or even flashover. Therefore, the carbon deposits should be removed regularly (usually 3000 kilometers to 5000 kilometers), and do not wait for the spark plug to be cleaned when it is not working.

2. Avoid long-term use. There are many types of spark plugs, but they all have their own economic life. If they are still used after the economic life is exceeded, it will not be conducive to the power and economy of the engine. Studies have shown that as the service life of the spark plug is prolonged, the end surface of the center electrode will change to a circular arc shape, and the side electrodes will change to a concave arc shape. This shape will increase the electrode gap and cause discharge (that is, sparks). Difficulties, affecting the normal operation of the engine.

3. Avoid descaling at will. Some people do not pay attention to the cleanliness of the spark plug when spraying silver powder on the engine or performing other maintenance, causing the spark plug to leak electricity due to its dirty appearance. When cleaning the exterior, it is not convenient and quick to use sandpaper, metal pieces, etc. to descaling. Instead, immerse the spark plug in gasoline and remove it with a brush to ensure that the ceramic body on the exterior of the spark plug is not damaged.

4. Avoid fire. In reality, some people often use fire to remove the carbon and oil on the spark plug electrode and skirt. This seemingly effective method is actually very harmful. Because the temperature is difficult to control when the fire is burning. It is easy to burn the skirt insulator, causing the spark plug to leak electricity, and the small cracks produced after the fire are often not easy to find, which brings great trouble to troubleshooting. The correct way to deal with carbon deposits and oil stains on spark plugs is to clean with special equipment, which will have good results; second, to clean the spark plugs, soak the spark plugs in alcohol or gasoline for a certain period of time, and then use wool after the carbon deposits are softened. Brush and dry.

5. Avoid hot and cold. In addition to different shapes and sizes, spark plugs are also divided into three types: cold, medium, and hot. Generally, the engine with high compression ratio and high speed should use cold spark plug; while the engine with low compression ratio and low speed should use hot spark plug, there are medium spark plugs in between. In addition, the selection of spark plugs for new engines or overhauled engines and old engines can be different according to actual conditions. For example, when the engine is newer, the selected spark plug should be hot type; the performance of the old engine used by the principal is reduced, and the spark plug is prone to excessive carbon deposits and oil pollution. The selected spark plug should be medium or cold to improve the spark plug. Ability to resist oil stains.

6. Avoid misdiagnosis and misjudgment. When replacing a new spark plug or suspecting that it is faulty and needs to be inspected, after a period of normal operation of the locomotive, stop the engine and remove the spark plug to observe its electrode color characteristics. There are several situations: one is that the center electrode is reddish-brown, the side electrodes and The surroundings are blue-gray, which is suitable for spark plug selection; second, there is ablation or melting between the electrodes, and the skirt and insulator are white, indicating that the spark plug is overheated; third, there are black stripes between the electrodes and the insulator skirt. It shows that the spark plug has leaked. Improper selection of spark plugs or air leakage should be re-selected suitable spark plugs.

7. Avoid installing too tightly. When the spark plug is installed, the specified torque must be met. When installing with special tools (ie spark plug sleeve), it will generally not exceed it, but if the force is too strong or too strong or when installing with a torx wrench, it will often damage the porcelain core of the spark plug or cause the screw to slide, and the expansion groove will break and cause the spark plug. Obsolete; but it should not be installed too loosely, otherwise it will cause the engine to work abnormally.

The automotive parts and parts machining, PTJ Shop offers the highest degree of OEM service with a basis of 10+ years experience serving the automotive industry. Our automotive precision shop and experts deliver confidence. We have perfected the art of producing large component volumes with complete JIT reliability, backed by the quality and long-term reliability our customers expect.