A spark plug that has become faulty due to its age or any other reason will turn your drive into a nightmare.
While starting a car we never pay heed to science working behind the procedure. A spark plug is fitted to the cylinder head of the engine and a connected ignition coil sends a charge to the spark plug to fire an engine.
All cars today work on a simple principle of fuel, air, and heat energy. A spark plug placed on the cylinder head of compression ignition engines makes sure that the vehicle keeps running smoothly in the required heat range.
For an automobile to move forward, the process of ignition by spark plug has to be repeated thousands of times per minute. So, an automobile needs more than just one spark plug sparks to work efficiently. For example, if a vehicle has a four-cylinder diesel engine then it must have four spark plugs for combustion in each cylinder. Similarly, a car or even a bigger vehicle with a V6 inside its bonnet will have six spark plug functions and so on.
A spark plug in good condition will start a vehicle without a hassle. On the other hand, a spark plug that has become faulty due to its age or any other reason will make your drive into a nightmare. During its lifetime, a spark plug ignites thousands of times. It is usually recommended that if a single spark comes out faulty, the whole set will also be problematic and should immediately be replaced. Not only is it important to replace all the spark plugs at the same time, but it is also equally important that you buy the right kind of spark plug.
A spark plug will see its efficiency reduce with every passing mile. The constant sparking and ignition on the electrodes takes a toll on components resulting in lower fuel efficiency, delayed engine performance and overall erratic behaviour. A spark plug, no matter how good quality, will falter in time. Some spark parks have a life expectancy of around 100,000km - others 50,000km.
Sometimes a vehicle shows signs of premature spark plug malfunction. These have certain symptoms which you need to look out for. Listed below is the list of such symptoms:
Guzzling petrol
Erratic behaviour while on road
Refusal to start
Lack of acceleration
Driving rough in cold weather conditions
Usually, manufacturers of spark plugs recommend around a 60,000 to 70,000km limit on spark plug,s but nowadays companies also offer a long-life spark plug that has a life of around 100,000km. These can be either iridium or platinum-dipped spark plug material.
A spark plug is responsible for providing the spark that ignites the air-mixture in the combustion chamber. A few symptoms of a faulty spark plug are a misfiring engine, poor fuel economy, rattling of the engine, struggle with acceleration and difficulty in starting the car. These things are fairly common after a 60,000km limit.