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How To Check Your Spark Plugs
For the non-expert, spark plugs are among those car parts that they know are important. They may not know exactly why, but they are sure that without a working set of sparks, the car will not go. Other than that, they will be as unsure of what these mythic items do as they are of much else pertaining to cars – that is to say, very unsure indeed. Well, the spark plugs – faithful to their name – help with the ignition of the car and without them, the car would not start. And even if they are only slightly faulty, they will affect how the car starts, potentially in a very big way.
Badly fitted, or badly firing spark plugs will have the effect of making your car start fitfully, run poorly and will also see it give terrible fuel efficiency. If none of this bothers you much, then you do not need spark plugs. You also do not need a car, and a bicycle would be a better mode of transport for you.
To check your spark plugs, you will need to go under the hood. Depending on the kind of engine you have, the spark plugs will be lined up along the side of it. In a normal four-cylinder engine, there will be four spark plugs lined up along one side of it. These will fit into the cylinder heads on the engine. Have you ever heard the phrase “firing on all four cylinders”? Well, this is what they are talking about. The gasoline, compressed within the cylinders, is ignited by the spark from the spark plug. Hence the “ignition” part too. See how important all of this is?
To correctly check the spark plugs you will need to remove them. This should be done one at a time – otherwise the process may become confusing and if done incorrectly, spark plug gapping can make for a disastrous scenario. You are looking for debris, or any signs that the plug is poorly operational. All debris should be wiped away, as its presence in such an important part of the cars performance will make for poor starting and even worse driving. The plug itself should be removed using a socket and ratchet set, turning in a counter-clockwise direction. A ratchet set with flexible heads would be best if your spark plugs are deep-set, as these can be hard to reach but without removing them the sparks cannot be checked.
Looking at the spark plug, you will be able to tell that it is correctly operational by its appearance. It needs to be lightly covered with a greyish-brown deposit. If this deposit is heavy, if the plug is black, or the plug looks damaged in any non-superficial capacity, then it needs to be replaced. Replacing spark plugs is best left to a mechanic with some experience, because the damage done by incorrectly fitting them can be irrevocable.
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