Spark Plugs in general have their functioning effected by the deposition of foreign substances on the tip of the insulator which causes them to get dirty and rugged. These foreign substances are generally carbon particles, oils and unburnt fuel. Such deposits make it difficult for the spark plug to generate an efficient spark. Or rather full combustion of the fuel. As the gap decreases, the spark that travels right up to the insulator nose and then follows down to the metallic shell and grounds outwards delivers poor functioning.
So what is the reason that the spark plugs get fouled so easily? There could be loads of reasons but the primary ones can be highlighted as below.
The faulty adjustment of the carburetor can render the air fuel mixture to be of an inappropriate combination. This causes the cleaning system to be coated with gasoline when such mixture is too rich and hence we get dirty spark plugs.
Piston rings that have worn out due to wear and tear can render the leakage of oil within the combustion chamber that clogs up the spark plug.
A distorted ignition system or a worn out charging location of an engine affects the spark plug significantly.Idle cars for a very long time or driving cars at a speed that is low makes optimum utilization of the spark plug hindered and hence buildup of carbon is unavoidable. An extremely cold heat range of the spark plug shall harm the efficient functioning of the spark plug.
When the spark plug gets foul, adequacy of voltage shall not be to the fullest and the tip at which firing is done shall malfunction. Certain ignition systems of the high energy type that are mostly found in the motorcycles, cannot tolerate much and therefore a specific range of functioning is very important for every machine and engine for proper function lest things shall blow out of proportion and cause harm.
Some 30 years back, we saw that cleaning of the spark plug was a regular activity but now we see that it is no more required and the product is seen like any other wearing out chain or sprocket. Hence cleaning of the spark plug should now be restricted to old and vintage cars and other vehicles but latest European or German models of cars and motorbikes should not be tampered with as it is no longer required.
