Spark plug

Spark plug design. Spark-plug temperature respons. Spark plug faces.

°C Normal: Center electrode partially melted:

Auto-ignition Insulator nose with color between whitish or yellowish-grey Center electrode partially melted, blistered, spongy insulator nose tip.
range and russet. Engine OK. Correct heat range. A/F mixture Cause: Thermal overload due to auto-ignition, e.g. on account of ex-
1100 adjust­ment and timing OK, no ignition miss, cold-start en- cessively advanced ignition timing. Heat range possibly too low.
richment functioning correctly. Effect: Misfiring, loss of power (engine damage).
Safety range
Temperature of insulator tip

No residues from lead fuel additives or engine-oil additives. Remedy: Check engine, ignition and mixture formation. New spark
1 No overheating. plugs with correct heat range.
900
Working
range
Soot fouling: Center electrode melted away:
1 Insulator nose, electrodes, and spark plug shell covered with a Center electrode melted away and ground electrode severely corroded.
2 felt-textured, matt-black coating of soot. Cause: Thermal overload due to auto-ignition, e.g. on account of exces-
Cause: Incorrect A/F mixture adjustment. A/F mixture too rich, sively advanced ignition timing.
Self-cleaning extremely­dirty air filter, automatic choke defective, vehicle only Effect: Misfiring, loss of power, possibly engine damage. Overheated
used for extremely short distances, spark plug too cold, heat center electrode may cause insulator nose to crack.
500 temperature
range­too low. Remedy: Check engine, ignition and mixture formation. New spark
3 Effects: Ignition miss, poor cold starts. plugs.
Low-temperature Remedy: Adjust A/F mixture and cold-start system, check air filter.
2 shunt,
300 soot deposits
0 100% Oil fouling: Partially melted electrodes:
Engine performance Insulator nose, electrodes, and spark plug shell covered with Cauliflower-like appearance of electrodes. Possibly deposition of
3 shiny oil layer of soot or carbon. foreign matter.
Cause: Excessive oil in combustion chamber. Oil level too high, Cause: Thermal overload, e.g. on account of excessively advanced
1 Spark plug with excessively severe wear of piston rings, cylinder walls, or valve seals/guides. ignition timing, combustion residue, defective valves or defective
4
high heat-range code number (hot plug), Too much oil in fuel mixture (two-stroke engines). ignition distributors.
2 Spark plug with suitable heat-range code number, Effects: Ignition loss. Starting difficulties. Effect: Loss of power prior to total failure (engine damage).
5 3 Spark plug with excessively Remedy: Overheaul engine, use correct A/F mixture, replace Remedy: Check engine, ignition and mixture formation. New spark
low heat-range code number (cold plug). spark plugs. plugs.

The working range temperature should be from

500 °C to 900 °C for different engine performance Severly eroded center electrode: Ferrocen:
6 ratings. Cause: Failure to observe spark plug replacement intervals. Firmly adhering reddish orange deposits coat the insulator nose,
Effects: Ignition miss, especially during acceleration (ignition electrodes and to some extent the spark plug shell.
voltage not adequate for bridging wider electrode gap). Cause: Fuel additives containing iron. Deposits occur in normal
Starting difficulties. operation after a few thousand kilometers.
Spark plug concepts. Remedy: New spark plugs. Effect: The iron in the coating is electrically conductive and causes
7 misfiring.
Air gap design: Remedy: New spark plugs, cleaning has no effect.
The ignition spark travels along
a direct path to the ground
electrode and thus ignites the Severe lead deposits: Ground electrode wear:
1 Al2O3 ceramic insulator,
air-fuel mixture. Thick, brownish-yellow glaze, thick in some places, possibly Cause: Corrosive fuel and oil additives. Unfavourable flow conditions
2 Nickel-plated spark plug shell,
with greenish tint, has formed on the insulator nose. in combustion chamber, possibly on account of deposits, engine
3 Heat-shrinkage zone,
Cause: Fuel additives containing lead. The glaze forms when knocking. No thermal overload.
4 Conductive glass seal,
the engine is operated at high loads after extended part- Effect: Misfiring, particularly on acceleration (ignition voltage no
5 Captive gasket, Surface gap design:
throttle operation. longer­sufficient for large electrode gap). Poor starting performance.
6 Compound center electrode The layout of the ground electro-
Effects: At high loads the glaze becomes electrically conduc- Remedy: New spark plugs.
(copper and nickel), des is such that only surface air
7 Ground electrode. tive, leading to ignition miss.
gap sparks, which are particu-
Remedy: New spark plugs, cleaning them is pointless.
larly long and powerful, can be
formed.
Ash formation: Cracking of insulator nose:
Thick ash coating from oil and fuel additives on insulator nose, Cause: Mechanical damage due to inexpert handling. In borderline
Surface air gap design: in scavenging area (annular orifice) and on ground electrode. cases ‒ particularly following excessive operating time ‒ cracking of
This design combines both spark Loose to cinder-like structure. insulator nose may be caused by deposits between center electrode
paths. Both air gap sparks and Cause: Alloying constituents, particularly from oil, may deposit­ and insulator nose and by corrosion of center electrode.
surface air gap sparks ignite the such ash in the combustion chamber and on the spark plug Effect: Misfiring, sparkover at points not reliably supplied with fresh
air-fuel mixture. face. mixture.
Effect: Can lead to auto-ignition with loss of power and engine Remedy: New spark plugs.
damage.
Remedy: Repair engine. Use new spark plugs and possibly
different­oil.
© 2011 Robert Bosch GmbH (AA/COM) ‒ 0112-1-1108-En.