“Reading” Spark Plugs

[Red Morris]

I was doing a basic service on my car last night and as my mind wandered waiting for oil to drain, I thought about the things you can supposedly learn from spark plugs. My level of reading stops at “There’s oil on this one. That’s probably not good”. Most good maintenance come from spotting developing problems so they don’t become a roadside disaster, so I for one would love to have another way of letting my engine talk to me.

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[EricTheCarGuy]

Good suggestion. These days plug reading doesn’t apply the way it used to though. As you suggest, the only thing you can really see is if the cylinder is burning oil or not. Otherwise, a scanner with live data capability can tell you if you’re running rich or lean by reading the short and long term fuel values. That said, if there is an issue, the CEL will set and tell you where to look for the problem.

Once again good suggestion but given the above information I’m not sure how I would fit it into context. In addition, in order make that video, I’d like to have a sample of plugs with the problems they might represent. At this time I don’t have enough plugs to show in the video. This leaves me little material to work with. I’ll still be on the lookout for them though.

Thanks for the suggestion.

[Red Morris]

Yeah, I hadn’t thought about it when I posted, but I guess it would only help the DIYer who doesn’t have scan tools. Nor had I thought that a lot of the cars you see are probably not in a bad shape. Plug wise. If you do start a collection of plugs for a later video I will be sure to see it. I watch them all ☺

[EricTheCarGuy]

I appreciate your viewership. In the mean time I’ll collect plugs. Also know that in many of my ‘service’ videos I cover some issues you might see on plugs, mostly burning oil.

Thanks again for the suggestion.

[Author]

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