3 Signs That Your Car May Be Suffering From Bad Spark Plugs
When it comes to car problems, the spark plugs are often overlooked as a source of trouble. Yet these ubiquitous components can actually get up to a lot of trouble. If you would like to learn more about recognizing potential spark plug problems, read on. This article will discuss three commonly encountered symptoms.
Poor Acceleration
As you are probably aware, an automobile's engine works through the combustion of a mixture of gasoline and air in the high pressure environment of the cylinders. This combustion is initiated by your car's ignition system—in other words, the spark plugs. The spark plugs utilize electrical energy to generate the spark necessary to ignite the mixture of fuel and air.
Unfortunately, the spark plugs in an automobile simply aren't as durable as the other components that make up an engine. Over time, such factors as repeated overheating, contamination by oil, and build-up of carbon products reduce the effectiveness of the spark plugs. This in turn leads to a reduction of the motor's capabilities—especially where acceleration is concerned.
Misfiring Engine
A misfiring engine can easily be detected by the fact that it will cause your car to take on a jerky, stuttering movement. Likewise, you may notice a marked decrease in the power of your engine. While this problem may be caused by a range of different fuel or ignition-related problems, by far the most common is a faulty spark plug.
When a spark plug fails to ignite, the related cylinder will not undergo combustion. This leads to an uneven distribution of force within the engine, which is why this problem most often manifests as an unusual jerking sensation. The uncombusted fuel also causes an increase in the amount of toxic gases given off by your car's exhaust system.
Where spark plugs are concerned, this problem is often caused by a problem with the wire that connects the spark plug to the ignition coil. Usually this wire has either become corroded or broken somewhere along its length. Fortunately, once the issue has been diagnosed, correcting it is as simple as replacing the defective spark plug.
Decreased Fuel Efficiency
A spark plug that isn't working means that gasoline isn't being properly combusted inside of your engine. As you can imagine, this means that you simply won't be getting as much bang for your buck, where fuel is concerned. In other words, you will likely notice that your car's fuel economy has begun to taper off inexplicably. Be sure to mention this to your mechanic, who will help to determine whether a bad spark plug is the culprit behind the problem.
For more information, contact companies like 195 Auto Parts.