The Spark plugs are the crucial components of an engine that generate electricity to ignite the fuel-air mixture inside the vehicle for producing energy. Most OE spark plugs have a life of more than 100,000 miles. Throughout the journey, your clean spark plugs can turn into black spark plugs.
Black spark plugs indicate your spark plug going bad. Of course, a bad spark plug would be the biggest problem for your cars.
Why Does Spark Plug Turn Black?
The most common issue could be if your spark plugs are old enough and have carbon buildup on them the way may not be able to fully burn the fuel mixture. This can lead your spark to black. Cause every spark plug to have a limited lifespan and turn black over time.
Here we are going to focus on some keystone points that make spark plugs black. In particular, spark plugs can blacken altogether or only by one or two of the set. Also, the spark plug can turn black only on one side or to the entire diameter.
Generally, The causes of this can be low-quality fuel, Besides problems with ignition. Moreover, the incompatibility of the air-fuel mixture. Carbon Monoxide is caused by partially burning fuel. In its tiny form, a fuel molecule can be compared to a fire log. If you put 1 fire log in a pit and let it burn efficiently with enough oxygen to support combustion it would leave white ash on the outside as it burns to the core. If it continued to burn efficiently, it would leave nothing but a tiny amount of white ash.
The black on your plug is the outer carbon shell. If your mixture has never burnt well, you can wipe off the black carbon and find nothing but more black carbon.
Sometimes Water can be the cause. It is very rare actually if water can get into the engine. But make no mistake first, when you wash your car or motorcycle, water may enter the air filter and inundate the filter area.
Another thing that could make your spark plugs black it’s your air filter. if you haven’t replaced your air filter in such a prolonged time it can get plugged up with dirt over time.in case the engine is not able to consume air easily this can cause the engine to compensate with declining fuel in the combustion process.
What does it mean when spark plugs are black?
if you notice that your engine is not working well that used to serve you before and found your spark plug black. You may gonna fall into some trouble. Generally, when the spark plug turns to the blackened engine leads you to cost more money which means that it is pumping in more fuel.
What Will Happen if The Spark Plugs Turn Black?
Engine Misfires
An engine misfire results in the engine stopping for a moment and then regaining its normal operation. This is most recognizable when accelerating or when the car is idle.
This means the engine is not functioning as smoothly as it should because one or more spark plugs are not firing properly. However, unless the spark plugs are replaced the new converter could soon fail. Engine misfires can be caused by a list of faults, but there are a few suspects that occur more than others. The primary culprit is simple – spark or fuel or the fuel-delivery system.
2. Spark Plugs misshaped
If your spark plugs are not gapped correctly it will lead you to massive trouble. Gapping is mandatory for every vehicle while there are different gaps for different engines. Spark plugs that are not gapped properly will cause the engine to either skip firing or ignite too soon in the compression stroke. When the black coat warps the spark plug tip it reduces the spark plug gap.
The gap between the center and side electrodes of a spark plug must be an exact distance; otherwise, your plugs don’t fire efficiently. Improperly gapped spark plugs cannot remove heat from the cylinder ignition chamber.
How To Clean A Spark Plug?
For better performance, a clean spark plug is mandatory for all types of vehicles. A normal spark plug will have brown on the side electrode. Everything is just fine with your spark plug; you can check and reinstall the spark plug.
There are several methods to clean spark plugs. However, there is no such thing called a spark plug cleaning liquid as that’s not the way to clean the plug.
Cleaning the Spark Plug With Sandpaper is the most known method to remove black from spark plugs. few steps to clean with sandpaper.
Firstly, you have the spark plug out, using a piece of fine sandpaper gently sand it.
Secondly, If the gap is large enough, fold the sandpaper in half, slide it between the arm and the electrode and slide it back and forth.
Finally, Blow off the sanded areas with an air hose or a burst of hair.
Sometimes detergent could help you out to clean your black spark plug. While you only need Lil bit of detergent, a plastic cup, and a toothbrush. The only thing you have to do is pour some detergent into the cup and then drown the spark plug into the detergent(without an insulator). Leave it there for 30-40 minutes. after that clean it with warm water and brush it. it will remove your rust. then dry it with a towel. In the end, heat it with a hair dryer or in an oven.
Read also: Why Spark Plugs Get Wet With Oil, Water, Gas Or Petrol?
