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General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> Bad SparkPlug? *PIC* UPDATE*
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Message started by a56kuser on 04/13/05 at 22:14:12

Title: Bad SparkPlug? *PIC* UPDATE*
Post by a56kuser on 04/13/05 at 22:14:12

hey i finally managed to get hte spark plug out....
my bike has some starting problems and it would crank but it wouldnt start up......first thing i thought it was a bad spark plug but i wanted to get your opinion on this first
heres what it looks like...... its pretty bad but do you think this would cause my bike from not starting?? oh and when i smelt it , it smelt like Oil.... is that normal?
any help would be great thanks
http://www2.hawaii.edu/~lynelle/Images/sparkplug.jpg

Title: Re: Bad SparkPlug? *PIC*
Post by WD on 04/13/05 at 22:30:12

Change the plug. The center electrode looks like it is rounded off. Rounded electrode produces a very weak spark, sometimes no spark at all. Plugs are cheap, if you get it at an auto parts store instead of a bike dealership. A slight oil smell is not that unusual, most vehicles used plugs will smell like burnt oil. There is no such thing as a perfectly sealed cylinder, there will always be a slight oil vapor come up from the crankcase or in through the intake valve. Your plug doesn't appear to have an abnormally high amount of oil fouling. It just looks like a worn out plug.

FYI, I have had my Savage for just over 7 years. It is on plug number 5 I think, but it has sat up for over 3.5 years. When mine wouldn't start, throw in a new plug. Would always fire off with a new plug. The Savage is a "lean burn" powerplant. Lean burn engines tend to wear out sparkplugs fairly rapidly. Lean fuel charge is extremely hot, and the heat is what erodes the electrode tip.
-WD

Title: Re: Bad SparkPlug? *PIC*
Post by a56kuser on 04/13/05 at 22:47:28

thanks for the info...ill go and buy the spark plug tomorrow.

Title: Re: Bad SparkPlug? *PIC*
Post by WD on 04/13/05 at 22:52:56

If your battery is good and hot, then the old plug should be the problem. BUT, before you put the new plug in the head, I suggest you test it. Hook the lead to the plug, use insulated channel locks or such to hold the plug against a cylinder fin, and have someone hit the starter button. If you don't have someone to help, you'll need to cable tie the clutch to the grip, otherwise the engine won't crank (stupid safety switch nonsense). The plug should produce a fat blue-white spark. If the new plug is gapped right and you get any other spark color, you need to do some further testing. But, my money is on the old plug. My wife's 800 Intruder is the same way, once the plugs gets 6 months to a year on them, time for new plugs.
-WD

Title: Re: Bad SparkPlug? *PIC*
Post by sluggo on 04/13/05 at 23:47:33

WD wrote:

Hook the lead to the plug, use insulated channel locks or such to hold the plug against a cylinder fin, and have someone hit the starter button. -WD

it's actually funner to watch as the button pusher if theydon't use insulated channel locks. ;D

ok i'm a sick b.

Title: Re: Bad SparkPlug? *PIC*
Post by klx650sm2002 on 04/14/05 at 02:48:43

If You are changing the plug try iridium, I use a DPR9EIX-9, You would probably want an 8, the second 9 is just the plug gap it comes with in 1/10ths of a mm.

Clive W :D

Title: Re: Bad SparkPlug? *PIC*
Post by Red_Wine on 04/14/05 at 06:42:30

sluggo wrote:

it's actually funner to watch as the button pusher if theydon't use insulated channel locks. ;D

ok i'm a sick b.

been there, done & seen that ;D ;D ;D

I'm another sick SOB ;D

RW

Title: Re: Bad SparkPlug? *PIC*
Post by a56kuser on 04/14/05 at 11:31:03

wow it seems like there is alot of different type of spark plugs i could use..... the only place i have local around here is a checkers auto and some moped shop.......hopefully they have something i can use.

Title: Re: Bad SparkPlug? *PIC* UPDATE*
Post by a56kuser on 04/14/05 at 16:20:30

hey everyone i managed to get ahold of the NGK spark plug (bought 2 just incase) replaced it and first crank the bike started up... Thanks to everyone that helped.. now we know what a bad spark plug could look like lol.

Title: Re: Bad SparkPlug? *PIC*
Post by Lee on 04/14/05 at 19:01:52

<The center electrode looks like it is rounded off. >

Man, you must have a great set of eyes! I can't even see the electrode in that picture.

Being old sucks!

Lee

Title: Re: Bad SparkPlug? *PIC* UPDATE*
Post by Paladin on 04/14/05 at 19:44:08

http://savage.andruschak.net/FTP/pluggap.jpgThe Gap, enhanced.

Title: Re: Bad SparkPlug? *PIC* UPDATE*
Post by a56kuser on 04/14/05 at 20:33:49

for future purposes here is a clearer shot
http://www2.hawaii.edu/~lynelle/Images/sparkplug2.jpg

Title: Re: Bad SparkPlug? *PIC* UPDATE*
Post by WD on 04/15/05 at 01:06:28

If you look REAL close, you'll see a slight slope, and the edges are no longer "crisp" 90 degree angles. And in the up close picture, you can tell the sidestrap ( L shaped electrode) has a worn center. Savage (at least mine), and VS800 Intruder (at least my wife's) are extremely touchy where the plug is concerned.
-WD

Oh, and I have crappy vision, my glasses scrip is almost 6 years old. I've just changed hundreds of bike plugs over the years, so a slight anomaly tends to jump out at me. Comes from having had way too many touchy bikes come through my shops.

Title: Re: Bad SparkPlug? *PIC* UPDATE*
Post by Lee on 04/15/05 at 15:08:38

Much better picture. Even I can see it now.

Is that a normal amount of carbon fluff for a Savage?

Title: Re: Bad SparkPlug? *PIC* UPDATE*
Post by Greg_650 on 04/16/05 at 08:02:01

Good closeup shot.

Not saying that isn't the problem, but I don't think the electrodes on that plug are really that bad. It is just an old rusty plug that was rode hard and put up wet. It was probably running just fine when it was parked, but time took its toll. That's all.

Title: Re: Bad SparkPlug? *PIC* UPDATE*
Post by WD on 04/16/05 at 19:56:18

For some reason, newer plugs don't seem tohold up very well. My 49 Dodge truck had 1960's plugs in it when I got it back onthe road in 94. They fired off the engine with no problem. My Savage, my wife's Intruder, and my 69 Dodge truck, all with modern plugs, go 3-6 months, and start running rough. At 6 months, change the plugs and they run great again. Very starnge, plugs shuold be higher quality with the "improved materials and manufacturing processes". My 85 Celica GT-S, change the plugs every 3 months, no ifs ands or buts about it. I guess plug technology can'tkeep up with ever changing fuel blends, burn rates, higher combustion chamber temps, etc.

You're right, that plug would be fine in an older engine. I used to run HD plugs until the electrode was worn almost completely away with no problems. Ditto my 85 F250 with a 460 V8.
-WD

Title: Re: Bad SparkPlug? *PIC* UPDATE*
Post by Greg_650 on 04/17/05 at 07:27:43

WD wrote:

I dunno. I have no older engines.

...my '99 Malibu with 217K has only had 2 sets of plugs. My '01 Dodge Ram with 70K is on the originals (have new ones already, just not installed), my '00 Savage is running on a 3 year old plug, and my spouse's '01 is running on a 3 year old plug too (changed at the same time, for no reason)...oh yeah, I changed the wires in the Malibu too.

I can't explain your bad luck with plugs, and unfortunately it seems that you spend a lot of time changing them...any ideas why?

Title: Re: Bad SparkPlug? *PIC* UPDATE*
Post by WD on 04/17/05 at 16:12:51

Because I drive like a maniac and use cheap gas?
-WD

Title: Re: Bad SparkPlug? *PIC* UPDATE*
Post by Red_Wine on 04/18/05 at 12:09:37

WD wrote:

Because I drive like a maniac and use cheap gas?
-WD

That explains it all..... ;D

RW

Title: Re: Bad SparkPlug? *PIC* UPDATE*
Post by lancer on 04/18/05 at 16:56:57

Maniacs of the world unite!