If you understand the car to a certain extent, then I think you should understand that spark plugs are a very important component. They play an almost key role in the operation of the engine of any car. By their condition, you can easily determine how well the engine itself is working.

If you change them in time, as well as clean them in a timely manner, then the engine of your car will work at the proper level. So, spark plugs must be operated correctly, and, as they say, with skill.

But, such exploitation is practically impossible if you do not know how they work and what they consist of. All this should be known in order to change them at least in time.

We change spark plugs. When and why should this be done?

If you will know general principle operation of any spark plugs, you will be able to competently respond to increased fuel consumption. This knowledge will help you detect some dangerous malfunctions that can directly affect the engine. That is, you simply do not ruin him, but save his "health".

If you fill in low-quality fuel, or not what is supposed to be for your car, the candles will not last long. Under normal use, they last a long time. If we measure their service life by mileage indicators, then these figures usually range from 25 to 35 thousand kilometers of almost any car.

When to change spark plugs?

Spark plugs must be checked. Do it regularly. The quality of work of any candle is determined by the thermal cone of the insulator (its appearance) and electrodes. If the candles are working properly, then the cone should be clean, without any soot. Its color may be different, but usually it is an intermediate color from light tones. gray color, and to brown.

If the spark plugs on your car are not working well, this is usually determined by a number of symptoms.

There may be soot. If it is wet and black, then the oil level in your car's crankcase is too high.

Also, it can be a sign of worn piston rings or even cylinders.

With black soot, but already dry, the ignition usually works late.

Early ignition is usually indicated by a dry white insulator.

For any candles, it is important to choose the right glow number. If you choose it incorrectly, then they will not self-clean. So it is not at all surprising that they are covered with soot.

Also, it is quite possible that the insulator will simply collapse. Candles, with their self-cleaning from soot, work for a longer time. At the same time, plaque on them is formed much more slowly. This can be achieved if the lower part of the cone of candles will constantly work at a temperature in the range of 500-600 degrees Celsius.

The gap level, which is necessarily present between the electrodes of the candle, should always be normal. If this level is violated, the candles will not work correctly, and this will certainly lead to other problems.

This level must be monitored, and it must always be within the factory limits. If the gap increases, then the ignition coil can simply fail. But a small gap, this is the wrong operation of the cylinders. Passes will form, and much more fuel will be consumed.

The clearance level can be adjusted by hand. To do this, simply bend the side electrode. How much this needs to be done can be determined with a probe cylindrical shape. In such a simple way, they achieve the desired gap, which then you must definitely try to maintain.

Candle cleaning. How to do it?

Spark plugs must be cleaned. An ordinary metal brush copes well with soot. True, she needs to clean the candles quite carefully. The insulator should not be damaged in this case. If you damage its surface, the candle will no longer work.

Cleaning with chemicals is more effective. To begin with, the candles should be thoroughly rinsed in gasoline. So you degrease them. Next, they are dried and dipped in a special solution. This is ammonium acetate, a concentration of 20%. The temperature of this solution should be more than 90 degrees, again on the Celsius scale.

It will take about half an hour, and you can clean the candles. For this, they take no longer metal brush, but kapron. After cleaning, the candles are washed in plain hot water and dried again well.

Such chemical cleaning should only be done outdoors, because such a solution in a hot state is quite dangerous. In this state, it actively emits vapors of the well-known acetic acid.

Cleaning candles should be done after driving every 10-15 thousand kilometers. If you do not drive so much even in a year, then once every six months you still need to do this.

We clean the candles household chemicals

It happens that candles are covered with a red coating. Gasoline is to blame if it contains additives with a metal content above the norm. This leads to a decrease in the dielectric properties of the entire insulator. At the same time, it is simply damaged, and the candle itself becomes unusable.

But, anyway, you don’t need to throw out the candles right away, because such a raid can be completely “neutralized”. This can be done with household chemicals, which contain hydrochloric acid. This, for example, is "Toilet Duck", but the marking on it must be "Active".

It is imperative to use gloves for such cleaning, because you are still working with hydrochloric acid. You can pour "Duckling" in plastic bottle, which we cut to the level we need.

suitable for this and glassware. Candles are not just thrown into the solution. They are immersed there carefully, always at an angle. The skirt of the candle should be pointing down. The slope allows the air to completely exit the plug cavity during this immersion.

It will take literally 10 minutes, and the plaque on the candle will get wet. Further, it is easily cleaned with a simple toothbrush. But, it is quite possible that the soot during this short time will not immediately go away. Then we do it all over again.

But, if such an aggressive agent acts on the candle for too long, then their anti-corrosion coating may deteriorate. When you do remove the plaque, the remnants of the "Duckling" must be washed off with water.

When you dry the candles after that, you do not need to do this on a gas burner. Many people think that candles will not suffer with this drying method. But, this will simply destroy your candles, and all the work to clean them will come to naught. It is best to dry them with an ordinary (not even industrial) hair dryer.

Such cleaning of candles and their proper drying, practically return them to their original qualities. But, anyway, you will have to change the candles, because any product serves a strictly defined time. And when replacing candles, you need to know how to choose them.

Choosing new candles to replace old ones. How to do it right?

New candles that you are going to purchase must be fully in accordance with design features engine of your car. Almost everything is fake today. Spark plugs are also among these items.

If we talk about fakes, then usually such craftsmen "mow" under very well-known brands. This must be taken into account.

When you choose new candles for yourself, then pay attention to the material of the central electrode. If it is platinum or iridium, then such candles will work much better than those whose electrode is made of tungsten. True, and they will cost more.

Replacing spark plugs is a fairly simple process. So, it is quite possible to do everything with your own hands, and not go to the service station, and not give your money for it. If you decide to carry out the replacement on your own, then first apply grease with anti-corrosion properties to the new candles.

Before you turn out the old candles (do this with a special key - a candle), be sure to remove the cap from the insulator. We carry out the whole procedure slowly so that the thread remains intact. The cap is put back after installing a new candle. It should also be twisted carefully.

New spark plugs must be exactly the right size for your car. When you change them, the possible dirt (and, it is almost always present) around the old candle should not get into the combustion chamber in any way.

Making candles with your own hands is very interesting! This will be confirmed by any needlewoman who has melted paraffin at least once, added aroma oils or dyes to it and poured all this splendor into various jars and flasks) own experience(albeit not very large) I can say that having made one candle, I immediately want to take up another. Well, there is something mysterious and attractive in this process) If you don’t take my word for it, then try to make your first decorative candle yourself!

So, we need the following materials:

Candle stubs and all sorts of leftovers (can be the same color or different colors, but it's still best to be shades of the same color, such as white, pink and red)
form for pouring candles (plastic, paper, glass, etc.)
a vessel for melting paraffin (I have a tin of green peas)
water bath container
cinnamon sticks
flavored tea, dried berries and so on.
vegetable oil
wick from ready-made candles or floss for a wick
a few toothpicks (pencils, brushes, etc.)

Having prepared everything necessary materials, proceed to the preparation of paraffin for melting.

This is what my old candles looked like:

Those in glass coasters, I put for a few minutes in a water bath, and after the paraffin melted, I poured it into a tin can. Naturally, I removed the remnants of the old wick.

The rest of the candles just put in hot water so that they soften and it is easier to cut them into small pieces.

As soon as the candles become warm and soft, we take them out and cut them into small pieces so that they melt faster (my large candles turned out to be white inside))

Next, put the pieces of paraffin in a jar for melting and put in a water bath. True, I safely forgot about it and put the jar directly on the fire) Nothing terrible happened, the paraffin melted pretty quickly.

While the paraffin is melting, we proceed to prepare the molds for pouring. I used glass candlesticks, which have already accumulated a lot)

In a larger mold, I first put cinnamon sticks.

Then lubricated the inner walls vegetable oil and sprinkled with tea leaves. Tea is the most common, strawberry)

By the way, if you want to make an aroma candle, then choose a fragrance that matches the color of the candle so that there is no disharmony in the sensations.

As a result, it turned out like this:

In the meantime, the paraffin will most likely melt and it will be possible to fill it. Do this carefully, using potholders and coasters.

After filling the bottom with a small amount of melted paraffin, we proceed to fix the wick. If you want to use the candle directly for its intended purpose, that is, to light it, then it is better to attach the wick to the very bottom of the mold so that the candle burns evenly to the end. I originally made a decorative candle, so I have a wick rather for clarity, so that it is clear that this is a candle)

As a result, from a bunch of old candles, I got 5 new and even beautiful ones)

It really takes a little time to remake candles. Try and you do decorative candles with your own hands!