Spark plug fouling is a common problem when vehicles are repeatedly operated for very short periods, particularly at low temperatures. This paper describes a test procedure which uses a series of short, high-load drive cycles to assess plug fouling under realistic conditions. The engine is force cooled between drive cycles in order to increase test throughput. Spark plug resistance is shown to be a poor indicator of the effect of fouling on engine performance and the rate of misfiring is given as an alternative measure. An automated technique to detect misfires from engine speed data is described. This has been used to investigate the effect of spark plug type, fuelling level and spark timing on fouling. Spark plugs which are designed to run hotter are found to be more resistant to plug fouling. Isolated adjustments to fuelling level and spark timing calibrations within the range providing acceptable performance have a weak effect on susceptibility to plug fouling. These effects are synergetic, and when fuelling and spark timing are both optimised this susceptibility is reduced substantially compared to cases when production calibration values have been used.


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    Title :

    The Use of Vehicle Drive Cycles to Assess Spark Plug Fouling Performance


    Additional title:

    Sae Technical Papers


    Contributors:
    Dixon, J. (author) / Shayler, P. J. (author) / Isaacs, R. M. (author)

    Conference:

    1994 Subzero Engineering Conditions Conference and Exposition ; 1994



    Publication date :

    1994-02-01




    Type of media :

    Conference paper


    Type of material :

    Print


    Language :

    English




    The use of vehicle drive cycles to assess spark plug fouling performance

    Shayler,P.J. / Dixon,J. / Isaacs,R.M. et al. | Automotive engineering | 1994


    SPARK-PLUG FOULING STUDIES

    Greenshields, R.J. | SAE Technical Papers | 1953


    Spark-plug fouling analysis

    Rabezzana, H. | Engineering Index Backfile | 1935


    The assessment of spark plug fouling propensity through vehicle drive cycle tests

    Shayler, P.J. / Dixon, J. / Isaacs, R. | Tema Archive | 1993


    Spark-plug fouling in aircraft engines

    Yust, V.E. | Engineering Index Backfile | 1950