When the starter turns over the engine, the engine draws air and fuel into each cylinder. The starter then sends an electrical signal through each spark plug wire so each spark plug will ignite the air and fuel in each cylinder. This starts the engine. Once the engine is running, air and fuel continuously flow into the cylinders and the spark plugs continuously ignite it. Here’s what happens when the spark plugs go bad.
Hard/No Starts
If the spark plugs are unable to produce sparks, your engine will not start. If some of the spark plugs can produce sparks, your engine will be difficult to start. The spark plugs are fired by the engine control module, and they are fired in a specific order. This ignites the air and fuel efficiency and allows for the efficient production of combustion in the combustion chamber.
Misfiring/Stalling
Let’s assume for the moment that you are able to get your car started; some of the spark plugs are firing. Unfortunately, because not all of the plugs are firing, you will end up with a misfiring engine. What this means is that one or more of the cylinders does not have the air and fuel in it ignited. This causes your engine to cut out and stall.
Rough Idling
This also causes the engine to idle roughly. In fact, this may be the time at which you realize something is wrong. When you are sitting at a stop, it is easy to feel how smoothly the engine is running. If it is cutting out, your vehicle will jerk. You will also hear the engine stop for a brief second. This means it has hit a cylinder that did not ignite the air and fuel.
Lagging/Surging
You will also have problems when the vehicle is in motion. If the engine is not firing on all cylinders, your acceleration and movement will lag. If the engine is firing too often in each cylinder, the vehicle will surge forward in a jerking motion. This is called surging.
Poor Economy
Unfortunately, the engine is not running efficiently. As such, you will get poor fuel mileage while you are driving your automobile. If you are on a tight budget, this can make things difficult because you will have to fill the tank more often.
To keep your engine running efficiently, bring your car, SUV, or truck to our shop every 30,000 miles for the factory-scheduled services. This allows us to replace the spark plugs if they need it.