Covington Auto Repair

If you have ever wondered whether your diesel truck has spark plugs, you are not alone. Spark plugs and glow plugs sound similar, and both live in the cylinder head, but they do very different jobs. Knowing how each one works helps you understand cold start issues, misfires, and why the maintenance schedule is not the same for gas and diesel vehicles. How Gasoline Engines Use Spark Plugs Gasoline engines rely on a controlled spark to ignite the air-fuel mixture. Each cylinder has a spark plug threaded into the head, and an ignition coil sends high voltage to jump the gap at the tip of the plug. That tiny spark happens thousands of times per minute while you drive, and timing has to be very precise for smooth power and good fuel economy. Spark plugs live in a tough environment. Heat, pressure, and combustion deposits slowly wear the electrodes and insulator. As the gap gets wider and the tip gets dirty, the spark becomes weaker and less consistent. That is when you s ... read more