s2rx7

How do you tell if your spark plugs are fowled.
What symptoms are there? Starting, Running, Idle, Stalling problems?

peejay

Very difficult if not impossible to start, feels like it's running on one rotor (because it is), no power, no idle. Generally having fouled plugs in one rotor will cause the plugs in the other one to foul out too if you can't clear it out quickly enough. Then you have an engine that is basically flooded and you need to yank the plugs on the side of the road, generally when it's below freezing (because that's when it's easiest to foul plugs) and when you're late for work (Murphy's Law).

Jeff20B

iTrader: (13)

The plugs may have developed some carbon deposit on the insulator of the center electrode which allows the spark an easier path to go down through rather than straight across the gap.

I had a decent looking set of BR8EQ-14s do that to me. I threw in some used BUR7EQs in the leading holes since I was using DLIDFIS, and it fired up in like 3 seconds of cranking, and I had just rebuilt this engine! Yes, I'm too cheap to buy new plugs, even for a rebuild. At least it gave me an opportunity to try 2nd gen plugs. I also threw two known-working used BR8EQ-14s in the trailing holes.

I've now learned to always bench test used spark plugs to see is they have the dreaded carbon path. It costs less than bying new plugs.