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How to Clean Fouled Plugs
How to Clean Fouled Plugs. Spark plugs are used in many types of internal combustion engines found in lawn mowers, generators and cars. They use an electrode to create a spark, which then ignites the fuel. If too much fuel is in the system, or if the engine's valves are sticking, the plugs can foul out. This causes the spark to either die down or...
Spark plugs are used in many types of internal combustion engines found in lawn mowers, generators and cars. They use an electrode to create a spark, which then ignites the fuel. If too much fuel is in the system, or if the engine's valves are sticking, the plugs can foul out. This causes the spark to either die down or not work at all, making the engine run poorly. To solve the problem, the best option is to replace the plugs. If you don't have that choice, you can attempt to clean them, which takes a few minutes.
Things You'll Need
Gasoline
Spray bottle
Towel
Emery cloth
Spark plug gapping tool
Place the spark plug in a clean environment, away from any flammable materials. Pour a small amount of gasoline -- less than a cup -- into the spray bottle.
Locate the tip of the spark plug, which is the end with the ground electrode near the threaded portion of the plug. Spray the tip of the spark plug with the gasoline to clean off any carbon that may be present. Allow the spark plug to air dry.
Sand the end of the plug with the emery cloth until any carbon and sand deposits are removed and the plug is clean. Gap the spark plug to the specifications for your particular engine using the spark plug gapping tool.
Tips & Warnings
It's not always possible to clean a fouled plug, so if you are depending on this engine for one reason or another, it's important to keep spare plugs handy. Cleaning doesn't work on platinum-tipped spark plugs, as you risk sanding off the platinum coating. These plugs are typically only found in newer automobiles though, so if you're working on a lawn mower or other small engine it shouldn't be a problem.
Never smoke or have an open flame nearby while you're working with gasoline. If you do, you risk causing a fire and damaging yourself.
