Yeah I never thought to get out a multimeter and test resistance. That is fantastic to know. I’ll put a link to this video from mine. The higher resistance might explain why the plugs were burning out my coils.
Although the resistance of the fake ones was all over the show, it's just a matter of time when they also get this into control making it even more difficult to spot. I hate these counterfeiters
Thank you ! I'm from Chile and I've just bought the same spark plugs here . Got my multimeter and ran the same tests and they were fake indeed!!!! Owe you a big one !!! I've just saved my engine from a potential torn up. You Rock!
Wow, I had no idea that about fake NGK plugs. My plugs arrived today. I watched this video and ran to the shop for my VOM. 4.57 to 4.73 k. Thanks for helping us all out.
YOU SAVED ME !!! Came across your video and decided to watch it and scrutinize the NGK’s that I bought on eBay that I was about to install in my BMW 330 CI and to my surprise they are indeed fakes! Went and got a real set from my local auto parts store, cost a little bit more, but they have all the hallmarks of genuine NGK‘s! I can’t thank you enough for this very helpful video. Thank you.
When measuring resistance don’t touch both leads. Your body creates a parallel path and it will bias your readings. Often it won’t matter but a good practice for when it does.
I was curious about the internal resistor, since I'd never heard about that. Found a really good pic. on the NGK site, which labeled it as a "glass resistor". That helps explain what a veteran mechanic told me, "When you drop a spark plug, always drop it twice". The second time is when you drop it into the garbage can, because it might have an internal or hairline ceramic fracture that will result in premature failure.
Very good video, and excellent consumer protection/Public Service! I thought I was saving $ buying sets of 4 NGK iridium plugs on Amazon for ~ $25 My dealer pulled my plugs while diagnosing my cars running issues. I didn’t have time to order cheap ones, didn’t want to pay dealer markup, so picked up a set at a local parts place. Car definitely ran better with the locally sourced set. Started to think that cheap plugs on Amazon were likely knock offs, and you confirmed it! Thanks 🙏
I learned from my own mistake a couple of years ago. Around half price you'd pay elsewhere, set of 4 NGK Iridium from Ebay. 6,000km, the car went back to running rough, hesitating as before installing the new plugs. This made me assume something else was failing. After new coil, leads and some messing around with no improvement, I pulled the 'new' plugs out, and found the center electrodes burnt down to almost nothing. A set of confirmed genuine plugs later, and I've so far had 30,000km of trouble free driving.
I recently bought a high mileage Camry as a project car for my channel. From over 10 years in the automotive aftermarket I knew there were counterfeit parts; but I had no idea how prolific the counterfeit Toyota parts were. Luckily for me, the Toyota dealer was not even $10 more for me than AutoZone with my commercial account for all the plugs and filters for my car. I'm really glad that people are bringing attention to this problem.
I just checked mine from AutoZone and they're all good. Well known auto parts stores are probably going to be very careful about getting the real ones. Of course thieves anywhere in the supply chain could swap them out for fakes. Even Toyota could fall victim.
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This vid is SO GOOD that it should be listed under the official NGK channel!
Bought some fake ones off of Amazon as well. Installed them on my pathfinder and after a few months read an article about fakes. Ended up inspecting them and sure enough they were fakes. Gaps increase by 50% only after a few thousand miles. Complained to Amazon and they denied my review to be published. Next time I will only buy plugs from a local shop. Good thing I caught this. Thanks for a great video!
I also noted from watching this video the color on LASER IRIDIUM , the box on the left in the beginning letters is lightly purple whereas the box on the right is darker purple and the M with the box on the left looks to have a purple hue to it and the box on the right has more of a gold look . The S on the left is half blue the one on the right barely has blue as well as the second i in iridium . The box on the right the colors also look much bolder .
I'm a graphic arts guy so those are the kinds of things that I was picking out. But I'd probably have to have a legit package to refer to. Generally the fake was using enlarged, fattened images that took up more of the surface of every side of the carton. The plug's top terminal looked chubby. The type faces were larger and bolder on just about everything. The UPS code takes up almost the full available height. The glaring difference was the diagram on how far to turn the plug. They added an extra "2/3" pie next to the "1/2" pie of the real ones. (Maybe their fake engineers insisted on that being included for driving safety ) I always wonder why they don't go to the trouble of taking another hour in fake design scrutiny to get those things correct. But that's in the nature of counterfeiters going for every penny of profit they can squeeze out of their victims. MUCH THANKS TO @dial2fast FOR THIS SEGMENT.
I have had troubles with spark plugs in motorized bike engines. I never thought to measure the resistor impedance. Your answer provides the the consistency values I was missing. Thanks for clearing up this mystery and giving me some way to prevent future errors.
Thank you for putting out this video. I wasn’t aware of the fake NGK spark plugs until I saw a random video on UTube pertaining to that subject. Your video is the only one I have seen that details how to check the resistance with a multimeter. This to me was the determining factor for authentication of the spark plugs as the only thing I had to compare them to was the old ones that I took out of the engine that had 134,500 miles on them. I chose the safe and most expensive route by buying the spark plugs from my local Auto Zone.
Very helpful....WOW. I just ordered a set from Walmart. Clearly says OEM NGK part. I will check them too. I hear some horror stories of fake plugs installed on Goldwing and the damage.
Wow thanks for sharing. Over the years I seen so many bad spark right out the box and I’ve realized most customers have been buying them from Canada tire, i didn’t think about fake plugs I just thought bad storage or bad quality control
Great video! I never realized they were making fake spark plugs until I received a set from eBay. Right away, I could see the finishing/machining was "off", and that's why looked online to see if indeed they were being knocked off. Can't believe it, but I received some FAKE PLUGS!! Glad I didn't install them!!
Year's ago I had the ground electrode seperate from the NGK Iridium spark plug in my 13B , destroyed the motor. I wish I had known about this back then. Thank you Sir.
I bought a set of these fake plugs. They sent me the wrong plugs and they didnt even receive them back, instead they refunded the money. I was gonig to sell them since I have bo need for them and thanks to your video Im putting them in the recycle bin as scrap. Thank you very much
Thanks. I will be trying the resistance trick today on the Ruthenium NGKs I just bought. Never thought about testing plugs before for being counterfit. Props to you, sorry you had to go through that.
Great video. Thank you. Among most of helpful videos teaching how to identify fake spark plugs, yours was the first one showing to use a multimeter to help this identification. Congrats.
There are actually many differences between the packages. However, you have to know how a real one looks like. Measuring the resistance is a good option also.
Good video! Bought fake NGK spark plugs from eBay thinking I got a good deal in less than a week my car was already misfiring and CEL was on and it also messed up my ignition coils! 🤬 Best to just buy direct and don't go cheap learn from my mistake.
I run a 1950s British motorbike with magneto ignition. That requires spark plugs without the resistor. A while back, I broke one of the two spark plugs, so I bought a pair of new ones (NGK BP6ES, from memory) from a local car parts shop. The engine had a persistent stutter, until I refitted the surviving old one and a B6ES cadged from a fellow rider. The stutter instantly disappeared.
NGK is certainly the most used spark plug brand in Brazil. In 2022, a large gang was discovered that counterfeited spark plugs made in China and packaged them in Brazil. The counterfeit was so similar to the genuine spark plugs that NGK participated in the investigative process to determine whether or not the spark plugs were manufactured by NGK. The most visible differences were in the printing brand as well as the threads tolerance. The material that was noticeably very inferior was the central electrode. Therefore, only after a good period of use did the buyer notice that the spark plug was being consumed much more quickly. Counterfeit iridium spark plugs were not found. The gang only counterfeited the lowest-cost spark plugs.
Thank you for all the information. Now I think I bought the fake spark plugs online because only $12 for 4 Iridium Spark Plugs that doesn't seen right price.
You are actually altering the resistance reading by holding both probes with your fingers, in essence sending some of the signal through your body, which is a very good conductor.
Wonderful video. I always test spark plugs resistance with a multimeter at my local parts store. Too risky to buy them online. Those fake plugs can ruin your coils too = expensive mistake
2 month ago I boghout 4 spark plugs for my toyota camery.(they were half price) and 3 weeks later the engins started to missfire in 2 cylinders. went to toyota dealer and bought original ons and problem solved. thank you for your video. i will check my spark plugs at the shop from now on.
Just checked my Denso resistor plugs, all were the same except for one a little higher at 5.9k ohm. Using cheap meter leads it was hard to get a accurate reading, pressing hard and using fluke leads measurement was spot on each time.
Thank you. This is very interesting and timely. A month ago I ordered two sets of 4 NGK Iridium plugs from Autozone online for about $30 per box, but they are still unable to fulfill the order, I keep getting a Being Processed response. While these were not immediately required at the time I ordered them, just planning the next timing update on my V8 engine, but this delay I am having may be related to this issue of a batch of fakes that they are dealing with. Now I can check my old set and the new set with confidence in how to better spot a fake of this brand.
It's pretty easy to spot the fake one: it's using the wrong font on the package. Pay attention to the eleven at the end of the model name on both. Left uses a custom font, right uses Arial.
Just checked a couple NGK spark plugs purchased at Advance Auto. For riding mower. Sharp YELLOW triangles on BOX...cost was ONLY $5 each...although up from $2.49 per receipt 2 years ago. Great info in video.
I'm waiting for a set of cheap NGK plugs that I ordered on eBay. Guess what the 1st think I'm going to do when they arrive. This is the 1st video I've seen that gives a definitive way to test for fake ones. Simply, consistent resistance. Thanks
Another problem with those plugs is the heat range is different. That can cause major problems as well. I believe I got a fake set of NGKs for my Kia online. I remember the ink being way darker then the original plugs I took out.
Thank you and I have had NKG plugs fail in my bike with less than 200 miles on them and yes I ordered that set of four from Amazon and they were like $10 or so cheaper compared to other sellers but I purchased replacements from a shop in this town where my bike broke down and what a time I had trying to figure out what the heck happened and what was going on but the only thing I did to my bike was service it and change the plugs before a trip we had planned so it was by luck I thought just maybe I broke a plug or something so we set out to find a place to get a set and try it and it was the plugs but they were not broke/cracked or anything but I was quite upset with NKG but your video just changed that bc I have always used NKG plugs in all my bikes and equipment and I vowed to never buy them again but I will return back to NKG plugs but will check and test my NKG’s before using them bc NKG has always been the very best prior to that day and I have had no success on finding a good replacement plug that compared to NKG and auto lite plugs are by far the worst I have ever used so thank you for posting this video
I recently bought a pack of x4 SK16R11 DENSO spark plugs. Seems really original but resistance values are: 4Kohms for one, 5K for 2 , and zéro Kohm for the last ! What à shame, directly in trash. I bought those for 45$. Thanks a lot for these information.
Thanks for this video, You've saved a lot of engines, need to name and shame all that are conserned. Its really sad that the world has come to this, people manufacturing supplying them, and selling them should all be held accountable, they need to understand that Oneday they will need a pacemaker to keep them alive and they will wonder if pacemaker is going to be genuine or a counterfeit.
OK. Good info. I appreciate your putting this info out. I keep reading stories and seeing videos about fake/bad parts being bought "online". BUT nobody says WHERE online they got the parts. If you are trying to help, CALL THEM OUT! Name the sites and the sellers. It doesn't do much good to put out information about bad parts along with how to tell if the parts someone already bought are bad. Tell us where the parts came from so we can avoid buying from that seller/store in the first place! I buy most of my parts online but I buy from a national parts supplier so I tend to trust them. But again, If someone bought a proven fake part from them, I'd want to know about it.
Take your coils voltage output and divide it by your resistance reading. That gives intensity. If you have resistor plug wires the should read less than 5k ohms per foot end to end. It does make a difference when chasing a misfire and the gap needs to be set and any update spec employed. I fixed a few using these facts. Corrected them instead of throwing parts at it, and getting cheap prices. That's huge for the whole equation.
Oh wow. I'm gonna go check iridium plugs I bought now. I generally only buy platinum. And now I'm thinking. Funny how the platinums I bought are more expensive then the iridium plugs. Maybe we should present such fraud to the Federal Trade Commission? Thank you for this education.
WOW! This is significant since many GDI engines require spark plugs to be indexed to the fuel injectors. However, most people will install to the specified torque, which will properly index the plug if it is genuine or OE. If fake plugs do not index properly at the specified torque, they can cause serious engine damage.
Great video. I would not hold something I am measuring in my hands as they are conductors too and can mess up the readings. When measuring make sure your body's resistance isn't interfering with your measurement. I am installing some NKG's in my Toyota today. I am going to measure mine. Hopefully Rock Auto sold me the good stuff!
@@Spiritof_76 If you take two resistors one valued at 3kohms and another at 100kohms, wire them in parallel what reading will you get as your final result?
Thank you for the resistance trick. I bought some from Amazon and expected them to be fake. I didn’t even put them in my car. Went to rockauto to buy another set. Let’s hope they are real as I’m replacing them today
No source is safe from trickery! From Chinese watches to cars...I bought my last plugs online (amazon) so who knows what I have, they're installed now...and were a PITA. Under my gas tank on my bike...guess I'll have to check them. Thanks for this great and informative video. Well done, no BS or fluff 🙂
This explains why I've had two sets of plugs fail. I believe the shorted out and were causing my coil to arc across the positive and negative to the body of my coil. The coil was extremely hot to touch. Ill have to check my replacements. I had to do a sparkplug swap in a parking lot because my engine stopped running. Also my RPM tac has been jumping around sporadically.
Both companies actually don’t want you to tell them the parts you bought are counterfeits. At some point they will probably ban your account because they view you as a snitch or whistle blower. Such is the greed inflicted world we live in 🎉
Very true. Buying parts from Chinazon and FleaBay is a costly mistake. Packages look the exact same with (in my case) correct markings from Jaguar and International, but those parts only last thousands of miles instead of tens of thousands (Jag) and well over a quarter million miles (International) respectively. If you value your vehicle, buy quality parts even when they cost a bucket full of cash.
Thanks a lot! Very useful. I bought fake Denso iridium spark plugs from ebay, like 5 years ago. They couldn't last even 50K miles and their electrode was completely gone. Regardless that iridium spark plugs are rated for about 100K miles.
Sound advice. I had exactly the same experience with some NGK spark plugs in a kawasaki zx12r motorcycle, I fell for the cheaper plugs option which started to misfire after only 2000 miles. After which I went to a reputable dealer and paid the higher price, I've had no trouble since. Many thanks Mike UK
Interesting. 0:25 - spark pic on front of box has 3 diagonal artifacts, genuine only 2. When measuring resistances, always keep your fingers OFF the probe tips, as your fingers are also conductive at this level of resistance. (Try squeezing the probes between the fingers of each hand, you will get a reading on the meter) There is no free lunch!😉
I would clip one meter lead to the top of the spark plug so I don't have to touch it, then carefully press the other lead to the center electrode without putting a finger on it.
The way he did it should not cause any problems with the resistance reading because his hand only touched the cable/coil connector. The other probe of the multimeter was only touching the center electrode. The resistance from his finger to the center electrode will be very high since he did not touch the center electrode. Doing the measurement this way will not affect a nominal reading of 5k ohms. Many experienced electronics people commonly hold one end of the resistor between two fingers to quickly test the resistance of a low value resistor. Just make sure you don't touch the lead on the other end with any part of your body or any other surface. This will work fine for resistances of a few MOhms and below since the surface resistance of a resistor is easily in the 10's of MOhms or even higher.
Wow... You saved my bacon....i thought i was getting a great deal online but ended up with counterfeit goods....i'll be returning these plugs first thing in the morning.
Waoo dude, thanks for the knowledge and huge info 👍. Where did you buy those fake NGK from ? I mean which website from ? Thanks a million for the video dude
if you're measuring higher resistances (like the fake ngks), you shall not touch the probes with ur hands, as you're basically parallel connecting yourself to the measured object, and lowering the number
How crazy that the manufacturer of the fakes spent a fortune creating the dies and machinery to make the fakes, and print the fake markings, but didn't spend 5 cents to install the correct resistor.
Probably does has the correct resistor but there are a few internal contacts that are probably garbage on the counterfeits. Which is probably why they all had way high resistance none of them were low
I had the same problem. I chased a misfire for months before I realized it was the spark plugs I had just replaced. It’s definitely worth the money to buy from a reputable source.
They likely acquired old equipment , or are making fake ones during a 4th shift in a spark plug factory. If they make $1 each and sell a million around the world every year... Worth it. They could be plain plugs sold as iridium that last 30k miles. Real iridium are good for 100k minimum. Mine have 220k. They were clean with good resistance at 180k, so I just gapped them, put them back in. I just had 2 coils fail, so it's time to replace the plugs. But where do I buy them? Looks like I need to buy from an auto parts store, not Amazon or eBay. Peace of mind of running the real deal is worth the price. And I'll never replace them again in this car.
Avoid touching the both probe pins with both of your fingers, as it could lower the ohm reading, due to human body resistance in parallel with the plug. At most, only touch the probe pins with only one finger. That's electrics.
Your body resistance is not in the kohm range. Holding the probe with your finger has no effect on the measurement. You can try it with a regular 5k resistor.
I had no idea until today that this was a problem. I had an NGK plug fail causing a misfire on a Honda Accord. I had installed 4 plugs from Amazon a couple years ago so I assumed they were not the problem. After testing the coils, injectors, and doing a compression test, I figured it had to be a plug. So I did a little research. After seeing this video and a few others, I learned mine were fake. I guess I got lucky they lasted 2 years. So I said screw it, I went to Honda and bought directly from them. Yeah they were expensive, but peace of mind is priceless.
Thanks for the way to test for fakes. My Denso 3444 spark plugs that were purchased years ago in 2014 measured 4.08 kohms and 4.67 kohms using my auto-ranging multimeter. I only measured two of the spark plugs as I didn't want to damage the tip.
Just installed some NGK spark plugs last week, bought them from Amazon. I can’t believe even something as common as a spark plug is being knocked-off! Thankfully I took a photo of it (otherwise I would need to uninstall them), and I was able to compare mine to your video - and it’s genuine 😮💨
Thanks for this video. It's hard for those of us who grew up before this era of fakes and scams. I have been scammed before, not because I was trying to save money but because I didn't really know what a fair price was for what I was buying. There were so many fakes online that finding out what the real item SHOULD cost was very difficult.
No ,your wrong , 0.480 meg is 480k ohm, i havent come across any multimeter, that measures 480 meg in my 40 + years, as a qualified electronics engineer. Only specialist lab equipment, costing big bucks.
Thanks for heads up! Iridium plugs do cost a wad. Ive heard though that they hold.up better in aircraft such as Lockheed Electra 10 E special and so on. If I could afford a vehicle and the plugs the iridium plugs would definatly be considered for longevity and reliability. Mind you that Irridium plugs are extremely expensive and I ve only heard one pilot recomend them. Copper may be a better electrode as far as conductivity if one is willing to changes plugs frequently. If I were flying around the world in an radial engined plane I would do some research and seriously consider iridium coated plugs. Iridium was used for many years as a fountain pen tip material so iridium is nothing new. The only advantage is durability and fewer plug changes between tune ups. The less you fuss with plugs the better once you've got them dialed in as far as gapping, reach and heat range. I'm not an expert so don't rely on only my opinion I'm just a car enthusiast. Anyone considering iridium plugs should first consult a bona-fide automobile mechanic. All this just my opinion. Don't bet your life on them though because iridium is a bit of a fad. Use at own risk!
Thanks a lot l. You r a really good mechanics! Spark plugs use electricity, so the smartest way to test it is checking resistance. No wonder why the fake one blows up so fast. It runs a lot hotter bcoz of much higher resistance l
I'm concerned that I purchased mine from Amazon. 6 months later, I had an ignition misfire. I only replaced the old ignition & sparkplug that was at fault, and the problem went away. As soon as I get a chance, I will check all sparkplug. Thank you for this video.
Among the most useful videos I've seen today. The Resistance test is very helpful and can be done by anyone. Even with a cheap multimeter (mine from 2016 cost USD5). Thank You!
Just had to pull all 16 plugs I put in last Sunday on my hemi. It started to pop under acceleration 450 miles after the installation . I drive 160 miles a day commute to work so it doesn't take long to find junk parts . I drove my jeep instead until Saturday and pulled all 16 to find ---4 at correct.043 gap 4 at .085 4 at .070 and ... (4 completely missing their electrode tips) ... I had only checked the gap on the first box of 4 they were the ones that were .043 . I still had 14 of my old plugs which were all factory laser iridium NGK they all gapped at perfect spec so I put them back in and bought two from the store. What you will immediately see comparing the genuine parts store NGK iridium to the Bullshit Chinese counterfeit plugs is the fake ones use a cardboard sleeve on the electrode tip cover NGK uses a plastic sleeve. Then you can see a lot of visual things that separate them but that's an immediate visual thing. I went through the sellers feedback and found a review for the exact same thing and a picture of the failed electrodes. These fake plugs can't handle the heat range or aggressive voltage output that the real plugs are rated for and on my hemi I run a 91 octane tune and also shoot 50-75 shot nitrous on occasion so if they're fake they're going to fall apart and they did . Maybe if we had taxes on importing shit from China these fake garbage parts would go away since it would cost to import the junk ?
I ordered a set of iridium plugs from walmart for 15 bucks. Now that I've seen this video, I'll definitely check them out. Didn't even know fakes were a thing to be concerned about!!
Thanks for the info. Most parts today are fake unless you get them from the Agents .You will never know for sure. Fakes are getting harder and harder to spot .
Had 2500 miles on some NGK Iridium plugs purchased on Ebay in Hyundai packaging with official looking holographic tape. 2 days ago my 1.6l Kia direct injected 4 cyl. dropped cylinder 3 and was nearly undriveable without bucking like mad. Had to wind it up and hold it in a lower gear to get it home. I'll cut to the chase. Replaced the #3 plug with the original plug that had 82K miles on it and ran like a charm (or as well as it runs at it's best). Quite a scam. I didn't just come in on the last turnip truck when it comes to automobile repair and parts. Looked great, but have poor performance and pitiful longevity. I am trying the newer design Ruthenium plugs now. Time will tell. Thanks for confirming these bogus plugs.
Thank you for posting this! Getting ready to put fresh NGK plugs in mu 2008 5.7 Tundra. Love NGK! Honestly not surprised there are fakes out there. Goes to show how good NGK is if people are going through the trouble of making fakes.
I've had problems with the last two sets of ngk plugs in my Jetski. One had the ceramic broke right at the electrode and just this year the ceramic cracked where it meets the metal body causing it to destroy the plug boot. Limped home on that one. I just bought a new set online, going to try your test before using them.
Why would counterfeiters go through all that work of making it look so real? Why not just make good ones?? How much cheaper can they make these? Doesnt seem worth the effort?!? They are talented to make it look like the real ones! Amazing! Thanks for sharing!
I told my local parts guy I bought NGK iridium plugs on eBay and they were fake and he looked at me like I was crazy. He was basically talking crap to me with his other associate. But I promise they do sell fake ones. The symptom or problem I had with mine specifically was that after just a short time the gaps increased dramatically.
Local parts guy, so a teenager or an immigrant who knows how to punch in your make/model/year but knows nothing about cars. My local place didn't have a pulley installer and refused to order one, told me to install it with a sledgehammer. I asked what he thought that would do to the thrust bearings on the crank. "The what?" He was the manager. For the proles out there, it would mean removing and rebuilding the crank assembly as if you'd thrown a rod bearing.
Had the same issue recently and with those ngk laser platinum. Misfire on cylinder 3. Ended buying Denso sparkplugs and it seems like the ngk damaged the ignition coil on cylinder 3 because the misfire ended, but now and then there's an intermittence. That intermittence was never there before changing the sparkplugs just for maintenance. Not even the old ones did that. Watch out for those fake ngk. It's really happening. This video is true. Every misfire and intermittence that's goin on now in my car now it all started right after installing those ngk laser platinum.
Great video and it needs to be seen more, hit that like button. Just a tip, when using a multimeter don't touch both leads with your fingers. Your body has resistance and voltage.
I own an old V8 chevy. A previous owner had gone to a really cheap knockoff brand of OEM sparkplugs and ignition wires (most likely a retiree just selling the RV) then the next owner had gotten a few years of uses with the RV with their family till later on their kids became teens and they outgrew the RV. Shortly after I had bought the motorhome, I had some misfiring. I had switched the sparkplugs for the chevy 454 back to the AC Delco brand and replaced the ignition wires with a Blue Streak brand. I had also side gapped the set of sparkplugs by trimming off part of the ground tab which exposes the spark more directly to the combustion mixture for better power. At only a few dollars each for sparkplugs. I didn't fall for an aftermarket brand of factory sidegapped or E3 sparkplugs that are way overpriced and possibly prone to premature failure. Even if an OEM has a premature misfire or they start showing their wear after accumulated mileage and use, they're still cheaper to replace. I have used NGK plugs in my honda civics before and I was never disappointed with their quality and performance. I've also done the same side gapping to NGK plugs and they've worked great!
I've watched a lot of videos about fake NGK plugs. You are the first person who actually provides a scientific way to tell the difference.
Yeah I never thought to get out a multimeter and test resistance. That is fantastic to know. I’ll put a link to this video from mine. The higher resistance might explain why the plugs were burning out my coils.
Wonder if this would work on densos
@@LAactorit does, I just tested mine. All 4 in the range of 5kΩ to 5.05kΩ.
Measuring the resistance is the best way to differentiate the real and fake plugs, an educating video and clarified.
Yeah my spark plug boxes had the website
Although the resistance of the fake ones was all over the show, it's just a matter of time when they also get this into control making it even more difficult to spot.
I hate these counterfeiters
Thank you ! I'm from Chile and I've just bought the same spark plugs here . Got my multimeter and ran the same tests and they were fake indeed!!!! Owe you a big one !!! I've just saved my engine from a potential torn up. You Rock!
Wow, I had no idea that about fake NGK plugs. My plugs arrived today. I watched this video and ran to the shop for my VOM. 4.57 to 4.73 k. Thanks for helping us all out.
YOU SAVED ME !!! Came across your video and decided to watch it and scrutinize the NGK’s that I bought on eBay that I was about to install in my BMW 330 CI and to my surprise they are indeed fakes! Went and got a real set from my local auto parts store, cost a little bit more, but they have all the hallmarks of genuine NGK‘s! I can’t thank you enough for this very helpful video. Thank you.
Yep, the spark plugs are fake forsure on eBay. There $29 for a set of 6 haha. I was like nope
I also got a fake set off ebay and called NGK with #s to confirm they were fake. Wrote the ebay company and they refunded me so fast no hesitation 😂
I’m replacing my c63 eBay bought plugs just in case. Ordered from Fcp euro.
When measuring resistance don’t touch both leads. Your body creates a parallel path and it will bias your readings. Often it won’t matter but a good practice for when it does.
Did not know this was a thing!! I just installed new NGK Iridium plugs in my motorcycle, gonna run the test when I get home!!! Thank you!!!!
How'd that go, mate?
@@ivanvarela3215 He's stranded somwhere along the road, with his fake spark plugs failing 😛
I was curious about the internal resistor, since I'd never heard about that. Found a really good pic. on the NGK site, which labeled it as a "glass resistor". That helps explain what a veteran mechanic told me, "When you drop a spark plug, always drop it twice". The second time is when you drop it into the garbage can, because it might have an internal or hairline ceramic fracture that will result in premature failure.
That's really interesting, thanks!
The "R" in the number indicates it's a resistor plug. (Eliminates radio static; same as plug cables)
What about shipping? They sometimes treat them roughly
Very good video, and excellent consumer protection/Public Service!
I thought I was saving $ buying sets of 4 NGK iridium plugs on Amazon for ~ $25
My dealer pulled my plugs while diagnosing my cars running issues.
I didn’t have time to order cheap ones, didn’t want to pay dealer markup, so picked up a set at a local parts place.
Car definitely ran better with the locally sourced set.
Started to think that cheap plugs on Amazon were likely knock offs, and you confirmed it!
Thanks 🙏
I learned from my own mistake a couple of years ago. Around half price you'd pay elsewhere, set of 4 NGK Iridium from Ebay. 6,000km, the car went back to running rough, hesitating as before installing the new plugs. This made me assume something else was failing. After new coil, leads and some messing around with no improvement, I pulled the 'new' plugs out, and found the center electrodes burnt down to almost nothing. A set of confirmed genuine plugs later, and I've so far had 30,000km of trouble free driving.
I recently bought a high mileage Camry as a project car for my channel. From over 10 years in the automotive aftermarket I knew there were counterfeit parts; but I had no idea how prolific the counterfeit Toyota parts were. Luckily for me, the Toyota dealer was not even $10 more for me than AutoZone with my commercial account for all the plugs and filters for my car. I'm really glad that people are bringing attention to this problem.
I just checked mine from AutoZone and they're all good. Well known auto parts stores are probably going to be very careful about getting the real ones. Of course thieves anywhere in the supply chain could swap them out for fakes. Even Toyota could fall victim.
This vid is SO GOOD that it should be listed under the official NGK channel!
we live in a world where i have to worry about fake spark plugs? wtf bro
CHINA! Thank r politicians for selling us out is what it boils down too.
Remember, CHINA NUMBER ONE!
Exactly my thoughts while loading this video!
China.....
It's true.
Good idea to check the resistance, never even thought of doing that.
Finally, someone with a good guide that is actually helpful.
Can you do this with Denso?
th-cam.com/video/nvcJFkf_XJ0/w-d-xo.html
Bought some fake ones off of Amazon as well. Installed them on my pathfinder and after a few months read an article about fakes. Ended up inspecting them and sure enough they were fakes. Gaps increase by 50% only after a few thousand miles. Complained to Amazon and they denied my review to be published. Next time I will only buy plugs from a local shop. Good thing I caught this. Thanks for a great video!
I also noted from watching this video the color on LASER IRIDIUM , the box on the left in the beginning letters is lightly purple whereas the box on the right is darker purple and the M with the box on the left looks to have a purple hue to it and the box on the right has more of a gold look . The S on the left is half blue the one on the right barely has blue as well as the second i in iridium . The box on the right the colors also look much bolder .
I'm a graphic arts guy so those are the kinds of things that I was picking out. But I'd probably have to have a legit package to refer to. Generally the fake was using enlarged, fattened images that took up more of the surface of every side of the carton. The plug's top terminal looked chubby. The type faces were larger and bolder on just about everything. The UPS code takes up almost the full available height.
The glaring difference was the diagram on how far to turn the plug. They added an extra "2/3" pie next to the "1/2" pie of the real ones. (Maybe their fake engineers insisted on that being included for driving safety )
I always wonder why they don't go to the trouble of taking another hour in fake design scrutiny to get those things correct. But that's in the nature of counterfeiters going for every penny of profit they can squeeze out of their victims.
MUCH THANKS TO @dial2fast FOR THIS SEGMENT.
I was about to buy some ngk from ebay for cheap knew it was too good to be true. Thank you
Excellent information. Thank you for bringing it to our attention !
fake champions out there,
You very Welcome dear !
I have had troubles with spark plugs in motorized bike engines. I never thought to measure the resistor impedance. Your answer provides the the consistency values I was missing. Thanks for clearing up this mystery and giving me some way to prevent future errors.
Thank you for putting out this video. I wasn’t aware of the fake NGK spark plugs until I saw a random video on UTube pertaining to that subject. Your video is the only one I have seen that details how to check the resistance with a multimeter. This to me was the determining factor for authentication of the spark plugs as the only thing I had to compare them to was the old ones that I took out of the engine that had 134,500 miles on them. I chose the safe and most expensive route by buying the spark plugs from my local Auto Zone.
@Kayla Mayla - don’t know, but by having a receipt of purchase, the situation would have been rectified
No guarantee but I buy all my parts thru Rock Auto and have never had any problems with any of the parts. However, I don't go for the cheapest parts.
Very helpful....WOW. I just ordered a set from Walmart. Clearly says OEM NGK part. I will check them too. I hear some horror stories of fake plugs installed on Goldwing and the damage.
Wow thanks for sharing. Over the years I seen so many bad spark right out the box and I’ve realized most customers have been buying them from Canada tire, i didn’t think about fake plugs I just thought bad storage or bad quality control
Great video! I never realized they were making fake spark plugs until I received a set from eBay. Right away, I could see the finishing/machining was "off", and that's why looked online to see if indeed they were being knocked off. Can't believe it, but I received some FAKE PLUGS!! Glad I didn't install them!!
Really useful. I too faced the same problem and I put back the old spark plugs until I found the genuine ones
Year's ago I had the ground electrode seperate from the NGK Iridium spark plug in my 13B , destroyed the motor. I wish I had known about this back then. Thank you Sir.
13B? I hope you didn't have an RX7 GSLSE? That would be sad to hear if the motor got destroyed from fake spark plugs..
I bought a set of these fake plugs. They sent me the wrong plugs and they didnt even receive them back, instead they refunded the money. I was gonig to sell them since I have bo need for them and thanks to your video Im putting them in the recycle bin as scrap. Thank you very much
Thanks. I will be trying the resistance trick today on the Ruthenium NGKs I just bought. Never thought about testing plugs before for being counterfit. Props to you, sorry you had to go through that.
Thank you so much! I never even knew about fake plugs! What an eye opener!
Great video. Thank you. Among most of helpful videos teaching how to identify fake spark plugs, yours was the first one showing to use a multimeter to help this identification. Congrats.
Thanks for the info. I never realized you could test the resistance of the spark plug.
Most are 5000 ohms. Motorcycle spark plug caps have resistors also. Another 5000 ohms too, so 10k total.
I will be testing mine this weekend when my multimeter arrives (stood on old one an demolished it). Thank you for this information.
There are actually many differences between the packages. However, you have to know how a real one looks like.
Measuring the resistance is a good option also.
Good video! Bought fake NGK spark plugs from eBay thinking I got a good deal in less than a week my car was already misfiring and CEL was on and it also messed up my ignition coils! 🤬 Best to just buy direct and don't go cheap learn from my mistake.
It happened to me too. Misfire and ignition coil messed up.
I run a 1950s British motorbike with magneto ignition. That requires spark plugs without the resistor. A while back, I broke one of the two spark plugs, so I bought a pair of new ones (NGK BP6ES, from memory) from a local car parts shop. The engine had a persistent stutter, until I refitted the surviving old one and a B6ES cadged from a fellow rider. The stutter instantly disappeared.
I'd be testing and looking up the original then. 👀
NGK is certainly the most used spark plug brand in Brazil. In 2022, a large gang was discovered that counterfeited spark plugs made in China and packaged them in Brazil. The counterfeit was so similar to the genuine spark plugs that NGK participated in the investigative process to determine whether or not the spark plugs were manufactured by NGK. The most visible differences were in the printing brand as well as the threads tolerance. The material that was noticeably very inferior was the central electrode. Therefore, only after a good period of use did the buyer notice that the spark plug was being consumed much more quickly. Counterfeit iridium spark plugs were not found. The gang only counterfeited the lowest-cost spark plugs.
Thank you for all the information. Now I think I bought the fake spark plugs online because only $12 for 4 Iridium Spark Plugs that doesn't seen right price.
You are actually altering the resistance reading by holding both probes with your fingers, in essence sending some of the signal through your body, which is a very good conductor.
Wonderful video. I always test spark plugs resistance with a multimeter at my local parts store. Too risky to buy them online.
Those fake plugs can ruin your coils too = expensive mistake
I agree they can damage your ignition coil packs.
2 month ago I boghout 4 spark plugs for my toyota camery.(they were half price) and 3 weeks later the engins started to missfire in 2 cylinders. went to toyota dealer and bought original ons and problem solved. thank you for your video. i will check my spark plugs at the shop from now on.
It was only a matter of time before this happened, but WOW. Thats crazy. Thanks for sharing this information. I'm sharing this for sure.
Just checked my Denso resistor plugs, all were the same except for one a little higher at 5.9k ohm. Using cheap meter leads it was hard to get a accurate reading, pressing hard and using fluke leads measurement was spot on each time.
Thank you. This is very interesting and timely. A month ago I ordered two sets of 4 NGK Iridium plugs from Autozone online for about $30 per box, but they are still unable to fulfill the order, I keep getting a Being Processed response. While these were not immediately required at the time I ordered them, just planning the next timing update on my V8 engine, but this delay I am having may be related to this issue of a batch of fakes that they are dealing with. Now I can check my old set and the new set with confidence in how to better spot a fake of this brand.
It's pretty easy to spot the fake one: it's using the wrong font on the package. Pay attention to the eleven at the end of the model name on both. Left uses a custom font, right uses Arial.
Just checked a couple NGK spark plugs purchased at Advance Auto.
For riding mower.
Sharp YELLOW triangles on BOX...cost was ONLY $5 each...although up from $2.49 per receipt 2 years ago.
Great info in video.
I'm waiting for a set of cheap NGK plugs that I ordered on eBay. Guess what the 1st think I'm going to do when they arrive. This is the 1st video I've seen that gives a definitive way to test for fake ones. Simply, consistent resistance. Thanks
If they were from partsbetter they're junk .
Another problem with those plugs is the heat range is different. That can cause major problems as well. I believe I got a fake set of NGKs for my Kia online. I remember the ink being way darker then the original plugs I took out.
Very educative video. Kindly do a video to enlighten us on real and fake NPR piston rings
Thank you and I have had NKG plugs fail in my bike with less than 200 miles on them and yes I ordered that set of four from Amazon and they were like $10 or so cheaper compared to other sellers but I purchased replacements from a shop in this town where my bike broke down and what a time I had trying to figure out what the heck happened and what was going on but the only thing I did to my bike was service it and change the plugs before a trip we had planned so it was by luck I thought just maybe I broke a plug or something so we set out to find a place to get a set and try it and it was the plugs but they were not broke/cracked or anything but I was quite upset with NKG but your video just changed that bc I have always used NKG plugs in all my bikes and equipment and I vowed to never buy them again but I will return back to NKG plugs but will check and test my NKG’s before using them bc NKG has always been the very best prior to that day and I have had no success on finding a good replacement plug that compared to NKG and auto lite plugs are by far the worst I have ever used so thank you for posting this video
Yes, NGK plugs are the best 👍
I recently bought a pack of x4 SK16R11 DENSO spark plugs. Seems really original but resistance values are: 4Kohms for one, 5K for 2 , and zéro Kohm for the last ! What à shame, directly in trash. I bought those for 45$. Thanks a lot for these information.
The resistance check is by far the best way to spot fake ones. Thx.
Check out my comment.
Thanks for this video, You've saved a lot of engines, need to name and shame all that are conserned.
Its really sad that the world has come to this, people manufacturing supplying them, and selling them should all be held accountable, they need to understand that
Oneday they will need a pacemaker to keep them alive and they will wonder if pacemaker is going to be genuine or a counterfeit.
OK. Good info. I appreciate your putting this info out. I keep reading stories and seeing videos about fake/bad parts being bought "online". BUT nobody says WHERE online they got the parts. If you are trying to help, CALL THEM OUT! Name the sites and the sellers. It doesn't do much good to put out information about bad parts along with how to tell if the parts someone already bought are bad. Tell us where the parts came from so we can avoid buying from that seller/store in the first place! I buy most of my parts online but I buy from a national parts supplier so I tend to trust them. But again, If someone bought a proven fake part from them, I'd want to know about it.
Take your coils voltage output and divide it by your resistance reading.
That gives intensity.
If you have resistor plug wires the should read less than 5k ohms per foot end to end.
It does make a difference when chasing a misfire and the gap needs to be set and any update spec employed.
I fixed a few using these facts.
Corrected them instead of throwing parts at it, and getting cheap prices.
That's huge for the whole equation.
Oh wow. I'm gonna go check iridium plugs I bought now. I generally only buy platinum. And now I'm thinking. Funny how the platinums I bought are more expensive then the iridium plugs. Maybe we should present such fraud to the Federal Trade Commission? Thank you for this education.
WOW! This is significant since many GDI engines require spark plugs to be indexed to the fuel injectors. However, most people will install to the specified torque, which will properly index the plug if it is genuine or OE. If fake plugs do not index properly at the specified torque, they can cause serious engine damage.
Great video. I would not hold something I am measuring in my hands as they are conductors too and can mess up the readings. When measuring make sure your body's resistance isn't interfering with your measurement. I am installing some NKG's in my Toyota today. I am going to measure mine. Hopefully Rock Auto sold me the good stuff!
Hi. What was the reading and how has the car behaved since then?
How is your body going to stop the flow of electrons from travelling on a metal path?
@@Spiritof_76 It wouldn't stop it. Your body is a conductor so it could effect the impedance measurement.
@@76S30Electricity takes the shortest, most conductive path. It isn't going to throw off those readings.
@@Spiritof_76 If you take two resistors one valued at 3kohms and another at 100kohms, wire them in parallel what reading will you get as your final result?
Thank you for the resistance trick.
I bought some from Amazon and expected them to be fake. I didn’t even put them in my car. Went to rockauto to buy another set. Let’s hope they are real as I’m replacing them today
No source is safe from trickery! From Chinese watches to cars...I bought my last plugs online (amazon) so who knows what I have, they're installed now...and were a PITA. Under my gas tank on my bike...guess I'll have to check them. Thanks for this great and informative video. Well done, no BS or fluff 🙂
This explains why I've had two sets of plugs fail. I believe the shorted out and were causing my coil to arc across the positive and negative to the body of my coil. The coil was extremely hot to touch. Ill have to check my replacements. I had to do a sparkplug swap in a parking lot because my engine stopped running. Also my RPM tac has been jumping around sporadically.
Amazon doesn't mind selling fake parts, be careful. eBay doesn't mind selling fake parts.
Which one does!
Correct
Ebay and amazon have same
Sellers,same person or company in quite a few cases
Rockauto minds. I never experienced or heard of any counterfeit parts coming from Rockauto.
Both companies actually don’t want you to tell them the parts you bought are counterfeits. At some point they will probably ban your account because they view you as a snitch or whistle blower. Such is the greed inflicted world we live in 🎉
Very true. Buying parts from Chinazon and FleaBay is a costly mistake. Packages look the exact same with (in my case) correct markings from Jaguar and International, but those parts only last thousands of miles instead of tens of thousands (Jag) and well over a quarter million miles (International) respectively. If you value your vehicle, buy quality parts even when they cost a bucket full of cash.
Thanks a lot! Very useful.
I bought fake Denso iridium spark plugs from ebay, like 5 years ago. They couldn't last even 50K miles and their electrode was completely gone. Regardless that iridium spark plugs are rated for about 100K miles.
Dang, the threads on those things! Looks like you could drop the oil pan and look directly at the end of the plug and check the gap! 😂
Sound advice.
I had exactly the same experience with some NGK spark plugs in a kawasaki zx12r motorcycle, I fell for the cheaper plugs option which started to misfire after only 2000 miles. After which I went to a reputable dealer and paid the higher price, I've had no trouble since. Many thanks Mike UK
Interesting. 0:25 - spark pic on front of box has 3 diagonal artifacts, genuine only 2. When measuring resistances, always keep your fingers OFF the probe tips, as your fingers are also conductive at this level of resistance. (Try squeezing the probes between the fingers of each hand, you will get a reading on the meter) There is no free lunch!😉
I would clip one meter lead to the top of the spark plug so I don't have to touch it, then carefully press the other lead to the center electrode without putting a finger on it.
will not matter if you have fake hands.. LOL
The way he did it should not cause any problems with the resistance reading because his hand only touched the cable/coil connector. The other probe of the multimeter was only touching the center electrode. The resistance from his finger to the center electrode will be very high since he did not touch the center electrode. Doing the measurement this way will not affect a nominal reading of 5k ohms. Many experienced electronics people commonly hold one end of the resistor between two fingers to quickly test the resistance of a low value resistor. Just make sure you don't touch the lead on the other end with any part of your body or any other surface. This will work fine for resistances of a few MOhms and below since the surface resistance of a resistor is easily in the 10's of MOhms or even higher.
@@mrstanskaggs1put a fake latex glove on
Wow... You saved my bacon....i thought i was getting a great deal online but ended up with counterfeit goods....i'll be returning these plugs first thing in the morning.
Waoo dude, thanks for the knowledge and huge info 👍.
Where did you buy those fake NGK from ? I mean which website from ?
Thanks a million for the video dude
awesome video bro, very logical and straight to the point
Thanks! I appreciate it!
if you're measuring higher resistances (like the fake ngks), you shall not touch the probes with ur hands, as you're basically parallel connecting yourself to the measured object, and lowering the number
500k is basically dry skin. So there's no resistance within the plug. That would destroy a coil quickly!
nein
Would you mind sharing which fake website you ordered from so we can avoid it?
How crazy that the manufacturer of the fakes spent a fortune creating the dies and machinery to make the fakes, and print the fake markings, but didn't spend 5 cents to install the correct resistor.
Probably does has the correct resistor but there are a few internal contacts that are probably garbage on the counterfeits. Which is probably why they all had way high resistance none of them were low
@@connelly6375 Worse the readings weren't even steady showing capacitance issues.
I had the same problem. I chased a misfire for months before I realized it was the spark plugs I had just replaced. It’s definitely worth the money to buy from a reputable source.
They likely acquired old equipment , or are making fake ones during a 4th shift in a spark plug factory. If they make $1 each and sell a million around the world every year... Worth it. They could be plain plugs sold as iridium that last 30k miles. Real iridium are good for 100k minimum. Mine have 220k. They were clean with good resistance at 180k, so I just gapped them, put them back in. I just had 2 coils fail, so it's time to replace the plugs. But where do I buy them?
Looks like I need to buy from an auto parts store, not Amazon or eBay.
Peace of mind of running the real deal is worth the price. And I'll never replace them again in this car.
The difference in resistance values is not due to resistance. This is because the materials used are different.
Avoid touching the both probe pins with both of your fingers, as it could lower the ohm reading, due to human body resistance in parallel with the plug. At most, only touch the probe pins with only one finger. That's electrics.
Your body resistance is not in the kohm range. Holding the probe with your finger has no effect on the measurement. You can try it with a regular 5k resistor.
@@dial2fast yup.. It's neglible..
Resistance in parallel is always lower than in series. If you touch the probe it wouldn't matter because the metal is more conducive than skin
Also, touching the bottom electeode throws it off!
@@dial2fast as a gen tech I'll say it throws off your readings ,it's just a good idea to not do it.
I had no idea until today that this was a problem. I had an NGK plug fail causing a misfire on a Honda Accord. I had installed 4 plugs from Amazon a couple years ago so I assumed they were not the problem.
After testing the coils, injectors, and doing a compression test, I figured it had to be a plug. So I did a little research.
After seeing this video and a few others, I learned mine were fake. I guess I got lucky they lasted 2 years. So I said screw it, I went to Honda and bought directly from them. Yeah they were expensive, but peace of mind is priceless.
Just tested my last 3 Denso's bought from Amazon. They seem to have all tested within range. Thanks for that info!
Checked my NGK iridium IX from RockAuto $5.94 each. Checked authentic. The lasers are listed for $8.64 each.
Thanks for the way to test for fakes. My Denso 3444 spark plugs that were purchased years ago in 2014 measured 4.08 kohms and 4.67 kohms using my auto-ranging multimeter. I only measured two of the spark plugs as I didn't want to damage the tip.
Oh. And my Denso 3444 spark plugs were purchased online from RockAuto in 2014. I was skeptical as they were $8 each back then.
4.3k +/- 10% would probably cover that. Not enough variation to matter.
Just installed some NGK spark plugs last week, bought them from Amazon. I can’t believe even something as common as a spark plug is being knocked-off! Thankfully I took a photo of it (otherwise I would need to uninstall them), and I was able to compare mine to your video - and it’s genuine 😮💨
Thanks for this video. It's hard for those of us who grew up before this era of fakes and scams. I have been scammed before, not because I was trying to save money but because I didn't really know what a fair price was for what I was buying. There were so many fakes online that finding out what the real item SHOULD cost was very difficult.
When you tested the resistance of the second fake one you said it was 480k, it was actually 480 meg! ie open circuit
👍
No ,your wrong , 0.480 meg is 480k ohm, i havent come across any multimeter, that measures 480 meg in my 40 + years, as a qualified electronics engineer. Only specialist lab equipment, costing big bucks.
@@enoz.j3506 Yes your quite correct, my mistake ( damn decimal point )!
Thanks for heads up! Iridium plugs do cost a wad. Ive heard though that they hold.up better in aircraft such as Lockheed Electra 10 E special and so on. If I could afford a vehicle and the plugs the iridium plugs would definatly be considered for longevity and reliability. Mind you that Irridium plugs are extremely expensive and I ve only heard one pilot recomend them. Copper may be a better electrode as far as conductivity if one is willing to changes plugs frequently. If I were flying around the world in an radial engined plane I would do some research and seriously consider iridium coated plugs. Iridium was used for many years as a fountain pen tip material so iridium is nothing new. The only advantage is durability and fewer plug changes between tune ups. The less you fuss with plugs the better once you've got them dialed in as far as gapping, reach and heat range. I'm not an expert so don't rely on only my opinion I'm just a car enthusiast. Anyone considering iridium plugs should first consult a bona-fide automobile mechanic. All this just my opinion. Don't bet your life on them though because iridium is a bit of a fad. Use at own risk!
Iridium ix plugs are 13 to 15 bucks each in my area, most expensive part to my tune ups but I get 2 years out of a set in a daily driver
Good grief. Fake sparkplugs. What is the world coming to.😲
christ, i didn't realise they stoop so low to produce fake spark plugs. just bought a set this week, gunno test em befor i fit em. nice vid. thanks.
Thanks a lot l. You r a really good mechanics! Spark plugs use electricity, so the smartest way to test it is checking resistance. No wonder why the fake one blows up so fast. It runs a lot hotter bcoz of much higher resistance l
I'm concerned that I purchased mine from Amazon. 6 months later, I had an ignition misfire. I only replaced the old ignition & sparkplug that was at fault, and the problem went away. As soon as I get a chance, I will check all sparkplug. Thank you for this video.
Maybe it's a different spark plug that has failed, and not the one you replaced.
Among the most useful videos I've seen today. The Resistance test is very helpful and can be done by anyone. Even with a cheap multimeter (mine from 2016 cost USD5). Thank You!
Test the resistance and cross reference with the iridium tech spec and also the weight
Just had to pull all 16 plugs I put in last Sunday on my hemi. It started to pop under acceleration 450 miles after the installation . I drive 160 miles a day commute to work so it doesn't take long to find junk parts . I drove my jeep instead until Saturday and pulled all 16 to find ---4 at correct.043 gap 4 at .085 4 at .070 and ... (4 completely missing their electrode tips) ... I had only checked the gap on the first box of 4 they were the ones that were .043 . I still had 14 of my old plugs which were all factory laser iridium NGK they all gapped at perfect spec so I put them back in and bought two from the store.
What you will immediately see comparing the genuine parts store NGK iridium to the Bullshit Chinese counterfeit plugs is the fake ones use a cardboard sleeve on the electrode tip cover NGK uses a plastic sleeve. Then you can see a lot of visual things that separate them but that's an immediate visual thing.
I went through the sellers feedback and found a review for the exact same thing and a picture of the failed electrodes.
These fake plugs can't handle the heat range or aggressive voltage output that the real plugs are rated for and on my hemi I run a 91 octane tune and also shoot 50-75 shot nitrous on occasion so if they're fake they're going to fall apart and they did .
Maybe if we had taxes on importing shit from China these fake garbage parts would go away since it would cost to import the junk ?
I ordered a set of iridium plugs from walmart for 15 bucks. Now that I've seen this video, I'll definitely check them out. Didn't even know fakes were a thing to be concerned about!!
How many plugs in the set? That sounds suspiciously cheap even for two plugs, genuine iridium plugs are $10 or more each.
Excellent, checking with your multimeter.
Before buying any spark plugs, please check with the multimeter and LED.
Thanks for the info. Most parts today are fake unless you get them from the Agents .You will never know for sure. Fakes are getting harder and harder to spot .
Great vid . I've had a fake plug b4. What reading should you get from a plug with no resistor. I get no reading at all . Blank screen , no bleep. ?
Had 2500 miles on some NGK Iridium plugs purchased on Ebay in Hyundai packaging with official looking holographic tape. 2 days ago my 1.6l Kia direct injected 4 cyl. dropped cylinder 3 and was nearly undriveable without bucking like mad. Had to wind it up and hold it in a lower gear to get it home. I'll cut to the chase. Replaced the #3 plug with the original plug that had 82K miles on it and ran like a charm (or as well as it runs at it's best). Quite a scam. I didn't just come in on the last turnip truck when it comes to automobile repair and parts. Looked great, but have poor performance and pitiful longevity. I am trying the newer design Ruthenium plugs now. Time will tell. Thanks for confirming these bogus plugs.
Thank you for posting this! Getting ready to put fresh NGK plugs in mu 2008 5.7 Tundra. Love NGK! Honestly not surprised there are fakes out there. Goes to show how good NGK is if people are going through the trouble of making fakes.
I've had problems with the last two sets of ngk plugs in my Jetski.
One had the ceramic broke right at the electrode and just this year the ceramic cracked where it meets the metal body causing it to destroy the plug boot.
Limped home on that one.
I just bought a new set online, going to try your test before using them.
Why would counterfeiters go through all that work of making it look so real? Why not just make good ones?? How much cheaper can they make these? Doesnt seem worth the effort?!? They are talented to make it look like the real ones! Amazing! Thanks for sharing!
thank you for the great information does that applies to denso and Bosch sparkplugs ?
I told my local parts guy I bought NGK iridium plugs on eBay and they were fake and he looked at me like I was crazy. He was basically talking crap to me with his other associate. But I promise they do sell fake ones. The symptom or problem I had with mine specifically was that after just a short time the gaps increased dramatically.
Local parts guy, so a teenager or an immigrant who knows how to punch in your make/model/year but knows nothing about cars. My local place didn't have a pulley installer and refused to order one, told me to install it with a sledgehammer. I asked what he thought that would do to the thrust bearings on the crank. "The what?" He was the manager. For the proles out there, it would mean removing and rebuilding the crank assembly as if you'd thrown a rod bearing.
Had the same issue recently and with those ngk laser platinum. Misfire on cylinder 3. Ended buying Denso sparkplugs and it seems like the ngk damaged the ignition coil on cylinder 3 because the misfire ended, but now and then there's an intermittence. That intermittence was never there before changing the sparkplugs just for maintenance. Not even the old ones did that. Watch out for those fake ngk. It's really happening. This video is true. Every misfire and intermittence that's goin on now in my car now it all started right after installing those ngk laser platinum.
Great video and it needs to be seen more, hit that like button.
Just a tip, when using a multimeter don't touch both leads with your fingers. Your body has resistance and voltage.
I own an old V8 chevy. A previous owner had gone to a really cheap knockoff brand of OEM sparkplugs and ignition wires (most likely a retiree just selling the RV) then the next owner had gotten a few years of uses with the RV with their family till later on their kids became teens and they outgrew the RV. Shortly after I had bought the motorhome, I had some misfiring. I had switched the sparkplugs for the chevy 454 back to the AC Delco brand and replaced the ignition wires with a Blue Streak brand. I had also side gapped the set of sparkplugs by trimming off part of the ground tab which exposes the spark more directly to the combustion mixture for better power. At only a few dollars each for sparkplugs. I didn't fall for an aftermarket brand of factory sidegapped or E3 sparkplugs that are way overpriced and possibly prone to premature failure. Even if an OEM has a premature misfire or they start showing their wear after accumulated mileage and use, they're still cheaper to replace. I have used NGK plugs in my honda civics before and I was never disappointed with their quality and performance. I've also done the same side gapping to NGK plugs and they've worked great!
Iridium plugs are not "only a few dollars" which is why they are targeted for counterfeiting. They are $10 or more per plug.
The appearance of the Ir electrode tips are different, too. THANKS!! Would you consider looking at Denso fakes?