If you have an engine monitor, you can do a mag check looking at the EGTs, if you have one fouled plug, the EGT for that cylinder will typically rise faster than the others. I look mainly at EGTs when doing my mag check on my J. I want to see a slow and equal rise of all EGTs.
Unfortunately we don't yet have an engine monitor installed. This is just another reason to get one! Thanks for sharing how you approach your mag check.
champion has had problems with plugs going high resistance. i forget the cutoff, but mine were off the charts for resistance. i had 3 of them that were high resistance when I checked when I found out about the problem. it was still running decently. now it runs better. this is one reason that I have gone to using tempest plugs. unless your plug wires are misrouted, it is normal to run half bottom plugs (one side) and half of the top plugs (other side) from one magneto. btw, that is cylinder 2 on the front left cylinder 1 is front right.
Thanks James! I guess I only really confirmed that the left bottom plugs are from the left mag, I didn’t trace the right side wires. I’ll have to do that when I open it back up.
One thing to note, you said your left mag runs the bottom plugs, typically mags are wired so one runs top on one side and bottom on the other. Take a look at how yours are wired. FWIW, your left bank is 2 (front) & 4 (rear), right is 1 (front) & 3 ( rear) cylinders. I wouldn't necessarily run fine wires unless you fly at high altitude most of the time. That's where they shine. That said, look into REM40E plugs vice 38's, they burn hotter and help with lead fouling some.
Good find. If you save your old plugs there’s a company that redoes them for $3 each, Mike Busch talks about doing that. This would give you spare plugs on hand too.
Most A&P shops have a plug cleaning and testing machine. What they charge will vary but pretty much anyone should be able to clean and test your plugs for a nominal charge.
welcome to Champion plugs, if you look down into the "cigarette well" you'll see what looks like a screwdriver slot, if this is the case take the plugs and toss them in the garbage. Champion will never admit they had a resistance issue, but if you do some simple searches on the internet you'll see Champion tests as either super high resistance or completely open. Their new design plugs do not have this problem, or just use Tempest, they are as good or better and don't have resistance problems.
Roger that. Each of the plugs I removed had the slot you mentioned. However, the new plugs I installed did not. Hopefully the new plugs will stand the test of time.
@@MyTimeToFly check the remaining plugs, if they are champions and have the "screwdriver slot" just replace them, you will have problems with them. Also resistance must measure less than 5K ohms, more than that they are no good.
Two points, when inspecting a plug look carefully inside the barrel looking for a crack in ceramic, if found, throw the plug away. If the the ceramic comes apart in flight fragments will destroy the other plug in cylinder. The plane will not fly on 3 cylinders. Having said that, if a plug is dropped onto a hard surface, throw it away ( see above).
I hate how many screws are on the cowling. Aviation plugs look bad because of all the lead. It shouldn't be excessively oily and shouldn't have any "clinkers" in there. Clinkers are just the lead balls. My plug on that side is a bit oily too. I think I have some blow by that I'm gonna get checked at my annual. The Mags power a bottom set and a top set on the opposite side. I believe 5K ohms is the high end, but I'd also check plugs in a plug testing machine. They allow you to see the plug to arc under air pressure to see if you're getting a good spark. Front Right cylinder is #1 and Front Left is #2.
Thanks for all of the info RRAD. I only traced the left mag to the bottom left spark plugs, that's my bad. Lucky enough I believe I stumbled on the problem!
I have the Insight G4. it has the SD card right on the front to pop in your laptop. its also colorful so its easy to see what you are looking for with CHT and EGT. I spent 3 days with a mechanic installing it with all the sensors and wires but seriously the best investment you can have for your safety.
You could run the mag with the lower rpms for 5 minutes then stop and put a infrared thermometer gun on them to see which ones are firing if you don’t have an engine monitor
champion make a sparkplug chart that you can hold the plug and match what the issue or non-issue you are seeing. I prefer fine wire. I replaced all my plugs last annual just to make sure my performance was higher. mass electrodes are expensive so I just said fine wire is only a bit more but last so much longer with a bolder spark.
@@MyTimeToFly Aircraft spruce is where I get most my parts and supplies! I dont remember right off hand what I paid for the whole service but the engine sounds different to me also.
Take the other plug out of the same cylinder that the wet plug was in and inspect it. If it is also wet or shows signs of excessive oil or foiling you could have a mechanical issue with that cylinder. Hopefully not, hopefully it was just a bad plug, but if you do it will be much cheaper to find it now before it causes damage, not to mention if it does it while in the air.
If you have an engine monitor, you can do a mag check looking at the EGTs, if you have one fouled plug, the EGT for that cylinder will typically rise faster than the others. I look mainly at EGTs when doing my mag check on my J. I want to see a slow and equal rise of all EGTs.
Unfortunately we don't yet have an engine monitor installed. This is just another reason to get one! Thanks for sharing how you approach your mag check.
champion has had problems with plugs going high resistance. i forget the cutoff, but mine were off the charts for resistance. i had 3 of them that were high resistance when I checked when I found out about the problem. it was still running decently. now it runs better. this is one reason that I have gone to using tempest plugs. unless your plug wires are misrouted, it is normal to run half bottom plugs (one side) and half of the top plugs (other side) from one magneto. btw, that is cylinder 2 on the front left cylinder 1 is front right.
Thanks James! I guess I only really confirmed that the left bottom plugs are from the left mag, I didn’t trace the right side wires. I’ll have to do that when I open it back up.
I’m glad it was an easy fix. Your rain looks a lot like the rain we have here in Oregon. Have fun flying.
Thanks Mark!
Good find!
Thanks Donald!
Just a point of explanation. On meter resistance settings, OL stands for Open Loop.
Roger that, "overload" always pops in my head...but I know that's not right!
One thing to note, you said your left mag runs the bottom plugs, typically mags are wired so one runs top on one side and bottom on the other. Take a look at how yours are wired. FWIW, your left bank is 2 (front) & 4 (rear), right is 1 (front) & 3 ( rear) cylinders.
I wouldn't necessarily run fine wires unless you fly at high altitude most of the time. That's where they shine. That said, look into REM40E plugs vice 38's, they burn hotter and help with lead fouling some.
Thanks for the info Tom, I should have traced my right side wires as well (I got lazy). I can't tell you how much I appreciate the information!
When I was an auto and motorcycle mechanic years ago, I hated Champion spark plugs..
I think they still aren't great!
Good find. If you save your old plugs there’s a company that redoes them for $3 each, Mike Busch talks about doing that. This would give you spare plugs on hand too.
I will have to find that company! I absolutely did save the old plugs.
Most A&P shops have a plug cleaning and testing machine. What they charge will vary but pretty much anyone should be able to clean and test your plugs for a nominal charge.
Roger that.
Each mag runs the top plugs on one side and the bottom on the other side
Roger that. I only traced the wires to the left side, I should have been more thorough.
welcome to Champion plugs, if you look down into the "cigarette well" you'll see what looks like a screwdriver slot, if this is the case take the plugs and toss them in the garbage. Champion will never admit they had a resistance issue, but if you do some simple searches on the internet you'll see Champion tests as either super high resistance or completely open. Their new design plugs do not have this problem, or just use Tempest, they are as good or better and don't have resistance problems.
Roger that. Each of the plugs I removed had the slot you mentioned. However, the new plugs I installed did not. Hopefully the new plugs will stand the test of time.
@@MyTimeToFly check the remaining plugs, if they are champions and have the "screwdriver slot" just replace them, you will have problems with them. Also resistance must measure less than 5K ohms, more than that they are no good.
Roger that, for “nobody” you have some good info.
Two points, when inspecting a plug look carefully inside the barrel looking for a crack in ceramic, if found, throw the plug away. If the the ceramic comes apart in flight fragments will destroy the other plug in cylinder. The plane will not fly on 3 cylinders. Having said that, if a plug is dropped onto a hard surface, throw it away ( see above).
Roger that Rod, I appreciate you sharing the wisdom.
The beginning I was thinking I hope those are Tekton tools
Of course they are (except the aviation plug socket).
I’ve never seen aviation spark plugs before, interesting. How many does that 4 cyl have, 8? 4? Good luck friend.
Each cylinder has 2 plugs, so 8 total on this 360 cubic inch 4 cylinder.
They have two plugs per cylinder for safety and redundancy. They connect to separate magnetos that have their own juice in case of power failure.
@@yamilcabrera2111 Thank you for your input! Yes, I've heard about the redundancies in the aviation world, I just hate to assume things ya know.
I appreciate that!
I hate how many screws are on the cowling. Aviation plugs look bad because of all the lead. It shouldn't be excessively oily and shouldn't have any "clinkers" in there. Clinkers are just the lead balls. My plug on that side is a bit oily too. I think I have some blow by that I'm gonna get checked at my annual. The Mags power a bottom set and a top set on the opposite side. I believe 5K ohms is the high end, but I'd also check plugs in a plug testing machine. They allow you to see the plug to arc under air pressure to see if you're getting a good spark. Front Right cylinder is #1 and Front Left is #2.
Thanks for all of the info RRAD. I only traced the left mag to the bottom left spark plugs, that's my bad. Lucky enough I believe I stumbled on the problem!
Do you have an engine monitor installed?
We do not. It's something we very much wish to get.
@@MyTimeToFly That would definitely help in diagnosing issues.
I have the Insight G4. it has the SD card right on the front to pop in your laptop. its also colorful so its easy to see what you are looking for with CHT and EGT.
I spent 3 days with a mechanic installing it with all the sensors and wires but seriously the best investment you can have for your safety.
I couldn’t agree more!
That sounds amazing. You can bring the data to your computer to analyze it?
You could run the mag with the lower rpms for 5 minutes then stop and put a infrared thermometer gun on them to see which ones are firing if you don’t have an engine monitor
Do not put a whole lot of anti seize on the plugs, as if any gets inside the cylinder it will cause detonation
Roger that William!
champion make a sparkplug chart that you can hold the plug and match what the issue or non-issue you are seeing.
I prefer fine wire.
I replaced all my plugs last annual just to make sure my performance was higher.
mass electrodes are expensive so I just said fine wire is only a bit more but last so much longer with a bolder spark.
The fine wire plugs I found were about 4x the money, did you find something different?
@@MyTimeToFly Aircraft spruce is where I get most my parts and supplies!
I dont remember right off hand what I paid for the whole service but the engine sounds different to me also.
Roger that.
Take the other plug out of the same cylinder that the wet plug was in and inspect it. If it is also wet or shows signs of excessive oil or foiling you could have a mechanical issue with that cylinder. Hopefully not, hopefully it was just a bad plug, but if you do it will be much cheaper to find it now before it causes damage, not to mention if it does it while in the air.
This is a great next step, I will be doing this next time I'm at the airport. Thanks Wallace!
Go with Bosch Platinums much better.
Haha, yea...it would be great to have some more options.