Spark plugs flashing blue at night

[c4c5specialist]

ACDelco plug never 'lost' the platinum pucks.

The pucks are eroded based on the fuel additives that are burned in the cylinders.

This is why in most applications, they are using IRIDIUM now.

MTBE did some nasty things and with the use of ethanol, it usually doesnt happen anymore.

The corona discharge may be normal for NGK, but I can tell you I looked at 3 vehicles last night with ACDelcos and I didnt see anything in total blackness.

Interesting discussion though, fun stuff.

Allthebest, c4c5

 

[boomdriver]

i saw this effect back in the 50s on my flat head ford when opening the hood in the dark.

NGK has'nt changed much in 50+ years then...




I completely understand whats happening, with the built in air-gap designed for cooling that allows this to be seen but its still fun to see the thoughts and comments.

 

[Schrade]

What is happening is the air outside the spark plug gets energized or something

Yup - the air is gettin' ionized, and that WILL cause problems (EMI). THAT'S from FSM.


From another site:

What type of problems are associated with electrostatic charge?

Electrostatic charge results in electrostatic attraction (ESA), electrostatic discharge (ESD), and electromagnetic interference (EMI). The presence of these problems in the production environment results in destruction to sensitive devices, lock-up or malfunction of microprocessors, product flow or machinery operation problems, and particle contamination. Back to top.

FSM says EMI will trip false codes, especially in solid-state devices. I had it happen with ABS module, and ECM-CCM link. Fully photo-doc'ed diagnostics in another forum, until I saw the FSM reference in 'Intermittent Diagnostics'. Misrouted SP wires is the primary cause of EMI.

Looks like NGK plugs do the same...

 

[joshwilson3]

Yup - the air is gettin' ionized, and that WILL cause problems (EMI). THAT'S from FSM.


From another site:


FSM says EMI will trip false codes, especially in solid-state devices. I had it happen with ABS module, and ECM-CCM link. Fully photo-doc'ed diagnostics in another forum, until I saw the FSM reference in 'Intermittent Diagnostics'. Misrouted SP wires is the primary cause of EMI.

Looks like NGK plugs do the same...

NGK talk about Corona Discharge. They don't say anything about EMI. So, I'm guessing that is something different.

I've been running NGK for a while now and lots of others use them and recommend them. So, I'm not gonna worry about it.

 

[GRAND SPORT #12]

ok i dont want to sound rude. but dont put NGK, BOSCHE OR NIPENDONSO plugs in your car run AC DELCO..blue spark indicate missfire a back yard way to check is when its happening get a spray bottle and spray mist water on it you will hear the cracks and pops.. but my experience is gm cars run best with delco. i am a toyota mechanic and NGK is great on japan made cars but would not put them in anything else.. BOSCHE works great on porshe and german cars but see tons of missfire codes in other cars..lol go figure my experience is keep it simple the ac delco works great on the corvette. plus the spark could be comming from a bad wire. but the water mist spray will show you pretty quick

 

[joshwilson3]

ok i dont want to sound rude. but dont put NGK, BOSCHE OR NIPENDONSO plugs in your car run AC DELCO..blue spark indicate missfire a back yard way to check is when its happening get a spray bottle and spray mist water on it you will hear the cracks and pops.. but my experience is gm cars run best with delco. i am a toyota mechanic and NGK is great on japan made cars but would not put them in anything else.. BOSCHE works great on porshe and german cars but see tons of missfire codes in other cars..lol go figure my experience is keep it simple the ac delco works great on the corvette. plus the spark could be comming from a bad wire. but the water mist spray will show you pretty quick

That blue glow on the NGK plugs are not sparks. It is Corona Discharge. The air outside the plug is getting ionized. Nothing is leaking from the plug.

I put the NGK plugs in because I first put AC Delco plugs in. Then I noticed the casing rusted out on them. So, I pulled them and put in NGK as their casing won't rust.

I'm sure AC Delco is usually the way to go. But AC Delco is mostly just aftermarket. As you can buy the same thing from what ever company AC Delco gets it from. All AC Delco does is put their name on the box and jack the price up. Having said that, there are some things by AC Delco that fit better than what you can find aftermarket. It just depends on what part you are looking at.

Case in point, AC Delco wiper blades are either made by Trico or Anco. You can save money and buy a Trico instead of AC Delco as they are the same thing.

I just put on some AC Delco plug wires on my 89. They are 2-3 inches longer than the Taylor wires that were on there. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with all of the extra slack. But then I ran into the problem of not being able to get most of the wires to click onto the spark plugs. I had no problems getting the Taylor wires to click on the plugs.

So, I gave up and ripped them out. I plan to returning them and probably get Belden wires from Napa.