Okuzeka
Automotive vocabulary · Engine and Fuel Systems

Spark plug

Meaning in automotive, with examples

nounCore term

In automotive, spark plug means: A part screwed into the cylinder head of a petrol engine that makes an electric spark to ignite the fuel and air mixture. Diesel engines do not have spark plugs.

In Turkish: buji, ateşleme bujisi

How it is used

Technicians remove, inspect, gap and replace spark plugs at service intervals. Worn or fouled plugs cause misfires and hard starting. Each plug is fed by an ignition coil, often one coil per cylinder.

Example sentences

  1. The spark plug from cylinder one is black and sooty, so the mixture is too rich.

  2. Replace the spark plugs every 60,000 km on this engine.

Common collocations

  • replace the spark plugs
  • spark plug gap
  • fouled spark plug
  • ignition coil
  • misfireA failure of the fuel and air in one or more cylinders to burn properly. The engine shakes, runs rough and loses power, and unburned fuel can overheat the catalytic converter.
  • cylinderOne of the round chambers in an engine block where a piston moves up and down and the fuel is burned. Most car engines have three, four or six cylinders.
  • engineThe machine that burns fuel, usually petrol or diesel, to produce the power that moves a vehicle. It turns the energy of burning fuel into rotation of the crankshaft.
  • service intervalThe distance or time between scheduled maintenance visits set by the manufacturer, for example every 15,000 km or once a year, whichever comes first.

More terms: Engine and Fuel Systems

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