Random Misfire while cruising

[jalexquijano]

I have a question which has not been answered. Can one or two spark plugs that have been fouled due to traffic jam meaning some minutes of idle cause some random misfire? The reason i ask this is because the other day i experience some random misfire at 2nd and 3rd gear while cruising for a while after the engine experienced some idle during short stops and suddenly as i accelerated the misfire went away. Where should i look into? Im still considering it its worth replacing the fan clutch with twin electric fan to solve this issue or should i simply forget about this.

[Mark Maras]

 The only two reasons for switching to electric fans (IMO) are increased cooling at low or no speed and a slight horsepower gain. 

 I think you're on the right track suspecting plugs. Especially because you said the problem went away after a quick Italian tune-up. What RPMs did it begin to misfire? Normal for fouled plugs is around 3500 and above. 

 Is your engine still overheating in traffic jams? If so, I'd look into the electric fans. In extreme cases (hot weather and long waits) I just turned the engine off and when I did get moving slowly I kept the RPMs as low as I could. Fewer RPMs equals less heat generated. That said, I never had any percolation or vapor lock problems that would have prevented it from starting right away.

[AK260]

Ok dude, electric fans won’t stop fouling plugs.

 

The first thing to look and adjust would be your mix.

 

But before any of that, go for a drive with a pair of cloth gloves, towel and a spark plug remover socket in the car. Re-created the scenario. As soon as it happens, turn off engine, pull over, pop the bonnet, lay the towel on the wing and pull your plugs (which will be hot) and lay them on the towel. Now look at what the plugs look like and if the ones from the front and rear banks are different in any way.

 

I also experienced similar symptoms but with fuel vaporisation as the header was heating up carbs and everything carrying fuel above them. A decent heat-shield works wonders. Good luck chap.

 

 

[Mark Maras]

 Good advice above, However, I'm not a fan of pulling spark plugs from a hot aluminum head. I've done it many times successfully but I hate the feel of the plug coming out. @jalexquijano Have you pulled the plugs lately and compared #1,2,3 with 4,5,6 and how many turns down are you running on the mixture screws? Both the same? Deja Vu!

Edited June 11, 2019 by Mark Maras

[jalexquijano]

I already have two heat shields installed. The stock one at the rear of the carbs and another aluminium one under the carbs. Thanks for keeping me away from buying an unnecesary electric fan.

[siteunseen]

Did we figure out if his country gets a summer blend fuel? If so wouldn't different heat range plugs help?

Just guessing like everyone else is on the info we're reading.

[jonbill]

What spark plugs are they? If they're too cold then they can foul at idle and cause misfire until they're back in the self cleaning temp range and clean again.

[jalexquijano]

10 minutes ago, jonbill said:

What spark plugs are they? If they're too cold then they can foul at idle and cause misfire until they're back in the self cleaning temp range and clean again.

NGK BP6ES

[jonbill]

NGK BP6ES

They won't be too cold. So not that then!

[jalexquijano]

Just now, jonbill said:

2 minutes ago, jalexquijano said:

NGK BP6ES

They won't be too cold. So not that then!

 

[jalexquijano]

On 6/11/2019 at 4:13 PM, Mark Maras said:

 Good advice above, However, I'm not a fan of pulling spark plugs from a hot aluminum head. I've done it many times successfully but I hate the feel of the plug coming out. @jalexquijano Have you pulled the plugs lately and compared #1,2,3 with 4,5,6 and how many turns down are you running on the mixture screws? Both the same? Deja Vu!

Just pulled out all 6 plugs havent got into any heavy traffic. Plugs 4 and 3 came out a little bit more black. I will clean them up with brass wire brush and try again. The order of the pics is 6 5 4 3 2 1 left to right.

[Mark Maras]

 They look pretty good. Odd that 3 & 4 are a bit darker. As you said, clean 'em up and try again.