Glow ignition – self-ignition of the fuel-air mixture as a result of contact with overheated elements in the engine cylinders. Such ignition occurs before the spark is supplied from the spark plug and leads to an uncontrolled combustion process of the fuel charge, an increase in pressure and a significant increase in the temperature of the power unit.
As the short circuit progresses, the subsequent ignition of the mixture becomes more and more earlier, the heating of the parts continues to increase. Glow ignition can be the result of detonation or an independent malfunction. The result is overheating, destruction of spark plugs, the appearance of scoring on the cylinder walls, burnout of the piston bottom, etc.
A common cause of glow ignition is:
- engine detonation ;
- an increase in the compression ratio as a result of the formation of carbon deposits in the combustion chamber;
- overheating of the internal combustion engine due to malfunctions of the cooling system ;
- installation of spark plugs that have an unsuitable glow number for this type of engine;
Glow ignition often manifests itself on a running engine under load in the form of dull knocks. The engine loses power by 10-30%, there is a noticeable excessive fuel consumption. In some cases, short-circuit becomes the reason for the short- term operation of the engine after the ignition is turned off , recalling by the nature of the operation of the internal combustion engine another similar phenomenon called dieseling .
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