Champion spark plug testor

[tahoe healey]

I purchased a "brand new in the box" old Champion spark plug tester (for twenty dollars). It connects to any one of the plugs, the coil, and the pos and neg battery terminals. It has a scope, like an oscilloscope, on one end that has bars that represent each plug when the engine is started. It is suppose to show the integrity of the plugs. It has the Champion logo on a black Bakelite case. I bought it cause I have a small garage collection. But it is very cool. I cannot find anything about it and no one I know has ever see one of these. Has anyone on this forum ever heard of it?
TH

 

[Bayless]

Never saw one of those but an old mechanic buddy once explained how to build your own really cheap Champion sparkplug tester. "Take a 2 gallon bucket and fill it at least half full of water. Carefully place the plugs in the water and any that float are likely good. discard the rest." :banana:

 

[JPSmit]

Oh, I always thought it was what my dad taught me - attach the plug to the wire, hold the plug in your bare hand and crank over the engine. I've been doing it this way for years and it hasn't affected me at all. I've been doing it this way for years and it hasn't affected me at all.

 

[tahoe healey]

Wow. I could have saved 20 bucks. Aren't you suppose to wet your fingers first?

 

[JPSmit]

Wow. I could have saved 20 bucks. Aren't you suppose to wet your fingers first?

and stand in a puddle

 

[Mickey Richaud]

Wow. I could have saved 20 bucks. Aren't you suppose to wet your fingers first?

and stand in a puddle

but not of your own making

 

[JPSmit]

Wow. I could have saved 20 bucks. Aren't you suppose to wet your fingers first?

and stand in a puddle

but not of your own making

:lol:

we've sure hijacked this thread. (sorry) So, coming back to it, it fascinates me that there would be a tester for a very inexpensive part. But, makes diagnostic sense I suppose

 

[Mickey Richaud]

Actually, I know I've thrown out many good plugs for not having a way to test them accurately. And with their prices climbing, it makes sense to save any we can!

 

[eschneider]

do you get a scope pattern reading the secondary ignition voltage, or just a bar graph representing the plug condition?

I've never heard of your specific champion tool, but I'm sure a manual will pop up on ebay eventually. Otherwise, there are several books about reading ignition scope patterns (if that's what you have)

 

[tahoe healey]

Just a bar graph. It came with a manual which is extremely vague (in four languages). There is a line which the graph bars must be below. I've been busy and will play with it in a few days. I may try to post a picture.

 

[tahoe healey]

Here are a couple pictures of the tester.

https://s774.photobucket.com/albums/yy25/tahoehealey/Spark%20Plug%20Tester/

 

[JPSmit]

kewl! have you tried it yet?

 

[tahoe healey]

Yes, it actually works only I have difficulty interpreting the results. I tend to over analyze things. Does it tell me which plug is bad? Do I read form left to right or right to left? The are all the same height when I try it. If they weren't, I could say, "ah-ha, that one is no good and its the second from the front".
Just a neat collectible. Has any one ever seen or heard of this thing before?
TH

 

[JPSmit]

seems like all the same height is exactly what you want - likely doesn't matter what direction you go as it cares about spikes and valleys.

 

[martx-5]

My guess is that it has to follow the firing order, most likely left to right.

 

[tahoe healey]

I wasn't sure if it would follow the firing order or the geographic location on the engine. I could fowl an old plug and watch the results.
I am surprised no one has seen one of these before. They had to have made a lot of them.

 

[JPSmit]

don't think it is firing order or location since, if I understand it correctly you are testing one plug at a time. So, what you should be seeing is repeated firings of the same plug. Thus, to my mind, what you are looking for is a consistent pattern of firing. If the plug is below the red line and shows a regular "pulse" (each individual vertical line) it is good. If it is spiking (too much spark?) or low (too little spark) it needs replacing.

A good place to test it might actually be a one cylinder lawn lower.

 

[tahoe healey]

It checks all plugs at one time from the way I understand it. I could be wrong. That is why I asked these questions. The instructions are sketchy.

 

[martx-5]

Looking at the pic of the tester, it appears to have two pick-ups for the ignition. Most likely one for the coil wire, and the other for plug number one. That was the set-up that I remember from years ago when I swung wrenches and used an engine scope/analyzer. It showed all of the separate scope patterns for each cylinder.

 

[tahoe healey]

Art, are you saying I do need to check each plug separately?