light tapping / ticking after plugs changed

[dkcwenge]

i just changed my plugs last week. one of the plugs had gas on it. anyway, i noticed a faint tapping / ticking noise that seemed to have started around the time i changed the plugs. i cant remember exactly what day i noticed it.

does anyone have any suggestions on what i can do to start diagnosing it? i dont think i've ever heard a valve tapping but if i did, i'd think this is what it would sound like.

thanks in advance,

[azn121184]

i could be wrong, but it's a shot anyways. Were the spark plugs gapped accordingly prior to installation?

[dkcwenge]

they WEREN'T... could that be it?

[OldFatGuy]

Are you sure they're all tight? A loose plug can cause that sound.

[dkcwenge]

i'm pretty sure they're all tight. in fact, before i changed them, they were too loose. and they didnt make that sound

[auntiebling]

it's the hamsters that are actually powering your bike. the whole internal combustion thing is a myth.

the hamsters want out. if you don't let them out the tapping will escalate into BANGING then the engine will explode flinging viscious rodents all over. you have been warned :teeth

[dkcwenge]

i called fremont cycle and the guy there said the only thing he could think of would be the piston coming up and tapping the plug, but he was really unsure about the possibility of it touching.

[ST Guy]

Usually, if the piston it tapping the plug a bit, the first thing that will happen is that the gap will close up and the engine will either run like crap or won't run at all. And you won't hear it tapping either because up to that point, all the piston is hitting is the soft side electrode. (Though I suppose that if the plugs are at a low enough angle, the threaded end of the plug could contact the piston. But that would mean plugs that were too long. And anyway, after a few strokes of the piston, the top of the piston would deform and you reallly wouldn't hear anything either. And obviously, if the plugs were way long, you'd have made serious damage to the motor and it most likely wouldn't even run.

I"d pull the plugs and inspect them for proper gap, an indication that something has been banging on them and also make sure they're the proper plugs. If everything looks OK, then put them back in and snug them up and look elsewhere. It's not uncommon for people to suddenly start noticing a sound or characteristic of a motor that was always there anyway when they start working on the motor and paying close attention to it. It's entirely possible that the noise has always been there. Or has been there for some time.

Did you put the plug connectors on tight and make sure they snapped on the end of the plug? If they are loose, the ticking you hear might be arcing of the spark. Just another thought.

[dkcwenge]

i'd imagine if that chamber were not functioning, it'd still run, but not so well. one of my plugs was moist when i pulled it, meaning that it wasnt functioning that well. but it still ran.

how close are the pistons to the plugs? would gapping them change the distance significantly compared to the tightening of the plug itself?

i did change the cct recently -- and i know i listened very carefully to the adjustments on that, so i dont think the tapping sound was there before. but i could be wrong.

the plugs are definitely the right ones, NGK CR9E(ix). there isn't any reason why any part of them would not be the right spec. if i reached in deep, i'd think it'd be because it was overtightened (or is that possible to reach that far because of overtightening?)

i didnt gap them as they've recommended on the NGK site not to gap iridium plugs.

i could check the wires and if they're on properly.

what does "arcing of the spark" mean?

[afm199]

The chances of a plug hitting a piston are about zero in this case. I suspect you are hearing either a sound that was always there or arcing from a spark plug cap ( the wire cap part that snaps on the plug) is loose.

[dkcwenge]

thanks for the help!

if the wire cap is loose, would the spark plug not be functioning?

[afm199]

It would be arcing across the gap and running part of the time or poorly.