The Risk Of Spraying The Injector Cleaner To The Throttle Body When The Engine Is Running
There are various ways to maintain and repair vehicles. One of them is using an injector cleaner, especially during engine tune-up, to restore engine performance to its most optimal condition.
The injector cleaner functions to clean clogged injector holes due to combustion soot or dirt from the fuel line that is not filtered by the fuel filter. However, this injector cleaner is often used by spraying it directly through the throttle body when the engine is running.
This method is fairly high risk for the engine. However, because it is a common practice, the increased risk looks very minimal and seems to have no effect. Even though some models of today's injection engines already use more sophisticated and expensive components. For example, the drive-by-wire system and the use of iridium spark plugs are more costly than ordinary spark plugs.
So what are the risks of spraying the injector cleaner through the throttle body when the engine is running? Check out the following explanation.
1. The spark plug is going black and damaged
The first risk that will occur if we spray the injector cleaner through the throttle body when the engine is running is the blackened spark plug, and there is possible that it will be damaged. What's the reason? As we know, this injector cleaner is a cleaning fluid made from a variety of liquid chemical mixtures.
This chemical liquid is not a suitable fuel for use in the engine when it is running. As a result, this chemical liquid will be difficult to burn, interfering with the combustion chamber's combustion performance. Not infrequently, the engine rpm will drop as if to shut down. In this situation, white smoke that feels pain for the eyes will come out of the exhaust. Here, we need to pull the gas to keep the engine rpm alive and lean the white smoke.
Incomplete combustion in this engine will produce thick black soot. This black soot partially hits the spark plug and is partially discharged during the exhaust stroke. As a result, the spark plugs turn black, and even in some cases that have we encountered, one or two spark plugs often become dead or damaged.
Therefore, it is highly recommended to replace the spark plug after the throttle body is sprayed with an injector cleaner, especially for spraying the throttle body with the engine running on.
2. Oxygen sensor becomes abnormal or damaged
The second risk of spraying the injector cleaner through the throttle body when the engine runs is the oxygen sensor becomes abnormal or damaged. It is similar to a blackened spark plug. Black smoke and soot resulting from incomplete combustion in the engine can also stick to the oxygen sensors.
When these oxygen sensors are covered by black carbon left over from the injector cleaner that doesn't burn in the engine, the work of this oxygen sensor also becomes abnormal. The effect can make the check engine lamp turn on so that the fuel becomes more wasteful than before.
3. Catalytic converter can get clogged
In addition to spark plugs and oxygen sensors, spraying injector cleaner through the throttle body when the engine is running can also harm the catalytic converter components. As we know, this catalytic converter functions to burn excess soot residue due to incomplete combustion in the engine to reduce exhaust emission levels to be more environmentally friendly.
This catalytic converter is shaped like a honeycomb with small holes. The hole diameter in this catalytic converter ranges from 1-3 mm. With the small hole size and the amount of soot that comes out due to incomplete combustion, the catalytic converter has the potential to become clogged.
A clogged catalytic converter can cause various problems in the engine, such as low power, engine speed being stuck at a certain rpm, to a rougher engine sound than before.
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4. The engine can produce white smoke
The risk of spraying the injector cleaner through the throttle body when the engine runs is the engine can produce white smoke due to a jammed piston ring. It is the worst risk that could happen. What's the reason? Because the injector cleaner is sprayed through the throttle body, this liquid does not just enter the combustion chamber.
This injector cleaner fluid will pass through the intake manifold space and the back of the valve, which generally contains carbon deposits and hardened crusts. When a large amount of injector cleaner fluid hits the carbon that has moved, there is a possibility that the crust will be released and enter the combustion chamber.
These crusts will be crushed by compression. Some are often left on the cylinder wall and even slip into the compression ring. The dirt that falls in the compression ring can then make the compression ring jammed and will directly scratch the engine cylinder wall.
As a result, a gap can make engine oil enter the combustion chamber and burn as the engine works. The engine will produce white smoke from the burning engine oil. Those are the risks of spraying the injector cleaner through the throttle body when the engine is running, which we know.