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The demands on the performance of spark plugs are increasing because of developments in lean-burn engines leading to adverse conditions for ignition and because of the desire for a longer life of the plugs. For improving spark plugs and ignition systems, more insight into the relationship between gap wear and spark-plug design, ignition-system characteristics and in-cylinder conditions is required. For that purpose, an instrument has been developed to measure on-line the gap size of spark plugs. This monitor can also be used for on-condition maintenance indicating that a necessary replacement of the spark plugs will be near. The monitor, called SPECTOR, receives a signal from an inductive coil around the high-voltage cable which, under given conditions, is representative for the gap size. SPARK PLUGS are commonly used to initiate the combustion process in natural-gas-fuelled engines.