The Importance of a Good Ignition Coil Assembly

The Importance of a Good Ignition Coil Assembly

Ignition coils are the key to making sure that spark plugs get the high-voltage pulse they need to ionize the air/fuel mixture inside engine cylinders and fire them for combustion.ignition coil assy If one fails, it can cause the dreaded misfire condition.

Modern ignition coils are designed to be a multitasking powerhouse that is capable of both receiving the correct current and sending it on its way to the spark plugs.ignition coil assy These complex components use a combination of sophisticated materials and advanced electrical and magnetic engineering to deliver the right amount of energy to the spark plugs in just the right moment for them to ignite, generating the combustion needed for your engine to operate correctly.

Ignition coils work on the basic principle of step-up transformers; that is, they transform one voltage into a much higher one using electromagnetic induction.ignition coil assy Inside the body of the coil, there are two separate circuits: the primary winding and the secondary winding. The primary circuit has several hundred turns of thick wire and is coiled around an iron core. As the battery-provided current flows through the primary circuit, a large magnetic field is built up around the core. The resulting energy then induces a very high voltage in the secondary winding, which is made up of many thousand more turns of thin copper wire.

The induced voltage is transmitted to the distributor or, in newer systems, directly to the spark plugs.ignition coil assy The distributor uses a set of rotor arm segments to connect the spark plug leads to the central electrode of the coil. It also houses the contact breaker points and device for altering the timing, and it carries the HT lead from the coil to the flywheel — this carries the high-voltage spark needed to ignite the cylinders.

Over time, the conducting metal in an ignition coil can rust and break down, which will reduce its ability to transmit the needed spark from the distributor cap to the flywheel or, in modern direct-contact systems, to the spark plugs themselves.ignition coil assy When this happens, the dreaded misfire problem starts to appear, which can cause your engine to run roughly or even fail to start.

Fortunately, the life span of an ignition coil is relatively long and, if the component isn’t damaged by the vibration of the engine, it will generally continue to operate properly for a while before a failure occurs. Ignition coils can also be subject to damage from the heat of the engine’s operation, which may affect their ability to generate high-voltage pulses and send them to the spark plugs. This can cause the dreaded misfire problem, which will result in unburned fuel leaking into the engine’s exhaust system, which can damage the catalytic converter and other engine components. This is why it is important to identify and address the root causes of a faulty ignition coil quickly to avoid costly repairs.

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