Ignition system

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challenged and removed. (September 2007)

An ignition system is a system for igniting a fuel-air mixture. It is best known in the field
of internal combustion engines but also has other applications, e.g. in oil-fired and gas-
fired boilers. The earliest internal combustion engines used a flame, or a heated tube, for
ignition but these were quickly replaced by systems using an electric spark.

Contents
[hide]

• 1 History
o 1.1 Magneto systems
o 1.2 Switchable systems
o 1.3 Battery-operated ignition
• 2 Modern ignition systems
o 2.1 Mechanically timed ignition
o 2.2 Electronic ignition
o 2.3 Digital electronic ignitions
• 3 Engine management
• 4 Turbine and jet engines
• 5 See also

• 6 References

[edit] History
[edit] Magneto systems
Magneto ignition coil

The simplest form of spark ignition is that using a magnet. The engine spins a magnet
inside a coil, or, in the earlier designs, a coil inside a fixed magnet, and also operates a
contact breaker, interrupting the current and causing the voltage to be increased
sufficiently to jump a small gap. The spark plugs are connected directly from the
magneto output. Early magnetos had one coil, with the contact breaker (sparking plug)
inside the combustion chamber. In about 1902, Bosch introduced a double-coil magneto,
with a fixed sparking plug, and the contact breaker outside the cylinder. Magnetos are not
used in modern cars, but because they generate their own electricity they are often found
on piston-engined aircraft engines and small engines such as those found in mopeds,
lawnmowers, snowblowers, chainsaws, etc. where a battery-based electrical system is not
present for any combination of necessity, weight, cost, and reliability reasons.

Magnetos were used on the small engine's ancestor, the stationary "hit or miss" engine
which was used in the early twentieth century, on older gasoline or distillate farm tractors
before battery starting and lighting became common, and on aircraft piston engines.
Magnetos were used in these engines because their simplicity and self-contained
operation was more reliable, and because magnetos weighed less than having a battery
and dynamo or alternator.

Aircraft engines usually have multiple magnetos to provide redundancy in the event of a
failure. Some older automobiles had both a magneto system and a battery actuated system
(see below) running simultaneously to ensure proper ignition under all conditions with
the limited performance each system provided at the time.This gave the benefits of easy
starting (from the battery system) with reliable sparking at speed (from the magneto).

[edit] Switchable systems

Ford Model T ignition circuit

The output of a magneto depends on the speed of the engine, and therefore starting can be
problematic. Some magnetos include an impulse system, which spins the magnet quickly
at the proper moment, making easier starting at slow cranking speeds. Some engines,
such as aircraft but also the Ford Model T, used a system which relied on non
rechargeable dry cells, (similar to a large flashlight battery, and which was not
maintained by an electrical system as on modern automobiles) to start the engine or for
starting and running at low speed. The operator would manually switch the ignition over
to magneto operation for high speed operation.

In order to provide high voltage for the spark from the low voltage batteries, a "tickler"
was used, which was essentially a larger version of the once widespread electric buzzer.
With this apparatus, the direct current passes through an electromagnetic coil which pulls
open a pair of contact points, interrupting the current; the magnetic field collapses, the
spring-loaded points close again, the circuit is reestablished, and the cycle repeats
rapidly. The rapidly collapsing magnetic field, however, induces a high voltage across the
coil which can only relieve itself by arcing across the contact points; while in the case of
the buzzer this is a problem as it causes the points to oxidize and/or weld together, in the
case of the ignition system this becomes the source of the high voltage to operate the
spark plugs.

In this mode of operation, the coil would "buzz" continuously, producing a constant train
of sparks. The entire apparatus was known as the Model T spark coil (in contrast to the
modern ignition coil which is only the actual coil component of the system). Long after
the demise of the Model T as transportation they remained a popular self-contained
source of high voltage for electrical home experimenters, appearing in articles in
magazines such as Popular Mechanics and projects for school science fairs as late as the
early 1960s. In the UK these devices were commonly known as trembler coils and were
popular in cars pre-1910, and also in commercial vehicles with large engines until around
1925 to ease starting.

The Model T (built into the flywheel) differed from modern implementations by not
providing high voltage directly at the output; the maximum voltage produced was about
30 volts, and therefore also had to be run through the spark coil to provide high enough
voltage for ignition, as described above, although the coil would not "buzz" continuously
in this case, only going through one cycle per spark. In either case, the high voltage was
switched to the appropriate spark plug by the timer mounted on the front of the engine,
the equivalent of the modern distributor. The timing of the spark was adjustable by
rotating this mechanism through a lever mounted on the steering column.

[edit] Battery-operated ignition

With the universal adaptation of electrical starting for automobiles, and the concomitant
availability of a large battery to provide a constant source of electricity, magneto systems
were abandoned for systems which interrupted current at battery voltage, used an ignition
coil (a type of autotransformer) to step the voltage up to the needs of the ignition, and a
distributor to route the ensuing pulse to the correct spark plug at the correct time.

The first reliable battery operated ignition was developed by the Dayton Engineering
Laboratories Co. (Delco) and introduced in the 1910 Cadillac. This ignition was
developed by Charles Kettering and was a wonder in its day. It consisted of a single coil,
points (the switch), a capacitor and a distributor set up to allocate the spark from the
ignition coil timed to the correct cylinder. The coil was basically an autotransformer set
up to step up the low (6 or 12 V) voltage supply to the high ignition voltage required to
jump a spark plug gap.

The points allow the coil to charge magnetically and then, when they are opened by a
cam arrangement, the magnetic field collapses and a large (20 kV or greater) voltage is
produced. The capacitor is used to absorb the back EMF from the magnetic field in the
coil to minimize point contact burning and maximize point life. The Kettering system
became the primary ignition system for many years in the automotive industry due to its
lower cost, higher reliability and relative simplicity.[1]

[edit] Modern ignition systems

The ignition system is typically controlled by a key operated Ignition switch.

[edit] Mechanically timed ignition

Distributor cap

Most four-stroke engines have used a mechanically timed electrical ignition system. The
heart of the system is the distributor. The distributor contains a rotating cam driven by the
engine's drive, a set of breaker points, a condenser, a rotor and a distributor cap. External
to the distributor is the ignition coil, the spark plugs and wires linking the distributor to
the spark plugs and ignition coil. (see diagram Below)

The system is powered by a lead-acid battery, which is charged by the car's electrical
system using a dynamo or alternator. The engine operates contact breaker points, which
interrupt the current to an induction coil (known as the ignition coil).

The ignition coil consists of two transformer windings sharing a common magnetic core
—the primary and secondary windings. An alternating current in the primary induces
alternating magnetic field in the coil's core. Because the ignition coil's secondary has far
more windings than the primary, the coil is a step-up transformer which induces a much
higher voltage across the secondary windings. For an ignition coil, one end of windings
of both the primary and secondary are connected together. This common point is
connected to the battery (usually through a current-limiting ballast resistor). The other
end of the primary is connected to the points within the distributor. The other end of the
secondary is connected, via the distributor cap and rotor, to the spark plugs.
Ignition Circuit Diagram - Mechanically Timed Ignition

The ignition firing sequence begins with the points (or contact breaker) closed. A steady
charge flows from the battery, through the current-limiting resistor, through the coil
primary, across the closed breaker points and finally back to the battery. This steady
current produces a magnetic field within the coil's core. This magnetic field forms the
energy reservoir that will be used to drive the ignition spark.

As the engine turns, so does the cam inside the distributor. The points ride on the cam so
that as the engine turns and reaches the top of the engine's compression cycle, a high
point in the cam causes the breaker points to open. This breaks the primary winding's
circuit and abruptly stops the current through the breaker points. Without the steady
current through the points, the magnetic field generated in the coil immediately and
rapidly collapses. This change in the magnetic field induces a high voltage in the coil's
secondary windings.

At the same time, current exits the coil's primary winding and begins to charge up the
capacitor ("condenser") that lies across the now-open breaker points. This capacitor and
the coil’s primary windings form an oscillating LC circuit. This LC circuit produces a
damped, oscillating current which bounces energy between the capacitor’s electric field
and the ignition coil’s magnetic field. The oscillating current in the coil’s primary, which
produces an oscillating magnetic field in the coil, extends the high voltage pulse at the
output of the secondary windings. This high voltage thus continues beyond the time of
the initial field collapse pulse. The oscillation continues until the circuit’s energy is
consumed.
The ignition coil's secondary windings are connected to the distributor cap. A turning
rotor, located on top of the breaker cam within the distributor cap, sequentially connects
the coil's secondary windings to one of the several wires leading to each cylinder's spark
plug. The extremely high voltage from the coil's secondary -– often higher than 1000
volts—causes a spark to form across the gap of the spark plug. This, in turn, ignites the
compressed air-fuel mixture within the engine. It is the creation of this spark which
consumes the energy that was originally stored in the ignition coil’s magnetic field.

High performance engines with eight or more cylinders that operate at high r.p.m. (such
as those used in motor racing) demand both a higher rate of spark and a higher spark
energy than the simple ignition circuit can provide. This problem is overcome by using
either of these adaptations:

• Two complete sets of coils, breakers and condensers can be provided - one set
for each half of the engine, which is typically arranged in V-8 or V-12
configuration. Although the two ignition system halves are electrically
independent, they typically share a single distributor which in this case contains
two breakers driven by the rotating cam, and a rotor with two isolated conducting
planes for the two high voltage inputs.
• A single breaker driven by a cam and a return spring is limited in spark rate by the
onset of contact bounce or float at high rpm. This limit can be overcome by
substituting for the breaker a pair of breakers that are connected electrically in
series but spaced on opposite sides of the cam so they are driven out of phase.
Each breaker then switches at half the rate of a single breaker and the "dwell"
time for current buildup in the coil is maximized since it is shared between the
breakers. The Lamborghini V-12 engine has both these adaptations and therefore
uses two ignition coils and a single distributor that contains 4 contact breakers.

A distributor-based system is not greatly different from a magneto system except that
more separate elements are involved. There are also advantages to this arrangement. For
example, the position of the contact breaker points relative to the engine angle can be
changed a small amount dynamically, allowing the ignition timing to be automatically
advanced with increasing revolutions per minute (RPM) and/or increased manifold
vacuum, giving better efficiency and performance.

However it is necessary to check periodically the maximum opening gap of the

breaker(s), using a feeler gauge, since this mechanical adjustment affects the "dwell" time
during which the coil charges, and breakers should be re-dressed or replaced when they
have become pitted by electric arcing. This system was used almost universally until the
late 1970s, when electronic ignition systems started to appear.

[edit] Electronic ignition

The disadvantage of the mechanical system is the use of breaker points to interrupt the
low-voltage high-current through the primary winding of the coil; the points are subject
to mechanical wear where they ride the cam to open and shut, as well as oxidation and
burning at the contact surfaces from the constant sparking. They require regular
adjustment to compensate for wear, and the opening of the contact breakers, which is
responsible for spark timing, is subject to mechanical variations.

In addition, the spark voltage is also dependent on contact effectiveness, and poor
sparking can lead to lower engine efficiency. A mechanical contact breaker system
cannot control an average ignition current of more than about 3 A while still giving a
reasonable service life, and this may limit the power of the spark and ultimate engine
speed.

Example of a basic electronic ignition system

Electronic ignition (EI) solves these problems. In the initial systems, points were still
used but they handled only a low current which was used to control the high primary
current through a solid state switching system. Soon, however, even these contact breaker
points were replaced by an angular sensor of some kind - either optical, where a vaned
rotor breaks a light beam, or more commonly using a Hall effect sensor, which responds
to a rotating magnet mounted on the distributor shaft. The sensor output is shaped and
processed by suitable circuitry, then used to trigger a switching device such as a thyristor,
which switches a large current through the coil.

The first electronic ignition (a cold cathode type) was tested in 1948 by Delco-Remy,[2]
while Lucas introduced a transistorized ignition in 1955, which was used on BRM and
Coventry Climax Formula One engines in 1962.[2] The aftermarket began offering EI that
year, with both the AutoLite Electric Transistor 201 and Tung-Sol EI-4 being available.[3]
Pontiac became the first automaker to offer an optional EI, the breakerless magnetic
pulse-triggered Delcotronic, on some 1963 models; it was also available on some
Corvettes.[3] Ford fitted a Lucas system on the Lotus 25s entered at Indianapolis the next
year, ran a fleet test in 1964, and began offering optional EI on some models in 1965.[4]
Beginning in 1958, Earl W. Meyer at Chrysler worked on EI, continuing until 1961 and
resulting in use of EI on the company's NASCAR hemis in 1963 and 1964.[5]

Prest-O-Lite's CD-65, which relied on capacitance discharge (CD), appeared in 1965, and
had "an unprecedented 50,000 mile warranty."[6] (This differs from the non-CD Prest-O-
Lite system introduced on AMC products in 1972, and made standard equipment for the
1975 model year.)[7] A similar CD unit was available from Delco in 1966,[8] which was
optional on Oldsmobile, Pontiac, and GMC vehicles in the 1967 model year.[9] Also in
1967, Motorola debuted their breakerless CD system.[10]

FIAT became the first company to offer standard EI, in 1968, followed by Chrysler (after
a 1971 trial) in 1973 and by Ford and GM in 1975.[11]

In 1967, Prest-O-Lite made a "Black Box" ignition amplifier, intended to take the load
off of the distributor's breaker points during high r.p.m. runs, which was used by Dodge
and Plymouth on their factory Super Stock Coronet and Belvedere and drag racers. This
amp was installed on the interior-side of the cars' firewall, and had a duct which provided
outside air to cool the amp. The rest of the system (distributor and spark plugs) remains
as for the mechanical system. The lack of moving parts compared with the mechanical
system leads to greater reliability and longer service intervals. Chrysler introduced
breakerless ignition in mid-1971 as an option for its 340 V8 and the 426 Street Hemi. For
the 1972 model year, the system became standard on its high-performance engines (the
340 cu in (5.6 l) and the four-barrel carburetor-equipped 400 hp (298 kW) 400 cu in (7 l))
and was an option on its 318 cu in (5.2 l), 360 cu in (5.9 l), two-barrel 400 cu in (6.6 l),
and low-performance 440 cu in (7.2 l) . Breakerless Ignition was standardised across the
model range for 1973. For older cars, it is usually possible to retrofit an EI system in
place of the mechanical one. In some cases, a modern distributor will fit into the older
engine with no other modifications, like the H.E.I. distributor made by General Motors,
and the aforementioned Chrysler-built electronic ignition (with an "Orange Box"
amplifier and a faster-advance curve distributor).

Other innovations are currently available on various cars. In some models, rather than
one central coil, there are individual coils on each spark plug, sometimes known as direct
ignition or coil on plug (COP). This allows the coil a longer time to accumulate a charge
between sparks, and therefore a higher energy spark. A variation on this has each coil
handle two plugs, on cylinders which are 360 degrees out of phase (and therefore reach
TDC at the same time); in the four-cycle engine this means that one plug will be sparking
during the end of the exhaust stroke while the other fires at the usual time, a so-called
"wasted spark" arrangement which has no drawbacks apart from faster spark plug
erosion; the paired cylinders are 1/4 and 2/3. Other systems do away with the distributor
as a timing apparatus and use a magnetic crank angle sensor mounted on the crankshaft to
trigger the ignition at the proper time.

During the 1980s, electronic ignition systems were developed alongside other
improvements such as fuel injection systems. After a while it became logical to combine
the functions of fuel control and ignition into one electronic system known as an engine
control unit. However on older vehicles this was not possible and now a common
electronic ignition system for classic cars is the Powerspark electronic ignition.

[edit] Digital electronic ignitions

At the turn of the 21st century digital electronic ignition modules became available for
small engines on such applications as chainsaws, string trimmers, leaf blowers, and lawn
mowers. This was made possible by low cost, high speed, and small footprint
microcontrollers. Digital electronic ignition modules can be designed as either capacitor
discharge ignition (CDI) or inductive discharge ignition (IDI) systems. Capacitive
discharge digital ignitions store charged energy for the spark in a capacitor within the
module that can be released to the spark plug at virtually any time throughout the engine
cycle via a control signal from the microprocessor. This allows for greater timing
flexibility, and engine performance; especially when designed hand-in-hand with the
engine carburetor.

[edit] Engine management

In an Engine Management System (EMS), electronics control fuel delivery, ignition
timing and firing order. Primary sensors on the system are engine angle (crank or Top
Dead Center (TDC) position), airflow into the engine and throttle demand position. The
circuitry determines which cylinder needs fuel and how much, opens the requisite
injector to deliver it, then causes a spark at the right moment to burn it. Early EMS
systems used analogue computer circuit designs to accomplish this, but as embedded
systems became fast enough to keep up with the changing inputs at high revolutions,
digital systems started to appear.

Some designs using EMS retain the original coil, distributor and spark plugs found on
cars throughout history. Other systems dispense with the distributor and individual coils
mounted directly atop each spark plug. This removes the need for both distributor and
high-tension leads, both components with a poor record for long-term reliability.

Modern EMSs read in data from various sensors about the crank position, manifold
temperature, manifold pressure (or air mass flow), throttle position, fuel mixture via the
O2 sensor and sometimes the unit will read data from knock sensors and exhaust gas
temperature sensors. The EMS then uses collected data to precisely determine how much
fuel to deliver and when and thus how far to advance the ignition timing. With electronic
ignition systems, individual cylinders[citation needed] can have their own individual ignition
timing so that timing can be as aggressive as possible per cylinder without fuel
detonation. As a result, sophisticated electronic ignition systems can be both more fuel
efficient, and produce better performance, over their counterparts.

[edit] Turbine and jet engines

Turbine engines have a capacitor discharge ignition system using one or more igniter
plugs, which are only used at startup or in case the combustor(s) flame goes out. Rocket
engines have particularly demanding ignitions systems- if prompt ignition does not occur
the chamber can fill with excess fuel and oxidiser and significant overpressure can occur
(a 'hard start'). Rockets often employ pyrotechnic devices that place flames across the
face of the injector plate, or, alternatively, self-ignition chemicals.
[edit] See also Ignition system
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
This article needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be
challenged and removed. (September 2007)

An ignition system is a system for igniting a fuel-air mixture. It is best known in the field
of internal combustion engines but also has other applications, e.g. in oil-fired and gas-
fired boilers. The earliest internal combustion engines used a flame, or a heated tube, for
ignition but these were quickly replaced by systems using an electric spark.

Contents
[hide]

• 1 History
o 1.1 Magneto systems
o 1.2 Switchable systems
o 1.3 Battery-operated ignition
• 2 Modern ignition systems
o 2.1 Mechanically timed ignition
o 2.2 Electronic ignition
o 2.3 Digital electronic ignitions
• 3 Engine management
• 4 Turbine and jet engines
• 5 See also

• 6 References

[edit] History
[edit] Magneto systems
Magneto ignition coil

The simplest form of spark ignition is that using a magnet. The engine spins a magnet
inside a coil, or, in the earlier designs, a coil inside a fixed magnet, and also operates a
contact breaker, interrupting the current and causing the voltage to be increased
sufficiently to jump a small gap. The spark plugs are connected directly from the
magneto output. Early magnetos had one coil, with the contact breaker (sparking plug)
inside the combustion chamber. In about 1902, Bosch introduced a double-coil magneto,
with a fixed sparking plug, and the contact breaker outside the cylinder. Magnetos are not
used in modern cars, but because they generate their own electricity they are often found
on piston-engined aircraft engines and small engines such as those found in mopeds,
lawnmowers, snowblowers, chainsaws, etc. where a battery-based electrical system is not
present for any combination of necessity, weight, cost, and reliability reasons.

Magnetos were used on the small engine's ancestor, the stationary "hit or miss" engine
which was used in the early twentieth century, on older gasoline or distillate farm tractors
before battery starting and lighting became common, and on aircraft piston engines.
Magnetos were used in these engines because their simplicity and self-contained
operation was more reliable, and because magnetos weighed less than having a battery
and dynamo or alternator.

Aircraft engines usually have multiple magnetos to provide redundancy in the event of a
failure. Some older automobiles had both a magneto system and a battery actuated system
(see below) running simultaneously to ensure proper ignition under all conditions with
the limited performance each system provided at the time.This gave the benefits of easy
starting (from the battery system) with reliable sparking at speed (from the magneto).

[edit] Switchable systems

Ford Model T ignition circuit

The output of a magneto depends on the speed of the engine, and therefore starting can be
problematic. Some magnetos include an impulse system, which spins the magnet quickly
at the proper moment, making easier starting at slow cranking speeds. Some engines,
such as aircraft but also the Ford Model T, used a system which relied on non
rechargeable dry cells, (similar to a large flashlight battery, and which was not
maintained by an electrical system as on modern automobiles) to start the engine or for
starting and running at low speed. The operator would manually switch the ignition over
to magneto operation for high speed operation.

In order to provide high voltage for the spark from the low voltage batteries, a "tickler"
was used, which was essentially a larger version of the once widespread electric buzzer.
With this apparatus, the direct current passes through an electromagnetic coil which pulls
open a pair of contact points, interrupting the current; the magnetic field collapses, the
spring-loaded points close again, the circuit is reestablished, and the cycle repeats
rapidly. The rapidly collapsing magnetic field, however, induces a high voltage across the
coil which can only relieve itself by arcing across the contact points; while in the case of
the buzzer this is a problem as it causes the points to oxidize and/or weld together, in the
case of the ignition system this becomes the source of the high voltage to operate the
spark plugs.

In this mode of operation, the coil would "buzz" continuously, producing a constant train
of sparks. The entire apparatus was known as the Model T spark coil (in contrast to the
modern ignition coil which is only the actual coil component of the system). Long after
the demise of the Model T as transportation they remained a popular self-contained
source of high voltage for electrical home experimenters, appearing in articles in
magazines such as Popular Mechanics and projects for school science fairs as late as the
early 1960s. In the UK these devices were commonly known as trembler coils and were
popular in cars pre-1910, and also in commercial vehicles with large engines until around
1925 to ease starting.

The Model T (built into the flywheel) differed from modern implementations by not
providing high voltage directly at the output; the maximum voltage produced was about
30 volts, and therefore also had to be run through the spark coil to provide high enough
voltage for ignition, as described above, although the coil would not "buzz" continuously
in this case, only going through one cycle per spark. In either case, the high voltage was
switched to the appropriate spark plug by the timer mounted on the front of the engine,
the equivalent of the modern distributor. The timing of the spark was adjustable by
rotating this mechanism through a lever mounted on the steering column.

[edit] Battery-operated ignition

With the universal adaptation of electrical starting for automobiles, and the concomitant
availability of a large battery to provide a constant source of electricity, magneto systems
were abandoned for systems which interrupted current at battery voltage, used an ignition
coil (a type of autotransformer) to step the voltage up to the needs of the ignition, and a
distributor to route the ensuing pulse to the correct spark plug at the correct time.

The first reliable battery operated ignition was developed by the Dayton Engineering
Laboratories Co. (Delco) and introduced in the 1910 Cadillac. This ignition was
developed by Charles Kettering and was a wonder in its day. It consisted of a single coil,
points (the switch), a capacitor and a distributor set up to allocate the spark from the
ignition coil timed to the correct cylinder. The coil was basically an autotransformer set
up to step up the low (6 or 12 V) voltage supply to the high ignition voltage required to
jump a spark plug gap.

The points allow the coil to charge magnetically and then, when they are opened by a
cam arrangement, the magnetic field collapses and a large (20 kV or greater) voltage is
produced. The capacitor is used to absorb the back EMF from the magnetic field in the
coil to minimize point contact burning and maximize point life. The Kettering system
became the primary ignition system for many years in the automotive industry due to its
lower cost, higher reliability and relative simplicity.[1]

[edit] Modern ignition systems

The ignition system is typically controlled by a key operated Ignition switch.

[edit] Mechanically timed ignition

Distributor cap

Most four-stroke engines have used a mechanically timed electrical ignition system. The
heart of the system is the distributor. The distributor contains a rotating cam driven by the
engine's drive, a set of breaker points, a condenser, a rotor and a distributor cap. External
to the distributor is the ignition coil, the spark plugs and wires linking the distributor to
the spark plugs and ignition coil. (see diagram Below)

The system is powered by a lead-acid battery, which is charged by the car's electrical
system using a dynamo or alternator. The engine operates contact breaker points, which
interrupt the current to an induction coil (known as the ignition coil).

The ignition coil consists of two transformer windings sharing a common magnetic core
—the primary and secondary windings. An alternating current in the primary induces
alternating magnetic field in the coil's core. Because the ignition coil's secondary has far
more windings than the primary, the coil is a step-up transformer which induces a much
higher voltage across the secondary windings. For an ignition coil, one end of windings
of both the primary and secondary are connected together. This common point is
connected to the battery (usually through a current-limiting ballast resistor). The other
end of the primary is connected to the points within the distributor. The other end of the
secondary is connected, via the distributor cap and rotor, to the spark plugs.
Ignition Circuit Diagram - Mechanically Timed Ignition

The ignition firing sequence begins with the points (or contact breaker) closed. A steady
charge flows from the battery, through the current-limiting resistor, through the coil
primary, across the closed breaker points and finally back to the battery. This steady
current produces a magnetic field within the coil's core. This magnetic field forms the
energy reservoir that will be used to drive the ignition spark.

As the engine turns, so does the cam inside the distributor. The points ride on the cam so
that as the engine turns and reaches the top of the engine's compression cycle, a high
point in the cam causes the breaker points to open. This breaks the primary winding's
circuit and abruptly stops the current through the breaker points. Without the steady
current through the points, the magnetic field generated in the coil immediately and
rapidly collapses. This change in the magnetic field induces a high voltage in the coil's
secondary windings.

At the same time, current exits the coil's primary winding and begins to charge up the
capacitor ("condenser") that lies across the now-open breaker points. This capacitor and
the coil’s primary windings form an oscillating LC circuit. This LC circuit produces a
damped, oscillating current which bounces energy between the capacitor’s electric field
and the ignition coil’s magnetic field. The oscillating current in the coil’s primary, which
produces an oscillating magnetic field in the coil, extends the high voltage pulse at the
output of the secondary windings. This high voltage thus continues beyond the time of
the initial field collapse pulse. The oscillation continues until the circuit’s energy is
consumed.
The ignition coil's secondary windings are connected to the distributor cap. A turning
rotor, located on top of the breaker cam within the distributor cap, sequentially connects
the coil's secondary windings to one of the several wires leading to each cylinder's spark
plug. The extremely high voltage from the coil's secondary -– often higher than 1000
volts—causes a spark to form across the gap of the spark plug. This, in turn, ignites the
compressed air-fuel mixture within the engine. It is the creation of this spark which
consumes the energy that was originally stored in the ignition coil’s magnetic field.

High performance engines with eight or more cylinders that operate at high r.p.m. (such
as those used in motor racing) demand both a higher rate of spark and a higher spark
energy than the simple ignition circuit can provide. This problem is overcome by using
either of these adaptations:

• Two complete sets of coils, breakers and condensers can be provided - one set
for each half of the engine, which is typically arranged in V-8 or V-12
configuration. Although the two ignition system halves are electrically
independent, they typically share a single distributor which in this case contains
two breakers driven by the rotating cam, and a rotor with two isolated conducting
planes for the two high voltage inputs.
• A single breaker driven by a cam and a return spring is limited in spark rate by the
onset of contact bounce or float at high rpm. This limit can be overcome by
substituting for the breaker a pair of breakers that are connected electrically in
series but spaced on opposite sides of the cam so they are driven out of phase.
Each breaker then switches at half the rate of a single breaker and the "dwell"
time for current buildup in the coil is maximized since it is shared between the
breakers. The Lamborghini V-12 engine has both these adaptations and therefore
uses two ignition coils and a single distributor that contains 4 contact breakers.

A distributor-based system is not greatly different from a magneto system except that
more separate elements are involved. There are also advantages to this arrangement. For
example, the position of the contact breaker points relative to the engine angle can be
changed a small amount dynamically, allowing the ignition timing to be automatically
advanced with increasing revolutions per minute (RPM) and/or increased manifold
vacuum, giving better efficiency and performance.

However it is necessary to check periodically the maximum opening gap of the

breaker(s), using a feeler gauge, since this mechanical adjustment affects the "dwell" time
during which the coil charges, and breakers should be re-dressed or replaced when they
have become pitted by electric arcing. This system was used almost universally until the
late 1970s, when electronic ignition systems started to appear.

[edit] Electronic ignition

The disadvantage of the mechanical system is the use of breaker points to interrupt the
low-voltage high-current through the primary winding of the coil; the points are subject
to mechanical wear where they ride the cam to open and shut, as well as oxidation and
burning at the contact surfaces from the constant sparking. They require regular
adjustment to compensate for wear, and the opening of the contact breakers, which is
responsible for spark timing, is subject to mechanical variations.

In addition, the spark voltage is also dependent on contact effectiveness, and poor
sparking can lead to lower engine efficiency. A mechanical contact breaker system
cannot control an average ignition current of more than about 3 A while still giving a
reasonable service life, and this may limit the power of the spark and ultimate engine
speed.

Example of a basic electronic ignition system

Electronic ignition (EI) solves these problems. In the initial systems, points were still
used but they handled only a low current which was used to control the high primary
current through a solid state switching system. Soon, however, even these contact breaker
points were replaced by an angular sensor of some kind - either optical, where a vaned
rotor breaks a light beam, or more commonly using a Hall effect sensor, which responds
to a rotating magnet mounted on the distributor shaft. The sensor output is shaped and
processed by suitable circuitry, then used to trigger a switching device such as a thyristor,
which switches a large current through the coil.

The first electronic ignition (a cold cathode type) was tested in 1948 by Delco-Remy,[2]
while Lucas introduced a transistorized ignition in 1955, which was used on BRM and
Coventry Climax Formula One engines in 1962.[2] The aftermarket began offering EI that
year, with both the AutoLite Electric Transistor 201 and Tung-Sol EI-4 being available.[3]
Pontiac became the first automaker to offer an optional EI, the breakerless magnetic
pulse-triggered Delcotronic, on some 1963 models; it was also available on some
Corvettes.[3] Ford fitted a Lucas system on the Lotus 25s entered at Indianapolis the next
year, ran a fleet test in 1964, and began offering optional EI on some models in 1965.[4]
Beginning in 1958, Earl W. Meyer at Chrysler worked on EI, continuing until 1961 and
resulting in use of EI on the company's NASCAR hemis in 1963 and 1964.[5]

Prest-O-Lite's CD-65, which relied on capacitance discharge (CD), appeared in 1965, and
had "an unprecedented 50,000 mile warranty."[6] (This differs from the non-CD Prest-O-
Lite system introduced on AMC products in 1972, and made standard equipment for the
1975 model year.)[7] A similar CD unit was available from Delco in 1966,[8] which was
optional on Oldsmobile, Pontiac, and GMC vehicles in the 1967 model year.[9] Also in
1967, Motorola debuted their breakerless CD system.[10]

FIAT became the first company to offer standard EI, in 1968, followed by Chrysler (after
a 1971 trial) in 1973 and by Ford and GM in 1975.[11]

In 1967, Prest-O-Lite made a "Black Box" ignition amplifier, intended to take the load
off of the distributor's breaker points during high r.p.m. runs, which was used by Dodge
and Plymouth on their factory Super Stock Coronet and Belvedere and drag racers. This
amp was installed on the interior-side of the cars' firewall, and had a duct which provided
outside air to cool the amp. The rest of the system (distributor and spark plugs) remains
as for the mechanical system. The lack of moving parts compared with the mechanical
system leads to greater reliability and longer service intervals. Chrysler introduced
breakerless ignition in mid-1971 as an option for its 340 V8 and the 426 Street Hemi. For
the 1972 model year, the system became standard on its high-performance engines (the
340 cu in (5.6 l) and the four-barrel carburetor-equipped 400 hp (298 kW) 400 cu in (7 l))
and was an option on its 318 cu in (5.2 l), 360 cu in (5.9 l), two-barrel 400 cu in (6.6 l),
and low-performance 440 cu in (7.2 l) . Breakerless Ignition was standardised across the
model range for 1973. For older cars, it is usually possible to retrofit an EI system in
place of the mechanical one. In some cases, a modern distributor will fit into the older
engine with no other modifications, like the H.E.I. distributor made by General Motors,
and the aforementioned Chrysler-built electronic ignition (with an "Orange Box"
amplifier and a faster-advance curve distributor).

Other innovations are currently available on various cars. In some models, rather than
one central coil, there are individual coils on each spark plug, sometimes known as direct
ignition or coil on plug (COP). This allows the coil a longer time to accumulate a charge
between sparks, and therefore a higher energy spark. A variation on this has each coil
handle two plugs, on cylinders which are 360 degrees out of phase (and therefore reach
TDC at the same time); in the four-cycle engine this means that one plug will be sparking
during the end of the exhaust stroke while the other fires at the usual time, a so-called
"wasted spark" arrangement which has no drawbacks apart from faster spark plug
erosion; the paired cylinders are 1/4 and 2/3. Other systems do away with the distributor
as a timing apparatus and use a magnetic crank angle sensor mounted on the crankshaft to
trigger the ignition at the proper time.

During the 1980s, electronic ignition systems were developed alongside other
improvements such as fuel injection systems. After a while it became logical to combine
the functions of fuel control and ignition into one electronic system known as an engine
control unit. However on older vehicles this was not possible and now a common
electronic ignition system for classic cars is the Powerspark electronic ignition.

[edit] Digital electronic ignitions

At the turn of the 21st century digital electronic ignition modules became available for
small engines on such applications as chainsaws, string trimmers, leaf blowers, and lawn
mowers. This was made possible by low cost, high speed, and small footprint
microcontrollers. Digital electronic ignition modules can be designed as either capacitor
discharge ignition (CDI) or inductive discharge ignition (IDI) systems. Capacitive
discharge digital ignitions store charged energy for the spark in a capacitor within the
module that can be released to the spark plug at virtually any time throughout the engine
cycle via a control signal from the microprocessor. This allows for greater timing
flexibility, and engine performance; especially when designed hand-in-hand with the
engine carburetor.

[edit] Engine management

In an Engine Management System (EMS), electronics control fuel delivery, ignition
timing and firing order. Primary sensors on the system are engine angle (crank or Top
Dead Center (TDC) position), airflow into the engine and throttle demand position. The
circuitry determines which cylinder needs fuel and how much, opens the requisite
injector to deliver it, then causes a spark at the right moment to burn it. Early EMS
systems used analogue computer circuit designs to accomplish this, but as embedded
systems became fast enough to keep up with the changing inputs at high revolutions,
digital systems started to appear.

Some designs using EMS retain the original coil, distributor and spark plugs found on
cars throughout history. Other systems dispense with the distributor and individual coils
mounted directly atop each spark plug. This removes the need for both distributor and
high-tension leads, both components with a poor record for long-term reliability.

Modern EMSs read in data from various sensors about the crank position, manifold
temperature, manifold pressure (or air mass flow), throttle position, fuel mixture via the
O2 sensor and sometimes the unit will read data from knock sensors and exhaust gas
temperature sensors. The EMS then uses collected data to precisely determine how much
fuel to deliver and when and thus how far to advance the ignition timing. With electronic
ignition systems, individual cylinders[citation needed] can have their own individual ignition
timing so that timing can be as aggressive as possible per cylinder without fuel
detonation. As a result, sophisticated electronic ignition systems can be both more fuel
efficient, and produce better performance, over their counterparts.

[edit] Turbine and jet engines

Turbine engines have a capacitor discharge ignition system using one or more igniter
plugs, which are only used at startup or in case the combustor(s) flame goes out. Rocket
engines have particularly demanding ignitions systems- if prompt ignition does not occur
the chamber can fill with excess fuel and oxidiser and significant overpressure can occur
(a 'hard start'). Rockets often employ pyrotechnic devices that place flames across the
face of the injector plate, or, alternatively, self-ignition chemicals.
[edit] See also

The purpose of the ignition

system is to light the fuel/air mixture
on fire at the right time.
Three types of systems have been used in modern
times:

The Breaker Point System

The Electronic System

The Computerized System

The Distributorless System

 We will discuss them all, but the one we will
deal with in the greatest detail, is the breaker
point system. The way they create the high
voltage spark is the same in all types of
systems, the only thing that differs is the way
they are controlled.

All ignition systems have two circuits;

The Primary Circuit

The primary circuit is the low voltage circuit that
controls the ignition system.

The primary circuit consists of:

Battery - provides the power to run the system.

Ignition Switch - allows the driver to turn the system

on and off.

Ballast Resistor - reduces battery voltage from 12

volts to 9 volts.
 Points - a mechanical switch that acts as the
triggering mechanism.

Condenser - protects the points from burning out.

Primary Coil - produces the magnetic field which

creates the high voltage in the secondary coil.

Wires - join all the components together.

The Secondary Circuit

The secondary circuit is the circuit which
converts magnetic induction into high voltage
electricity to jump across the spark plug gap,
firing the mixture at the right time.

The Secondary Circuit consists of:

Secondary Coil - the part of the coil that creates the

high voltage electricity.

Coil Wire - a highly insulated wire, that takes the

high voltage from the coil, to the distributor
cap.

Distributor Cap - a plastic cap which goes on top of

the distributor, to hold the high tension wires
in the right order.

Rotor - spins around on the top of the distributor

shaft, and distributes the spark to the right
spark plug.

Spark Plug Wires - another highly insulated wire

that takes the high voltage from the cap to the
plugs.

Spark Plugs - take the electricity from the wires, and

 give it an air gap in the combustion chamber to
jump across, to light the mixture.

Electrical Terms and Principles

Terms;
1. A Circuit is the continuous path that the electricity
goes through. It must be complete from the
source, to the switch, to the load, and back to
the source again.

2. Ground is the part of the circuit which is not wires,

but a part of the car's metal body. This is almost
always the negative side of the battery.

3. Voltage is the electrical pressure that makes

electrons move through a wire. High voltage
requires lots of insulation to prevent electrons
leaking to ground. An example of a high voltage
circuit, is the secondary circuit. Voltage is
measured in volts. An ignition system can
produce as much as 45,000 volts, a battery, 12
volts.

4. Current is the actual amount of electrons flowing.

Large amounts of current require lots of copper
to travel through. An example of a circuit with a
large amount of current, is the cables from the
battery to the starter. Current is measured in
amperes, or amps for short. A starter can draw
200 amps, an ignition system, less than 5 amps.

5. Resistance is the opposition to current flow, and is

measured in ohms.

6. Magnetic Field can best be described by imaginary

lines of force between one pole of the magnet
and the other.

Principles
1. When electricity flows through a wire, a magnetic
field is built up around the wire.

2. When a wire passes through magnetic lines of

force, cutting them, a voltage is induced in the
wire.

3. Three things are needed to produce electricity:

1. Magnetic Field
2. Circuit - a path for the electricity to go
through.
3. Motion - either the wire, or the
magnetic field, has to move.

...So, How Does The Ignition System Work Anyway?

Electrons, supplied by the battery when the

engine is starting, or by the alternator when the
engine is running, are supplied to the primary
circuit at about 12 volts electrical pressure.
When the circuit is completed by turning on the
ignition switch, and the breaker points are
closed, those electrons flow through the primary
coil, across the points to ground, and back to
the battery again.
When electrons flow through a wire, a magnetic
field is built up around the wire. Make the wire
into a coil, and the magnetic field increases by
the number of loops in the coil. This magnetic
field takes a relatively long period of time to
build up. It isn't instantaneous. The time the coil
is charging up is called coil saturation, and is
controlled by the amount of time the breaker
points are closed, or "dwell". the longer the
points are closed for, the longer the dwell, and
the stronger the magnetic field becomes.
The coil is actually named wrong. It shouldn't be
called the coil. It should be called the "coilS".
The primary coil is the one that builds up the
magnetic field. It has a few hundred turns of
relatively large wire in it.. The secondary coil
has a few thousand turns of small diameter wire
in it because it is the one that will make the high
voltage, but low current, and fire the spark
plugs.

So when the points are closed and the ignition

switch is turned on, a magnetic field is built up
around the coil. When the points are opened by
the distributor cam, electrons can no longer
flow, so the magnetic field collapses toward the
center of the coil at the speed of light. When it
collapses, it moves through the secondary coil.
Since the secondary coil has so many turns of
wire, and the speed of the magnetic field is so
high, a great deal of voltage is induced into it.

Not all of the electrical energy is actually used

though. Voltage only builds up until there is
enough to ionize the air in the gap between the
positive and ground electrodes of the spark
plug. When there is enough voltage the spark
plug fires and releases the energy to ground. It
will always take between 5,000 (5KV) and
15,000 (15KV) volts to jump across the spark
plug gap. If it takes more, there is too much
resistance in the plug circuit, or there is too
wide a spark plug gap. If it takes less than 5KV
to fire the plug, there is a short, caused by a
shorted plug wire, too small a spark plug gap, or
a fouled plug.
 The high voltage electricity produced in the
secondary coil goes from the coil tower, through
the coil high tension wire to the distributor cap,
from the center of the cap across the rotor to
the outer terminal of the cap, through the spark
plug high tension wire to the spark plug, across
the plug gap to ground firing the mixture in the
combustion chamber. This all takes place at the
speed of light.

The coil is actually a transformer. It transforms a

twelve volts or so, into as much as 45,000 volts.

A breaker point ignition system is capable of

producing between 20,000 and 30,000 volts of
electrical pressure. There is very little actual
current flow.

Electronic ignition systems were first used as

standard equipment in 1975 because of the
50,000 mile emission durability test required
by the Environmental Protection Agency. The
problem with the old system which had been
used for seventy five years, was the points,
which started to deteriorate after 1,000 miles,
and were totally worn out by 20,000 miles. An
electronic ignition system uses a transistor to
turn on and off primary power. Transistors are
electronic switches that either work or don't,
they don't just deteriorate in use. Electronic
systems are capable of producing up to 45,000
volts and much higher amounts of current than
the breaker point system.

The spark will take place just before Top Dead

Center on the compression stroke.

Parts of the Primary Circuit

Points
The points are not anything mysterious. they are
simply a mechanical switch that turns on and off
the ignition coil. The are opened by the
distributor cam, and closed by the point spring.
When they are closed, the electricity flows from
the battery to the ignition switch on the
steering column, to the positive side of the
primary coil, and across the points to ground.
The only way the electricity can get to ground is
across the points, so when the points open,
electrons can no longer flow and the magnetic
field around the coil collapses.

The points are the weak link in an ignition

system that includes them. After as little as
1000 miles they have deteriorated significantly,
and gone out of adjustment. By 20,000 miles the
engine is not likely to run at all.

The points must be replaced, and adjusted at the

time of a tune-up. They are set by adjusting
"dwell, which is the number of degrees of
distributor cam rotation the points are closed
for. Dwell, coil saturation time, and cam angle
are all the same thing.
 As you can see in the diagram, the closer the
points are to being closed, the longer they stay
closed for and therefore the longer Dwell is. To
adjust the points, simply hook up a dwell meter
to the coil. ( red lead to negative, black to
engine ground) Crank the engine with the
distributor cap and rotor off, and adjust the
fixed contact of the points until the correct
dwell reading is obtained.

If there is a range in the dwell specification, adjust

the points to the low end of the range because
dwell will always increase as the rubbing block
wears down.

Condenser
The sole purpose of the condenser is to protect
the points, and keep them from burning out
prematurely.

The collapsing magnetic field not only collapses

through the secondary coil, but also through the
primary coil. The collapsing field induces a few
hundred volts in the primary coil. These
electrons have to go somewhere, they are just
trying to get to ground by the easiest means
possible. If they were allowed to jump across
the points, they would burn them out in as little
as 100miles. They see the condenser as an easy
way to ground but what it really does is store
them for a fraction of a second. Meanwhile the
points have opened far enough that the 300
volts or so, can't jump across them.

The condenser is just a little can with a strip of

tin foil and a strip of waxed paper, rolled
together inside a little can. A wire is attached to
the roll of tin foil and the waxed paper is there
to separate one roll of the foil from the next
one. The condenser is merely a storage room for
electrons.

Ballast Resistor (or resistor wire)

 The coil is designed to operate on 9 volts.
Battery voltage (12 volts) is reduced to
9 volts by the Ballast Resistor. When the ignition
switch is in the "run" position, the coil is
powered through the Ballast Resistor feeding it
9 volts; but when the ignition switch is turned to
"start", the Ballast Resistor gets by-passed. This
feeds full battery voltage to the coil for better
starting. The starter motor is drawing battery
voltage down to about 10 volts at this time.

Battery

Don't forget, without a good battery, you don't

have a good ignition system.

Primary Coil

The primary coil has a few hundred turns of

relatively large wire. Its positive side is
connected to the ballast resistor, and its
negative side is connected to the distributor (or
the module in an electronic system). The
primary coil is the one that builds the magnetic
field around it.

Parts of the Secondary Circuit

All parts of the Secondary circuit are highly

insulated to prevent the high voltage
electricity from escaping to ground.

Secondary coil
 The secondary coil has a few thousand turns of
hair fine wire. It is the coil that the magnetic
field moves through to produce the high voltage
electricity. Because of the high number of turns
of wire, and because of the extremely high
speed the magnetic field is moving at, ( the
speed of light ) extremely high voltage is
produced, but because the current flow is very
small, the wire only needs to be small too. The
positive side of the secondary coil attaches to
the positive primary wire, and the negative side
goes to the coil tower where the coil high
tension wire plugs in.

Rotor

The rotor spins around on the top of the

distributor shaft and distributes the spark from
the center terminal of the cap to each insert
around the outside in the firing order. Is snaps
onto, or is held by screws, to the top of the
distributor shaft, and only goes on one way.
The rotor is made of "Bakelite", a type of
plastic. Bakelite differs from most plastics in
that is is capable of withstanding a fair amount
of heat. It is, however, quite brittle, but it does
have high dialectic strength or resistance to
current flow.

During a tune-up, the rotor should be checked for

worn electrodes, cracks, and evidence of
punctures. These are places where the
electricity has burned through the rotor to the
distributor shaft.
 Distributor Cap

The distributor cap is also made of bakelite. It

has brass, copper, or aluminum inserts in it to
conduct the electricity to and from the rotor and
the high tension wires. The cap usually has ribs
on the inside to prevent flashover between the
terminals. There is one insert in the center for
the coil HT wire, and inserts around the outside
for the spark plug HT wires. The plug wires are
pushed into these terminals in the firing order.
Good quality caps have copper or brass
inserts and not aluminum. There is arcing
between the cap and rotor and that arcing
causes oxidation of the inserts. Aluminum oxide
is a very effective abrasive and causes wear on
the distributor shaft bearings.

During the tune-up, the cap should be checked for

any wear on the inserts, and evidence of
"carbon tracking". These are places where the
 electricity has made another way to ground, or
one of the other terminals in the cap.

Both cap and rotor should be checked during a tune-

up, but they don't necessarily have to be
replaced unless they show wear.

High Tension Wires

The HT leads are highly insulated to prevent the

electricity taking a short circuit to ground. There
are usually one plug wire going to each spark
plug, and one coil wire going from the coil to the
center of the cap, although on GM's High Energy
ignition system the coil wire has been
eliminated by placing the coil directly on the top
of the cap.
Ht leads are usually carbon core; very much
like a little piece of string impregnated with
graphite. There is very rarely an actual
conductor made of copper. The insulation makes
up a large percentage of the diameter of the
wire, and is usually made of silicon in modern
wire sets.

During the tune-up the wires should be checked for

evidence of burn through, deterioration of the
wire, or boots, or any abnormality.

The plug wires should be separated from each other,

and never bundled together. Bundling the
wires causes cross-fire between the plug leads
and therefore the spark plugs.

The plug wires can be checked on an engine

analyzer, or oscilloscope for high or low firing
lines. High firing lines indicate open circuits
caused by a broken wire or spark plug, or a
 wide spark plug gap. Low firing lines indicate a
short , caused by leakage to ground. This could
be a wire laying across an exhaust manifold or
the cylinder head. If you don't have an
oscilloscope, HT leads can be checked with an
ohm-meter. There should be about a thousand
ohms of resistance per foot of wire.

When pulling plug wires off the spark plugs, twist

and pull the boot, don't yank on the wire itself.
This will cause the wire to break inside and
although it will still work right then, it will give
problems down the road as the wire burns
back in both directions from the break.

Wire sets don't necessarily have to be replaced

during a tune-up, but they should always be
checked.

Spark Plugs
The spark plugs are the last remaining part of a
modern ignition system that need servicing on a
regular basis.
 The plugs must have the correct "reach", or
length of the threads, diameter, sealing method,
and heat range.

The plug on the left requires the use of a seal

ring, or gasket to prevent compression leakage
past the threads. The plug on the right does not
require a gasket.

The spark plug must run at the correct

temperature. If the plug runs too hot, above 900
degrees Celsius, it will glow red hot, and the
fuel mixture will start on fire all by itself, not
when the plug fires. This is called pre-ignition,
and must be avoided at all costs. If the plug
runs too cool, below 450 degrees Celsius, it will
foul up with crud because it never cleans itself.
High performance and high compression engines
have a great deal of heat in the combustion
chamber (remember, its the heat that pushes
the pistons down) and so don't require any
"artificial" heat created by the plug to keep it
hot. High performance engines use cold plugs.
Low performance, low compression engines
don't have a great deal of heat in their
combustion chambers and therefore need to
keep the plugs hot in another way. They use hot
spark plugs.
 Note the short heat path in the plug on the left.
Remember, the hottest part of the plug is the
center electrode. The shorter the distance the
heat has to travel to the coolant, the cooler the
plug runs. A hot spark plug has a longer
insulator nose.

Projected nose or extended tip plugs take the

whole insulator and move it further out into the
combustion chamber. This moves the tip into the
swirling gasses in the combustion chamber and
the tip keeps cleaner than a normal plug and
prevents fouling.
A technician can tell a great deal about the engine he
is working on simply by "reading" the spark
plugs

Worn plugs, like the one on the right in the drawing

above, should be replaced.

The spark plug air gap must be set when the plugs
are installed.

Spark plugs are not normally cleaned and re-gapped

anymore. Sand blasting the insulator gives it a
rough finish and it fouls up easier than when
new.
Timing
 To give the maximum cylinder pressure and
therefore the maximum horsepower, burning of
the gasses must be finished by shortly after Top
Dead Center. If the piston is allowed to go too
far down the cylinder, the combustion chamber
volume will have become too big, the pressure
will drop and so will the power and economy.
In a breaker point ignition system, point
opening triggers when the spark happens, so by
changing where the points open in relation to
the distributor cam, we change when the spark
happens. The same thing happens in an
electronic system when the transistor turns the
coil off. Timing very rarely needs adjusting in an
electronic system because there is nothing that
goes out of adjustment. If timing is off, then
someone probably adjusted it wrong last time.

Basic or Initial Timing

Basic timing is the starting point for the

automatic timing advance systems so it is
imperative that it be set correctly.

To set the timing:

The engine must be at idle speed to make sure

mechanical advance isn't operating.

The vacuum line to the distributor vacuum chamber

must be disconnected to make sure vacuum
advance isn't operating.

Basic timing is set by moving the distributor body

which of course has the points attached to it.
Loosen the clamp that holds the distributor
down so the distributor can be moved but
leave it tight enough that it can't move itself.
Attach a timing light to the engine and shine it
down at the timing marks. The timing light will
 "freeze" the timing mark on the balancer
whenever #1 spark plug fires. Adjust the
distributor body so the timing mark on the
balancer lines up with the correct mark on the
scale, and tighten down the distributor clamp.
Timing marks can also be located on the
engine's flywheel, especially in front wheel
drive cars.

If basic , or initial timing is wrong; both vacuum and

centrifugal advance will be off too.

Centrifugal Advance

Centrifugal advance affects power.

 The fuel in the combustion chamber takes
approximately the same amount of time to burn
no matter what speed the engine is running at
for equal throttle opening. Remember that the
spark only starts the fuel burning. Once we have
lit it on fire with the spark, it keeps burning all
by itself, and that takes time. It takes time for
the flame to travel across the cylinder. At low
RPM, the piston doesn't travel very far, and
therefore the spark can happen quite late; but
as the engine speeds up, the piston is traveling
faster, and if the spark does not happen earlier,
the piston will have traveled too far down the
cylinder, the volume of the cylinder will be too
large, pressure will be low, and the engine will
be low on power. The spark must be timed
earlier to allow for the increased piston speed.

Notice that at idle, the spark fires at Top Dead

 Center. The piston only travels 10degrees
before the fuel has finished burning.

At 1000 RPM the spark fires the mixture at 8

degrees before top dead center to have the
combustion complete by 10 degrees after TDC.

At 2000 RPM the spark must fire at 26 degrees

before TDC, to have the fuel burned by 10
degrees after TDC.

To do this, small springs hold back advance weights

in the distributor, either above or below the
breaker plate. As distributor speed increases,
these weights are able to overcome the tension
of the springs, the weights fly out, and the
distributor cam, or timer core advances in
relation to the distributor shaft.

Centrifugal advance can be checked very easily, and

should always be checked during a tune-up.
When you've got a timing light on the engine,
rev it up a bit, the timing should advance as
RPM increases.

Vacuum Advance
Vacuum advance affects fuel economy.

To control the speed of a gasoline engine, a

throttle, or butterfly valve is placed somewhere
in the air intake system of the engine. When the
throttle valve is open, the engine can take in as
much air as it wants. When the throttle valve is
closed, air supply to the engine is restricted,
and this restriction creates a vacuum under the
throttle plate called "manifold vacuum". Wide
open throttle, no vacuum. Closed throttle, high
vacuum. When the throttle is closed, the amount
of fuel and air in the combustion chamber is
much less than at wide open throttle, so the
molecules of fuel are further apart. Remember,
the spark only starts the fuel burning; once it
starts burning, it keeps burning all by itself. If
the molecules of fuel are further apart, then one
has to burn for a slightly longer time before the
next one starts on fire, and so on down the line.
This makes a difference in the time it takes to
burn the fuel. The more wide open (low vacuum)
the throttle is, the less time it takes to burn.
The more closed the throttle is (high vacuum),
the longer the time it takes to burn.
 Ported vacuum, taken from above the throttle
plate at idle, (you don't want vacuum advance at
idle, it makes the engine hard to start) acts on a
vacuum diaphragm, to move the breaker plate
that the points are attached to. This advances
the timing at part throttle for better fuel
economy.

It is very common for vacuum diaphragms to

rupture because of years of being exposed to
gas fumes. This causes a sudden decrease in
fuel economy.

Vacuum advance can be checked very easily, and

should be checked as a part of every tune-up.
You don't need a timing light or anything. With
the engine idling, apply a vacuum with w
vacuum pump, or by sucking on the vacuum
advance line. The engine RPM should change.
If it doesn't change, the vacuum advance
diaphragm is ruptured and should be replaced.
 Centrifugal, and vacuum advance work
together to modify the advance curve of the
ignition system to maximize fuel economy,
emissions, and power.

See If You Understand How the Ignition

System Works.
In multiple choice questions there may be more than
one correct answer. Only the best one will be
considered correct
What is the purpose of the ignition system ?
a) to crank the engine over b) to supply the
engine with fuel to burn
c) to charge the battery d) to light the
air / fuel mixture at the right time.

When should the spark take place ?

a) near TDC of the exhaust stroke.
b) near TDC of the compression stroke
c) 25 degrees after TDC on the power stroke
d) after BDC

A breaker point ignition system is capable of

producing how many volts?
a) 20KV to 30KV b) 35,000 volts to
45,000 volts
c) 5KV to 15KV d) 35,000 KV

An electronic ignition system is capable of producing

how many volts?
a) 20KV to 30KV b) 35,000 volts to
45,000 volts
c) 5KV to 15KV d) 35,000 KV

How many volts is needed to jump across a spark plug

gap?
a) 20KV to 30KV b) 35,000 volts to
45,000 volts
c) 5KV to 15KV d) 35,000 KV

What are the two circuits of the ignition system?

a) Positive and negative b) Battery and coil
c) supply and distribution d) Primary and
secondary
Name the parts of the primary circuit:

Click on the correct number by the part name.

Ballast Resistor 1 2 3 4 5
6 7
Points 1 2 3 4
5 6 7
Ignition Switch 1 2 3 4 5
6 7
By-pass wire 1 2 3 4
5 6 7
Primary coil 1 2 3 4 5
6 7
Battery 1 2 3 4
5 6 7
Condenser 1 2 3 4 5
6 7

What supplies the energy to run the primary circuit?

a) Battery b) Coil c) Ignition
System d) distributor

It supplies how many volts?

a) 5KV to 15KV b) 25,000volts c) 9
volts d) 12 volts
The ballast resistor cuts this voltage down to how
many volts when the engine is running?
a) 5KV to 15KV b) 25,000volts c) 9
volts d) 12 volts

What is drawing battery voltage down when the

engine is cranking?
a) Battery b) Starter Motor c)
ballast resistor d) distributor

What are the three things needed to produce

electricity?
a) magnetic field, a circuit, and motion
b) battery, starter, and solenoid
c) magnetism, a circuit, and wires
d) a circuit, motion, and radio waves

When the ignition switch is turned to " on ", and the

points are closed, what is flowing through the
primary circuit?
a) magnetic field b) electrons c)
ohms d) radio waves

What happens around a wire whenever electricity

passes through the wire?
a) magnetic field b) electrons c)
ohms d) radio waves

What is being built up around the coil when the points

are closed?
a) magnetic field b) electrons c)
ohms d) radio waves

What happens when the points open?

a) voltage collapses b)
electrons are trapped
c) magnetic field collapses d) coil is
turned on
How fast does this happen?
a) very fast b) the speed of light
c) the speed of sound d) 100 KPH

What does this do to the secondary coil?

a) turns it on b) gets it
hot
c) produces magnetic field d) produces a
surge of electricity

What is the name for the time when the points are
closed?
a) dwell b) cam angle c) coil
saturation time d) all of the above

How many windings in the primary coil?

( approximately )
a) 50 b) 500 c) 5000 d)
50,000

How many windings in the secondary coil?

a) 50 b) 500 c) 5000 d)
50,000

How big is the wire in the secondary coil?

a) hair fine b) quite small c) 18
gauge d) fairly large

What is meant by coil saturation?

a) when the ignition coil gets wet from
pressure washing
b) when the coil gets too hot
c) when the coil has built up as much magnetic
energy as it can
d) when the coil is left on too long

How fast does the distributor shaft turn compared to

the crankshaft?
a) half as fast b) same speed c)
twice as fast d) faster
What part does the condenser protect?
a) coil b) points c) ballast
resistor d) battery

How does the condenser do this?

a) it speeds them up
b) it slows them down
c) it stores them for a fraction of a second
d) it kills them

What do the points do?

a) turn on and off the coil b) time when
the spark happens
c) provide a path to ground for the coil
d) all of the above

What opens the points?

a) the camshaft b) the
distributor cam
c) the distributor shaft d) a spring

What closes the points ?

a) the camshaft b) the
distributor cam
c) the distributor shaft d) a spring

The primary circuit always grounds through the

points. Therefore the wire to the
distributor is always connected to which
terminal of the coil?
a) positive b) negative c) high
voltage d) none of the above

Dwell is the time the coil is turned On or Off ?

a) on b) off
What happens when the points are opened?
a) the coil is turned on and the magnetic field
builds up
b) the coil is turned on, the magnetic field
builds up and fires the spark plug
c) the coil is turned off, the magnetic field
collapses and fires the spark plug
d) the ignition is shut off

Dwell, Coil saturation, and Cam angle, all mean the

same thing.
a) True b) False

Dwell is set by adjusting what ?

a) distributor position b) point
gap
c) spark plug air gap d)
distributor advance

Dwell should always be set before timing, because

dwell affects timing, but timing doesn't affect
dwell?
a) True b) False

What is the advantage of electronic ignition?

a) no deterioration of the spark over the life of
the car
b) no points to wear out
c) timing and dwell never change due to wear
d) all of the above

Rather than using a point set to turn on and off the

coil, an electronic ignition system uses what?
a) transistor b) reluctor c) pickup
coil d) ignition switch
What are two places the ignition timing marks can be
located?
a) water pump pulley and fan belt b)
harmonic balancer and flywheel
c) cam sprocket and crank sprocket d)
distributor and points

What tool do you use to " Freeze " the timing marks
so you can read them?
a) test lead b) test light c) dwell
meter d) timing light

What part do you move to change the timing ?

a) distributor b) coil c) distributor
cap d) condenser

When setting basic timing, what do you have to

disconnect ?
a) centrifugal advance weights b) coil
primary wire
c) coil secondary wire d)
vacuum advance hose

When setting basic timing, how do you make sure

centrifugal advance isn't in operation?
a) disconnect centrifugal advance weights
b) make sure engine is at correct idle speed
c) set RPM to
2000 d) make
sure the engine is turned off

Which of the following will not affect the amount of

centrifugal advance?
a) weight and shape of advance weights
b) tension of advance springs
b) engine
vacuum d) RPM
of the engine
In centrifugal advance, weights held in by spring
tension at low RPM, fly out at high RPM and
advance what to advance RPM?
a) distributor cam b) breaker
plate
c) distributor shaft d)
distributor

In vacuum advance, the vacuum diaphragm, normally

held in place by a spring, is pulled at part
throttle by ported vacuum and advance what to
advance the timing?
a) distributor cam b) breaker
plate
c) distributor shaft d)
distributor

Vacuum advance gives you better_______

a) power b) emissions c) fuel
economy d) all of the above

Centrifugal advance gives you better_______

a) power b) emissions c) fuel
economy d) all of the above

If the spark plugs in an engine were too hot, it would

probably:
a) knock and ping b)
run on or diesel
c) wear spark plugs out prematurely d)
all of the above

If the spark plugs in an engine were too cold, it would

probably:
a) foul the plugs
b) run on or diesel
c) knock and ping d)
all of the above
What type of driving would you use hot plugs for ?
a) around town
b) racing
c) highway
d) all of the above

What type of engine would you use cold plugs in ?

a) high performance
b) K - car
c) tractor
d) diesel

Which plug is the cold plug? ( circle one )

Name the parts of the secondary circuit:

Click on the correct number by the part's name:

Distributor cap 1
2 3 4 5 6
Coil 1
2 3 4 5 6
Rotor 1
2 3 4 5 6
Spark Plug 1
2 3 4 5 6
Coil High Tension Wire 1
2 3 4 5 6
Spark Plug Wire 1
2 3 4 5 6

Top

IGN-04, Ignition System Troubleshooting

Acrobat Printable Version

Introduction

If you've come to this procedure, you probably suspect that you have a no spark
condition. If so, you should have already verified that you actually have a no spark
condition by performing the initial "no spark" test described in TS-01, Troubleshooting -
Engine Will Not Start.

There are many different ways to go about testing for a no spark condition. The only
problem in determining the ultimate cause of a no spark condition is that if the condition
is caused by a problem with the DME computer, there's really no way to conclusively test
the DME. The same is true with a no fuel condition. So, what we have to do is determine,
as best we can, whether the DME is getting power and whether it's getting all of the
correct input signals it requires to run the engine. If we get all of the proper inputs and the
DME is still not providing the desired output (i.e. spark from the ignition coil or running
the fuel pump), we make the assumption that the DME computer is bad and we replace it.

One of the best ways to test the DME computer is to swap it for a known good DME
computer. However, most of us don't have the luxury of keeping a spare DME computer
on hand. However, if you suspect that starting or running problem may be due to a bad
DME computer, try to borrow a computer to test your car before running out and buying
a DME.

Tools

• Mulitmeter
• Test lead jumpers

Possible Cause
Bad Distributor Cap /
Rotor
Bad Ignition Coil
Bad Engine Cranking /
Running Signal to DME
Faulty DME computer
No Spark Condition
Comments
Inspect distributor cap and rotor per procedure below.
Check coil using Ignition Coil Test procedure below.
Check engine cranking / running signals using FUEL-16.
Check DME computer using FUEL-16.

Distributor Cap and Rotor Inspection

1. Grasp the distributor cap and attempt to move it back and forth. If it moves easily,
the retaining screws are not properly engaged or the distributor cap gasket is
compressed and needs to be replaced.
2. Using IGN-01, remove the distributor cap.
3. Inspect the distributor cap for the following and replace as necessary:
a. Cracks
b. Carbon tracking
c. Moisture buildup on inside of cap
d. Debris
e. Worn rotor button
f. Pitted, worn, or charred terminals
4. Inspect the rotor for charring or pitting and replace if necessary.
5. Check the rotor retaining screw is in place. These screws have a tendency to fall
out causing the rotor to become misaligned.
6. Ensure the dust cover is securely in place behind the rotor. This dust cover is
important because it keeps debris from the belt housing area from getting into the
distributor cap and causing poor or non-existent spark.

Ignition Coil Test

1. Disconnect the ignition coil output wire at the distributor cap.

 2. Connect a spark plug to the end of the ignition coil output wire which you just
disconnected.
3. Connect a ground wire to the threaded portion of the spark plug.
4. Disconnect the ignition coil ground wire from the negative terminal on the coil
(Green Wire).
5. Connect one end of a ground wire to the ignition coil negative terminal.
6. Turn the ignition switch to the ON position.
7. Tap the other end of the ignition coil ground wire jumper on an good grounding
point (for example the battery negative terminal) and look for sparks at the spark
plug that correspond to the frequency of your tapping of the ground wire.
8. If you have a good spark at the spark plug, the ignition coil is good.
9. If you don't get a good spark, check for approximately 12 VDC from the coil
positive terminal (black wire) to ground with the ignition switch in the ON
position. You should also get approximately 12 VDC from the coil negative
terminal (Green wire) to ground

Ignition Coil Resistance Check

In addition to the test above, you may elect to perform an ignition coil resistance check as
confirmation of the coil's condition.

1. Check the ignition coil primary coil resistance by connecting an ohmmeter

between the positive (Black wire) and negative (Green wire) terminals on the coil.
The resistance should be 0.4 to 0.6 ohms.
2. Check the ignition coil secondary coil resistance by connecting an ohmmeter
between the coil output terminal and the ignition coil negative terminal. The
resistance should be 5000 to 7200 ohms.

Clark's Garage © 1998

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