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Index

Auto Ignition Coils


Faraday's
Auto ignition coils are transformer devices in automobile ignition systems law
which produce the high voltage necessary to fire the sparkplugs of gasoline concepts
internal combustion engines.
Inductance
Remove annotation to coil diagram concepts
The primary winding of the ignition coil is wound with a small number of
turns and has a small resistance. Applying the battery to this coil causes a
sizable DC current to flow (Ohm's law) even though it has a significant
inductance which slows the increase of that current to its maximum value.
The secondary coil has a much larger number of turns and therefore acts as a
step-up transformer. But instead of operating on AC voltages, this coil is
designed to produce a large voltage spike when the current in the primary
coil is interrupted. Since the induced secondary voltage is proportional to the
rate of change of the magnetic field through it, opening a switch quickly in the
primary circuit to drop the current to zero will generate a large voltage in the
secondary coil according to Faraday's Law. The large voltage causes a spark
across the gap of the sparkplug to ignite the fuel mixture.

The current in the primary coil is caused to drop to zero quickly be the
opening of a fast transistor switch. This causes the magnetic field in the
primary coil to drop rapidly, generating a large voltage in the secondary coil.
The generated voltage is proportional to the rate of change of the magnetic
field according to Faraday's Law, and the amount of change is multiplied by
the effect of the iron core in the coil.

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