Ignition Coil: Description and Operation

PURPOSE
This Ignition system utilizes individual coils for each of the six spark plugs. The Ignition Coils transform battery voltage into ignition voltage and delivers it in the form of a high voltage surge directly to the spark plug.

OPERATION
Each Ignition Coil contains two windings of copper wire around a soft iron core. The primary windings are made of a hundred or so turns of wire. The secondary windings contain several thousand turns of wire wound directly onto the iron core. The ratio of the number of wraps in the secondary winding to the number of wraps in the primary windings determines the output voltage of the coil. Current flow through the primary winding is stored as a magnetic field. When current flow in the primary winding is interrupted (by the power transistor breaking the circuit ground), the magnetic field collapses, inducing a voltage surge into the secondary windings.