Every vehicle has some form of ignition system to ignite the fuel air mixture
inside the combustion chamber inside the
engine.
Ignition systems can vary in configuration but operate on the same principal. Ignition
systems can consist of a coil, pick up coil, crank angle sensor, cam angle sensor,
spark plugs, spark plug wires, distributor cap, ignition rotor and a distributor.
An
ignition coil is a voltage stepper coil that transforms a low voltage (12 volts)
signal into tens of thousands of volts needed to jump the gap of the spark plug.
This electrical signal is generated by the
ECM
which calculates spark timing by using the crank and cam angle sensors.
Some ignition systems have a coil for each
spark plug.
This is called Direct Ignition (DI) system, there are no plug wires in this system
just individually controlled ignition coils. The amount of coils or spark plugs
depend on the number of cylinders the engine is designed with.
Coil Over Spark Plug Style
The initial power supplied to the ignition system is generated from the battery.
All vehicles use an
alternator
to recharge the
battery
during normal operation. A low battery can cause an engine not to start even
if the engine is cranking over slowly. This is because the vehicle voltage has dropped
below 12 volts. If any component of the ignition system is not functioning properly,
it can cause an entire ignition system failure. Proper maintenance such as a
tune
up can help ensure that the vehicle's ignition system operates at peak performance.
Spark Plug in Operation
When an engine misfires under power it is typically caused by the ignition system.
To troubleshoot the cause of the ignition system failure
scan the ECM
for
trouble codes and repair as needed. Maintenance to the ignition system includes
changing
the spark plugs and distributor cap and
spark
plug wires if equipped. Changing the spark plugs and wires usually is a simple
task that most people can perform themselves.
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