We have reached a point where it has become essential to talk about an element of the car closely connected to the spark plug cable: the ignition coil.
Let’s start by first understanding what we are talking about.
An ignition coil actually looks like a transformer located inside an internal combustion engine. This allows the generation of a potential difference which serves to induce electrical discharges through the ignition cable. This, of course, is indispensable for spark ignition engines as it guarantees starting and correct operation of the engine and therefore of the car.
Coils can be divided according to the system they apply to, so we will find coils for:
- IDI systems that have an input that generally ranges from a minimum of 6 V to a maximum of 24, generally have an input of 12 V;
- CDI systems which generally have an input of 400 V produced by an electronic control unit.
Brecav, a leading company in the automotive sector, in an article, of which I leave the link in the description, writes that: “In modern coils, the high voltage generated is isolated by a two-component epoxy resin. The potting of the epoxy resin in the production of the ignition coil is done under vacuum to ensure perfect insulation and resistance to high voltage and not to waste electricity in the so-called “Christmas tree“. “
In practice and ultimately, ignition coils consist of a central core with insulated internal conductors. The function of the nucleus is, therefore, to create a magnetic field inside and to store energy.
Link to Brecav homepage here.