Ignition coil:

The ignition coil is simply a transformer (step-up). It serves to convert the relatively low
battery voltage into high voltage. The primary winding consists of 200-300 turns of thick
wire of total resistance about 3 ohms while the secondary is made up of large number of turns
about 15,000 to 20,000 of fine wire.

The whole assembly along with insulation is then impregnated in wax under vacuum to
remove air pockets or submerged in thin insulating mineral oil and hermetically sealed in an
aluminium case. Hermetic sealing prevents the entry of moisture in the coil. The core is
formed of either laminations of silicon steel or annealed iron wire.

When contact breaker points are closed a magnetic field is built up in the ignition coil. The
opening of the breaker points causes the magnetic field collapse suddenly as a result of which
high voltage surge is induced in the secondary winding.

Ballast Resistor:

When the engine is running at low speed, the contact breaker points are closed for a
comparatively longer period of time. This causes overheating of the ignition coil. To avoid
this ballast resistor is sometimes inserted in the primary circuit of the coil. This increased
resistance decreases the amount of current in the primary circuit and thus avoids overheating
of the coil at low engine speeds.

At higher engine speeds, however, due to smaller closing time of the contact breaker points,
the current in the primary circuit and thus its temperature decreases, due to which the
resistance value of the ballast resistor decreases. The value of the ballast resistance varies
generally from 1 to 4 ohms.
Contact Breaker:

The function of a contact breaker is to make and break the primary circuit. This is probably
the weakest member of an ignition system. The essential requirements of a good contact
breaker are:

 The contacts must open and close at the correct time.

Normally the contact breaker gap should be between 0.35 to 0.45 mm. In case the gap is too
small the points will not open for the sufficient period. This will cause the points to burn
rapidly and engine to misfire at all the speeds. If the gap is too large, the closing time of the
contact breaker, and hence for the e.m.f. to build, will be less, thus decreasing the maximum
voltage produced. This will cause ignition failure at higher speeds.

Capacitor (Condenser):

It is a kind of container in which the energy is stored.

The functions of a condenser are:

 To minimize arcing and pitting of contact breaker points.

The capacitor absorbs the excess energy during the ‘break’ period and gives out the same at
the ‘make’ thereby intensifying the spark.

The capacitor consists of metallic plates usually of tin foil or aluminium foil separated by thin
sheets of mica insulating papers.

In automobile ignition systems generally the capacitor used is of cylindrical form. The
principle however remains same. The capacity of the condensers used in the automobiles
ranges generally between 0.20 to 0.25 microfarads.
Distributor:

The function of the distributor is to distribute the high voltage impulses to each of the
sparking plugs at regularly timed intervals in the sequence of the engine’s firing order.

The common firing orders are:

4 cylinder engine: 1-3-4-2 or 1-2-4-3

6 cylinder engine: 1-5-3-6-2-4

8 cylinder engine: 1-4-7-3-8-5-2-6 or 1-5-4-8-6-3-7-2

The distributor consists of a rotor made of nickel and is inserted in the Bakelite casting. Rotor
is fitted on the top of the shaft carrying the breaker cam. The distributor cap contains the
same number of contacts as the number of cylinders. These contacts are made of brass or
nickel. The outer body of distributor is usually made of either zinc alloy or cast iron.

The distributor is installed on the engine that the drive connection aligns the rotor tip with the
cap terminal for cylinder 1 when the piston is at T.D.C. After this initial setting, the ignition
timing still has to be set according to manufacturer’s specifications. Each cap terminal is
connected to a spark plug on the engine by means of H.T. cables and according to the firing
order of the engine. The H.T. cable cores are made of graphite-saturated fibre-glass.

The central terminal is connected to the secondary winding of the ignition coil. As the
distributor spindle rotates, the rotor point comes into contact with each terminal in the cap,
there by sending high voltage to each spark plug. As the distributor spindle has to rotate at
half the crankshaft speed, the drive for it is taken from the camshaft through spiral gears.
Spark Plug:

It is mounted in the combustion chamber of the engine, where working conditions are severe.
During peak combustion conditions the temperature of gases maybe around 25000C and the
pressure is about 7 MPa. Moreover the spark plug is also exposed to thermal and fatigue load
due to sudden change in temperature and pressure. A spark plug usually has an economical
life of 10,000 – 16,000 km. The standard sizes of spark plug are 14 mm (Most common) and
18 mm. The insulator tip of the spark plug is greyish-yellow to light brown in colour,
indicates normal condition of the spark plug.

The minimum voltage required to make a spark depends upon the following:

 Compression pressure
 Mixture strength
 Air gap
 Electrode temperature
 Vehicle speed

The spark plug defects are;

 Erosion of electrodes that leads to misfire.