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How an Ignition Coil Works

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Old 12-25-17, 04:12 PM
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speedkar9
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Default How an Ignition Coil Works

Here's what's inside an ignition coil and how it works to increase the voltage to fire a spark on your car:


Here's a few photos of the ignition coil.

Starting with the coil, removed from my Toyota Corolla:
How an Ignition Coil Works-qwuqluc.jpg

An ignition coil is located on top of an overhead cam engine. Its responsible for increasing voltage from the car's 12V to the thousands of volts needed to fire a spark in the combustion chamber:

How an Ignition Coil Works-kmv02kn.jpg

When chopped open you can see the coil and other layers, along with the center iron core:

How an Ignition Coil Works-sdapmi5.jpg

Here are all the components inside the ignition coil:

How an Ignition Coil Works-naoeryn.jpg

Here's a system diagram of how the ignition coil works electrically:

How an Ignition Coil Works-nzoq0bf.png
Note its the voltage spike caused by varying the electromagnetic field that fires the spark, and not just the step up transformer itself.

Enjoy!
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Old 12-25-17, 04:35 PM
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mmarshall
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Thanks for the write-up. As reliable as Camrys have been over the years, that was one of their few problems.......igniters/ignition coils on the early versions.
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