When overdriving the coil with a voltage greater than that of the electrical system it was designed for (usually 12 volts), it is possible to damage the primary if the switch is left on too long. Hobbyists and do-it-yourselfers often power the low voltage solenoid valves with wall transformers. Step 1. I ran across this low voltage while trying to troubleshoot my warm start problems. Does the starter solenoid energize? Shouldn't I be getting battery voltage (at least 12 volts)? Thus, only 9 VDC passes through the handheld pushbutton. Disconnect the small grounding wire, attached to the side of the coil, with a wrench. Each cylinder has at least one spark plug and also has a piston. 1 Iron core, 2 Insulating compound, 3 Sealant, 4 Secondary winding, 5 Primary winding, 6 Cladding sheet, 7 Fastening clip, 8 Housing, 9 High-voltage spring contact, 10 Insulating cover, 11 Insulating material, 12 High-voltage output, A Terminal 15, B Terminal 4, C Terminal 1 . Now I have the cable from the battery to the reduction gear starter loose and the wire to the starter solenoid loose. This configuration illustrates operation of the secondary as a pumped resonator. Once this relay becomes activated, the ignition coil gets power (12 Volts). Only question left is - do I go with a lower value ballast to increase voltage at the coil a little more, or is that even beneficial at this point? A standard coil should read around 3 Ohms or around 12 volts. 1978 Inline 6 Mercruiser. However, my battery is only 3.7 volts (1 cell). Re: 4.3 no spark voltage at coil drops from 12.6 to 2 volts or less while cranking I replaced the ignition switch and now there is no voltage coming off the casing, but the problem persists. If it is an old system then it should be ~ 12 v as shown below when the car is not not running as no switching is taking place. Like x 3; May 4, 2016 #19. With ignition switch in the ON position I get 4.3 at volts at the (+) terminal. The charging coil is one coil in the stator, which is used to produce 6 volts to charge the capacitor C1. Testing the resistance across several terminals on your ignition coil is the only safe and accurate way to tell if the coils is damaged or not. Hall Sensor. It by-passes the coil's ballast resistor wire, which when in the "on" position, delivers a lower 8 volts to the coil (the voltage is now routed through the ballast resistor) to prevent the coil from overheating and to help the ignition points to live longer. Now what???? The voltages is shown on the screen more than 7 volts. Use the total voltage to find the voltage across each resistor. AKV Only coils (18W dc) made befor e June 1999 will have a resistance of approximately 1,9 K ohms. The resistance for Z -and F - coils is the same. To overcome such a problem, ignition systems were changed to run a lower voltage coil (usually 9v), and these coils could still give the same output as the original 12v coils. Only then we will be able to build and debug one successfully. Engine misfires and backfires, poor starting, a lack of performance and poor fuel consumption are all possible indications of a faulty coil. If the connections are good, you next need to make sure the unit is getting a strong 12 volts. In wattages mode, i’m using 0.9 ohm single coil and set wattages to 45 watts. Just enter 2 known values and the calculator will solve for the others. The induction coil raises the voltage to a level that will be able to produce a spark in the spark plugs. An ignition coil is a type of pulse transformer that multiplies the low voltage received from the battery or alternator to many thousands of volts when the breaker points open and close. Probably not the voltage regulator, but you can test this by revving the engine and checking the voltage across the battery. The coil contains a primary winding, a slot iron core, and a secondary winding. The secondary coil, having 100 times more turns than the primary coil, amplifies this voltage to approximately 20,000 volts, and this voltage feeds to the spark plug. Note, the resistor is bypassed when the key is in the start position. Using a non-ballasted coil would mean that you are running a 12v coil on a 9v feed, resulting in a weak spark. Hi TTTOE. The coil in a ballast-resistor system is rated at 7-8 volts instead of 12 volts. If the person holding the switch decides to take it apart, he or she won’t be exposed to dangerous voltage. Disconnect your engine's main negative battery cable with a wrench. • Nominal Coil Voltage (Rated Coil Voltage) A single value (or narrow range) of source voltage intended by design to be applied to the coil or input. Vacuum tube coils typically operate with plate voltages between 1500 and 6000 volts, while most spark gap coils operate with primary voltages of 6,000 to 25,000 volts. The high voltage on the secondary coil can be up to 40 kV, depending on the ignition coil. The actual output should less than 45 watt right? A more complicated circuit, in which a 555 timer IC controls a flood lamp via a relay is another option. Since the number of turns in the secondary coil is very large than primary coil, this voltage will be a very high voltage and hence this coil will have a very strong electric flux around it that is powerful enough to glow normal CFL bulbs and is used in Wireless Power Transmission. The best way would be to disconnect the cable, sand its end, and reattach. You can test a 12-volt ignition coil for effectiveness by checking the resistance of its wire windings with a multimeter. High resistance when cranking car with voltmeter negative terminal at starter solenoid and positive terminal of meter going to positive terminl of battery. While cranking I only get 5.7 volts. Thanks. Once the engine is running, the voltage rises up to 13 or more and to prevent overheating the coil, the ballast resister drops the volage. Reply. Should a full 12 volts be running to the + on the coil when the ignition is on (without engine running)? What's puzzling me is that the engine DOES start. Based on the flywheel’s movement the single pulsed power is produced and is supplied to the sparking plug by the charging coil to ensure the maximum spark. Martyn. In order to run such a coil, the 12v ignition feed runs through a ballast, reducing it to 9v at the coil. Yes, if the points are open and/or the electronic module is NOT CLOSED then you will measure battery voltage on both the coil (+) and coil(-) terminals. When the starter motor is operating, the coil is fed with 12 volts from the starter. Z coils are now discontinued! Many times, a low-voltage issue can cause a myriad of problems. January 9, 2018 at 12:34 pm. A ballast coil should read around 1.5 Ohms or around 6 volts (maximum 3.4 Ohms is ideal for our systems) Which coil should I use if my car has a ballast resistor? Even so, the engine may use a magneto because the magneto is simple and reliable. The isolation resistance between one of the coil connectors and ground should exceed 20G ohms. ? The reason I asked the voltage is if you dont have enough voltage coming in the voltage out wont be there . Turn the ignition key to START. Simple to use Ohm's Law Calculator. Coils made hereafter will have a resistance of approximately 2,5 K ohms. Especially, check ground connections, usually to the frame. 383man Well-Known Member. This posed a dilemma for the ignition designer. What I do know is that when cranking an engine, most 12 volt batteries drop down to about 10 volts, so the coils were designed to make full output voltage from 9-10 volts. If you know the voltage across the whole circuit, the answer is surprisingly easy. Calculate Power, Current, Voltage or Resistance. Step 2. The ignition coil only gets power with the engine cranking or engine running. (code no.) Fast Eddy. If the coil (remember it's a bank account) has only enough energy in it to support the ignition load at idle and the engine is only being asked to idle, the engine runs fine. At the same time the PCM activates the ASD relay, it starts to switch the ignition coil ON and OFF by interrupting the ignition coil's primary voltage. Last edited: Jun 16, 2008. slickrock. If it's working, the voltage won't go above 13.5 or 14 v. Keeping the voltage down when the engine revs is the regulator's job. Joined Apr 5, 2006 Messages 13,867 Location NorCal Jun 16, 2008 #2 Edit: no fuse, doh . If so, I need to do some rewiring. The wire carrying the 12 volts should be a minimum of 12 gauge, and have no resistors in line. Pull the main ignition coil wire, the one that leads to the distributor, off the coil. The extremely low resistance of 0.32 ohms results in 45,000 V and a coil that charges to peak, current typically 30-70 percent faster the other coils. The relay in the circuit has a coil rated for 9 VDC and a switch rating of 10 A at 117 VAC. Problem: only 9 volts at + terminal at coil when cranking. Messages: 4,523 Likes Received: 3342. Many riding lawn mowers do have a battery if they have accessories like headlights and electric start. Check that the large cable, on the starter is clean and tight. The voltage at coil reads 0.8v at the + post on the coil once the key is switched on, 12.0v when key is off. This effect is called mutual inductance: the induction of a voltage in one coil in response to a change in current in the other coil. Checked voltage at battery had 12.50 volts, checked at coil with key on 12.50, cranked engine got 9.75 at coil, went to battery again and checked volts had 12.48 volts, cranked engine while checking volts at battery got 10.85 volts. THANKS EVERYONE for helping! Check all your connections backwards from the coil. Step 3. you need twelve volts coming in to get your 30000 volts out .test the voltage with a multi meter for accuracy, a test light will light at a low voltage so just because it lit doesnt mean you have 12 volts . Do the same to the battery cables. Since there is no current flowing through the coil (no path to earth) then both sides of the coil will be at the same potential. It may require only 1,000 volts for it to ignite when the engine is idling and cylinder pressure is low, but then need 20,000 volts to climb a hill under full throttle. Loosen and re-snug the nut holding the wire to the solenoid. Measuring the primary and secondary resistance requires an ohmmeter, and a digital readout is best if you have access to one. 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