Better Starts with a Toyota Ignition Coil
By: jessicamatthews | Posted: 16th May 2007
In order for the internal combustion engine of your Toyota to work properly, it needs three things: fuel, air, and an electric spark. Fuel and air is fused together to make a combustible mixture, and is ignited by the spark plug. When the fuel-air mixture is ignited, it releases a hot high-pressure gas that propels the pistons inside the engine, which in turn move the wheels of your car. And in order for the spark plug to generate an electric spark, it needs a huge amount of voltage. However, the car is only powered by a battery with a 12 volt capacity. So in order for the engine to work, your car needs a Toyota Ignition Coil to convert the low voltage of the car battery into a high voltage one.
Also called a spark coil, the Toyota Ignition Coil is an induction coil located in your car’s ignition system that transforms the storage battery's standard 12 volts to the thousands of volts needed by the spark plugs to generate an electric spark. The ignition coil is a specific type of an autotransformer, and together with the contact breaker, it converts the low voltage from a battery into the high voltage required by spark plugs in an internal combustion engine. However, in some vehicles, especially older models, a single large coil has the ability to serve all of the spark plugs through the use of the ignition distributor. But in modern automotive engine systems, the distributor is rendered obsolete and removed from the ignition system. Instead the ignition is operated electronically. Much smaller coils are often utilized in this type of ignition, with the ratio of one coil for each spark plug or one coil serving two spark plugs. Also, such coils can be mounted remotely or they can also be placed on top of the spark plug itself in an arrangement known as a coil on plug or direct ignition. And in order for a single coil to provide electricity to the spark plugs of the two cylinders, it utilizes a system called the wasted spark system. It is though the wasted spark system that the coil generates two sparks per cycle to both the cylinders. The fuel in the cylinder that is approaching the end of its compression stroke is then ignited, while the spark in its companion that is also nearing the end of its exhaust stroke has no effect. And through this system, the ignition coil is more reliable than a single coil system with a distributor, and is relatively cheaper than coil on plug. In addition, ignition coils can be have a coil pack, in which there are coils that are remote mounted so that they may all be contained in a single molded block that contains multiple high-tension terminals.
And because the high voltage also generates a lot of heat, the Toyota Ignition Coil is often filled with oil to cool it and maintain the proper operating temperature. However, the oil inside the ignition coil can tend to leak over time, causing it to malfunction. Some of the signs that your ignition coil has gone bad include poor engine starts and the inability to start the car at all.
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Tags: internal combustion engine, older models, spark plugs, electricity, pistons, car battery, spark plug, coils, volt, low voltage, high voltage