Ignition systems

Two important types of ignition system are contact breaker point ignition system and electronic ignition system. The difference lies in the primary circuit. In contact breaker point ignition system, for opening and closing the primary circuit, contact breaker points are used. An electronic ignition system uses electronic control unit for this operation. Secondary circuit remains almost same in both the cases. Very high voltage is developed in secondary circuits. A typical value is 47 kV. In order to handle this high voltage, the ignition coil, the distributor and wiring are altered in the secondary circuit. To deal with high voltages, spark plugs are used in electronic ignition systems. Air-fuel mixtures are used for better fuel economy and lower emission. In an electronic ignition system, a timer sends electrical pulses to an electronic control unit which switches off the flow of current to the primary winding. Either a pulse generator or a Hall effect sensor can be used as a timer. The high voltage induced in the secondary winding is distributed to spark plugs.