NGK Ignition Coil U5117

An ignition coil is a vital component of a modern internal combustion engine, and its primary purpose is to convert the low voltage in a car’s battery into high voltage electricity required to power the spark plug to generate the spark that ignites the fuel-air mixture. The coil comprises two coils of wire, a smaller primary coil with fewer turns of wire wrapped around a metal or plastic core, and a larger secondary coil with many turns of wire wrapped around the primary coil. The primary coil is connected to the car battery, while the secondary coil gets connected to the spark plugs.

When the ignition switch is turned on, the battery sends a low-voltage electric charge to the primary coil, which produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field induces a voltage in the secondary coil by electromagnetic induction, and as the current increases in the primary coil, the magnetic field strengthens, and the voltage in the secondary coil also increases. The energy stored in the magnetic field reaches a point where it can no longer exist, and it suddenly collapses, inducing a high voltage in the secondary coil. This energy is sent to the spark plug, which generates a spark to ignite the fuel-air mixture in the engine. Hence, the ignition coil plays a crucial role in starting and running the engine smoothly.