Explain the essential components and working of a battery ignition system

We know that ignition system is a complex electrical system whose function is to produce a spark
and initiate the combustion process. The main parts of a battery ignition system are: Battery, Ignition
switch, ballast resistor, Ignition coil, contact breaker, Condenser, Distributor and Spark plug

Now let’s discuss each of these parts one by one

A rechargeable lead acid battery is used to provide electrical energy for ignition. This battery is
recharged by a Dynamo which is driven by engine. The battery is connected to the primary winding of
the ignition coil through an ignition switch. This switch is used to turn the ignition system turned on
or turned off. The under prolonged operations of the engine the temperature of the ignition coil
increases which can be dangerous. To prevent this a ballast resistor made up of iron wire is provided
in series with the primary winding. Iran has a property that its resistance increases rapidly if a certain
temperature is exceeded. Thus the ballast resistor helps to keep the current down to save value.
Ignition coil is the source of ignition energy. Its function is to step up the voltage to the level required
for inducing an electric spark in the spark plug. Ignition coil consists of a magnetic soft iron goal and
two insulated conducting coils known as primary and secondary windings. The primary winding
consists of 200 to 300 terms with its both end connected to exterior terminals. The secondary winding
consists of 21,000 tons with its one end connected to the high tension wire that goes to the distributor
and the second end connected to the primary coil. Contact breaker is a mechanical device for making
and breaking the primary circuit. It consists of two metal points one fixed and the other movable.
While the fixed metal point is connected to the contact breaker assembly the movable one is
connected to a spring loaded pivot arm. The spring on this arm keeps the both metal points in contact
thereby closing the primary circuit. The pivot arm has a heel attached in the middle which rests on the
camp which is driven by the engine. Now as the high point on the cam passes under the heel, the
contact breaks and current flows through contact breaker stops. A condenser is connected in parallel
with the contact breaker to prevent the burning of the metal points and also helps in providing ignition
energy to secondary winding. A distributor is provided for distributing the ignition surges to
individual spark plugs in the correct sequence and at correct time. It consists of a rotor in the middle
and the metallic electrodes on the periphery. These metallic electrodes are directly connected to spark
plugs and they’re also known as ignition harness. The secondary winding of the ignition coil is
connected to the rotor of this distributor which is driven by the camshaft. As the rotor rotates it passes
the high tension current to the ignition harness which then carries these high tension currents to the
spark plugs. Spark plug is the output part of the whole ignition system. It consists of two electrons one
attached to the high tension current carrying wires and the other is grounded. The potential difference
created between these electrodes ionized the gap present between them and the spark is generated
which ignites the combustible mixture. Now let’s try to understand the working of ignition system.
When the ignition switch is turned on the primary circuit gets closed and current starts flowing
through it. This current known as the primary current sets up a magnetic field around the soft iron
core of the ignition coil. When the breaker points opens by the action of the cam the current which
was flowing through the contact breaker starts flowing through the condenser. As the condenser
charges the primary current falls and the magnetic field collapses. This change in the magnetic field
induces a current in the primary winding which flows in the same direction as the primary current and
charges the condenser to a voltage much higher than battery voltage, thus stopping the current flow
from the battery. Due to this the condenser then discharges into the battery, thus reversing the
direction of both primary current and magnetic field. This rapid collapse and reversal of the magnetic
field induces a very high voltage in the secondary winding of the ignition coil. This high voltage is
then carried to the high tension wires to the distributor rotor where it passes through one of the
ignition harnesses into the spark plug and produces a spark. Note that another very important function
of the condenser is to prevent the arc across the breaker points. If the condenser was not connected in
the primary circuit we induced extra voltage due to the collapsing magnetic field would cause an arc
across the breaker points which could be hazardous. To prevent this the condenser is used which
absorbs all the voltage to charge itself above the battery voltage. the circuit diagram of this system.