Hawkins Electrical Guide v. 01 (of 10) / Questions, Answers, & Illustrations, A progressive course of study for engineers, electricians, students and those desiring to acquire a working knowledge of electricity and its applications

by N. Hawkins

Ques. Why is a spark produced at the air gap at break and not at make of the primary current?

Ans. Because when the current is flowing it cannot be stopped instantly on account of self-induction, that is, it acts as though it possessed weight.

If the reader has charge of a gas engine with a make and break ignition system, he will often avoid vexatious delays in locating ignition troubles, if he remember that one of the most important conditions for obtaining a good spark is that the break take place with great rapidity. This, of course, involves that the ignition spring be adjusted to the proper tension.

Secondary Induction Coils with Vibrator and Condenser.—A plain secondary coil, such as just described, will only give feeble sparks for its size for the following reasons: The inductive effect of the primary winding in the secondary depends as previously explained on the rate at which the current in the primary winding decreases or dies out.

If a strong inductive effect is to be produced in the secondary, the current in the primary must stop suddenly. This is prevented by self-induction in the primary winding, which opposes any change in the current strength. The direct result is that, as the primary circuit is broken, a spark appears at the break, which means that the current continues to flow after the break has occurred, dying down comparatively slowly, hence, the inductive effect on the secondary winding is small.

The spark at the break in the primary circuit is even larger than that in the secondary circuit, and as this primary spark serves no useful purpose, but, on the contrary, quickly burns away the contact points, such an arrangement is obviously defective.

The vibrator-condenser coil is designed to overcome this trouble and also to give a series of sparks following in rapid succession instead of one.

It should be noted that a series of sparks following each other with considerable rapidity may be obtained with a plain coil by placing a mechanical vibrator in the primary circuit, as used on some motor cycle ignition circuits.