AUTOMOTIVE
ELECTRONICS
Apr 10, 2025
Ignition systems
Part of the electrical system – carries current to the spark
plug where the necessary to ignite the air fuel mixture
Functional requirements
Combustion chamber design.
Air–fuel ratio.
Engine speed range.
Engine load.
Engine combustion temperature.
Intended use.
Emission regulations
Types of ignition system
Conventional ignition system
Electronic ignition system
Programmed ignition system
Distributor less ignition system
Apr 10, 2025 Direct ignition system
Advance angle (timing)
ignition advance angle should be such as to cause the maximum
combustion pressure to occur about 10 ° TDC
Ideal ignition timing- engine speed and engine load
Fuel consumption and exhaust emissions
Ignition timing - significant effect on fuel consumption, torque,
drivability and exhaust emissions.
HC, CO, NOx
Apr 10, 2025
Conventional ignition components
Spark plug
Ignition coil - Stores energy in the form of magnetism and delivers it to the
distributor via the HT lead.
Ignition switch
Ballast resistor
Contact breakers- Switches the primary ignition circuit on and off
Capacitor (condenser) - a higher voltage output.
HT Distributor - Directs the spark from the coil to each cylinder
Centrifugal advance - Changes the ignition timing with engine speed
Vacuum advance - Changes timing depending on engine load
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Contact breaker ignition system
Secondary
winding
Contact
breaker
Primary winding
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Secondary
winding
Primary
winding
Apr 10, 2025
Working
Ignition Switch ON – Engine is cranked
Cranking of engine opens and closes the contact breaker
through CAM
Current - Battery to contact breaker points – primary winding –
earth
Builds the magnetic field in the primary winding of the coil
Primary current at peak – contact breaker points open by cam
Magnetic field sets up in the primary winding is collapsed
High voltage (15000 V) generated at secondary winding
HV – rotor of the distributor – spark plug – firing order - spark
Apr 10, 2025
Merits and demerits
Better spark at low speed
Low initial cost
Negligible maintenance cost expect battery
Spark efficiency is unaffected by various timing
Frequent battery down occurs
Greater weight
Wiring is little complicated
Apr 10, 2025
Electronic ignition system
Mechanical problems with the contact breakers, the limited lifetime.
Current flow in the primary circuit is limited to about 4 A or damage will
occur to the contacts – or at least the lifetime will be reduced.
Legislation requires strict emission limits, which means the ignition
timing must stay in tune for a long period of time.
Weaker mixtures require more energy from the spark to ensure
successful ignition
Contact breakers – Pulse generator (Magnetic pick up)
Cam – reluctor (* shaped rotor / Armature ~ No of teeth = No. of
cylinder)
Dwell system – time during which ignition coil is charging
Constant Energy System – Constant Energy available to the spark
plug
Apr 10, 2025
Electronic ignition system
Apr 10, 2025
Armature
Distributor
Pulse
Spark plug generator
Ignition Switch
Pulse Signal
Battery
Ignition Coil
Apr 10, 2025
Working
Ignition switch – ON
Armature starts rotates – Electric pulse generated – ECU
ECU – Stops the flow of battery current to ignition coil
EMF induced in secondary winding – Distributor- Spark plug - Spark
Advantages
No wear – good life
Periodic adjustment of engine timing is not required
Very accurate control of timing
Apr 10, 2025
Programmed ignition System
Electronic spark advance (ESA)
Digital operation
Operating requirements of engine – ECU
Advantages
The ignition timing can be accurately matched to the individual
application under a range of operating conditions.
Other control inputs can be utilized such as coolant temperature and
ambient air temperature.
Improved starting and fuel consumption is reduced and idle control is
better.
Other inputs can be taken into account such as engine knock.
The number of wearing components in the ignition system is
considerably reduced
Apr 10, 2025
Ignition Timing
Ignition is timed
So it occurs just before piston reaches top of compression stroke
Ignition timing variation
Computer determines best ignition timing setting
Advanced or retarded in response to engine speed and load
changes, altitude, and engine temperature
Intake manifold vacuum senses engine load
Ignition Timing (cont'd.)
Computer systems continuously adjust spark timing to optimize
power and emissions
Some functions were not possible with mechanical distributors
Throttle position sensor determines throttle position
MAP sensor determines intake manifold pressure
Primary trigger interprets engine speed
Coolant temperature sensor allows adjustments for changes in
engine temperature
Engine speed and position – crankshaft sensor
Reluctor disc :The disc has 34 teeth, spaced at 10° intervals
around the periphery of the disc. It has two teeth missing, 180° apart,
at a known position before TDC (BTDC)
The missing teeth will provide basic ignition timing and all the other
teeth will inform the ECU crankshaft position and engine speed.
KNOCK SENSOR
Knock sensors are used to detect abnormal combustion, often called
ping, spark knock, or detonation.
Whenever abnormal combustion occurs, a rapid pressure increase
occurs in the cylinder, creating a vibration in the engine block
The knock sensor is a Piezo electric accelerometer which produces
an output voltage, to the ECU proportional to the sensed vibration.
This vibration is produced by general mechanical noise and
combustion detonation.
Sophisticated electronic processing is used to recognized the knock
from mechanical noise.
V = 0 --- No knock
V = 1 --- knock detection
Apr 10, 2025
Engine temperature – coolant sensor
Thermistor - Negative Temperature coefficient
Timing may be retarded when the engine is cold to assist in more
rapid warm up.
Engine load - manifold absolute pressure
sensor
Engine load is proportional to manifold pressure
Load sensors - mounted in the ECU or as a separate unit, and are
connected to the inlet manifold with a pipe
Apr 10, 2025
Programmed ignition system
Spark plug Ignition Switch
Ignition Coil
Battery
Apr 10, 2025
The ECU has three main functions:
1. To control ignition timing electronically using information received
from the crankshaft sensor (engine speed and position), inlet manifold
depression (engine load), knock sensor and coolant temperature
sensor.
2. To provide a constant energy drive to the ignition coil, controlling
both coil on and off.
3. a) Provide flat ignition timing for idle speed control on vehicles
equipped with fuel injection.
b) Provide an output for a turbo boost gauge.
c) Provide an output for a coolant temperature gauge on vehicles
without automatic choke control.
ignition timing of 1.8° whereas a conventional distributor is 8°.
Distributor less ignition
Distributor less ignition has all the features of programmed ignition
systems but, by using a special type of ignition coil, outputs to the
spark plugs without the need for an HT distributor
Waste-spark ignition is another name for distributor less ignition
system (DIS) or electronic ignition (EI).
Four-cylinder engines - the control system becomes more complex for
higher numbers
Spark distribution - two double ended coils, fired alternately by the
ECU
Timing - crankshaft speed and position sensor as well as load
System components
Electronic Ignition module Ignition module
Crankshaft position sensor No Distributor
One Coil for Two Cylinders
DIS coil Waste Spark System
Manifold absolute pressure sensor One Plug Fires Backwards
TYPICAL DIS SYSTEM
Control Module
Controls timing and sequencing of Ignition coil action
Limits dwell time
Different systems use different reference sensors to obtain timing
control
DIS – Distributor less ignition system
Wasted Spark
1st plug fires forward
2nd fires backwards
Sister cylinders
Direct ignition (COIL-ON-PLUG IGNITION)
Coil-on-plug (COP) ignition uses one ignition coil for each spark
plug.
This system is also called coil-by-plug, coil-near plug, or coil-over-
plug ignition
ION-SENSING IGNITION
In an ion-sensing ignition system, the spark plug itself becomes a
sensor.
The ignition control (IC) module applies a voltage of about 100 to
400 volts DC across the spark plug gap after the ignition event to
sense the plasma inside the cylinder.
Ignition timing refers to when the spark plug fires in relation to piston
position.
The time when the spark occurs depends on engine speed, and
therefore must be advanced (spark plugs fire) as the engine rotates
faster.
INITIAL TIMING
If the engine is equipped with a
distributor, it may be possible to
adjust the base or the initial
timing.
The initial timing is usually set to
fire the spark plug between zero
degrees (top dead center or TDC)
or slightly before TDC (BTDC).
The initial timing is where the spark
plug fires at idle speed. The
computer then advances the timing
based on engine speed and other
factors.
