At 11:14 AM 7/26/2000 -0600, Larry Hoy wrote:
>I just talked to MSD (a company that builds high output ignition systems)
and was told that the "volts in" doesn't have anything to do with "volts
out". The tech's comments were that amps are more critical than volts.
Any input volts between 10 and 16 will always result in the same output
voltage.
>
>Could this be true?
Well, yes, but only within certain paramaters. The output voltage will
always be that voltage which is reguired to make the spark jump the gap.
All other things being constant (BIG IF), his statement would be correct.
However, as previously stated, when you have a coil capable of putting out
a higher voltage you can open the spark plug gap wider and "demand" a
higher voltage at the plug, which I believe is the entire reason that such
high output coils are built. It seems a little odd to me that a MSD
company official might imply that their own premium product is no better
than the original equipment (although that may not have been the intention).
Another way to consider the hotter coil is what may happen if your battery
voltage is low (nearly run down), or the spark plug gap is too wide (badly
burned/neglected). In these cases where a standard coil may not generate
enough voltage to make the spark, the high output coil might still do it,
meaning that the high output coil will indeed generate a higher output
voltage in these circumstances, even with the same input voltage.
On the flip side, I think the agrument of breakdown and arcing in other
parts of the ignition system has nothing to so with the voltage capability
of the coil. When the resistance across the plug gap is greater than the
resistance elsewhere in the system, then the spark will take the path of
least resistance and arc somewhere else. If the plug wires or distributor
cap are bad the system will fail regardless of what coil is being used.
Barney Gaylord
1958 MGA with an attitude
http://www.ntsource.com/~barneymg
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