How many volts does the coil supply?

[xBrent92]

Here is an abstract question noone has asked yet..
How many volts does the coil supply?
I know it carries voltage cause when i checked spark on the stock plug it will sure shock a person if you are too close between spark gaps. And that was about a 1 and a half inch spark gap.and since a racing plug carries more voltage, that shows the coil supplies a good amount of power.

Just wondering if anyone knew the answer and if not someone should test it out. But where would one put the negative and positive electrodes to the voltage tester?
If the spark plug only allows a certain amount of voltage..but the coil supplies even more.. shouldn't we be able to run another wire to supply a small current to power lights?

hmmmmmm....

 

[Inventorpardue]

Depends on the engine, but a magneto-powered, points and condenser ignition system is generally designed to build up an AC charge in a primary coil winding, then open the circuit to the primary to induce a spark in the secondary. This primary AC Voltage might go 20 to 50 Volts or more open circuit, but loaded across the ignition coil its lower.

There is little useable power to be extracted, as the system is designed to be just powerful enough to make a nice spark. By using a high Voltage diode array you could maybe capture some of the reverse EMF across the points. That could charge a capacitor and possibly power a very small, low output LED. We are talking 1 to 2 milliAmps, maybe. And that means the tiniest little LED you can imagine, just barely glowing enough to see in the dark.

A CDI system has far less excess to offer, however the running speed primary Voltage is as much as 200 Volts AC.

 

[xBrent92]

Wow, over 700 views in 8 days.
So how would a person test the voltage? i assume the negative and positive terminals of the coil with a multimeter? while running of course.

 

[CarPlayLB]

I have a voltage test I do at my house. If the spark will jump a gap, it has good voltage. If the spark won't jump the gap, it's a bad. No measurement is necessary.

What are you trying to do?

 

[MikeBear]

You can't run lights off the high voltage spark plug system. That runs around 25,000 volts, and is not made to run lights! The lighting coils are a separate system, and are typically 6 volt for older systems, and 12 volt for newer systems.

 

[xBrent92]

I have a voltage test I do at my house. If the spark will jump a gap, it has good voltage. If the spark won't jump the gap, it's a bad. No measurement is necessary.

What are you trying to do?

Was wanting to run lights and other accessories if possible..

You can't run lights off the high voltage spark plug system. That runs around 25,000 volts, and is not made to run lights! The lighting coils are a separate system, and are typically 6 volt for older systems, and 12 volt for newer systems.

25 thousand volts? You're telling me i got shocked by 25 thousand volts when i did the spark test and got too close? It certainly did not hurt that bad. Maybe like a zap from a wall outlet but not 25 THOUSAND volts.

But i've never been shocked by 25 thousand volts, so i wouldn't really know.

 

[FirePowerMinis]

High voltage, low amperage, is why it wasn't that big a sting.

 

[MikeBear]

Was wanting to run lights and other accessories if possible..


25 thousand volts? You're telling me i got shocked by 25 thousand volts when i did the spark test and got too close? It certainly did not hurt that bad. Maybe like a zap from a wall outlet but not 25 THOUSAND volts.

But i've never been shocked by 25 thousand volts, so i wouldn't really know.

It's 25 THOUSAND volts, correct. As for how hard it "bites" you, that depends on various factors at that time. On one hand it could possibly KILL you, (if it got across your heart) on the other hand it might seem like a light zap like you got that time.

Just be advised, you can NOT use the spark coil system for lighting, PERIOD, end of story.

 

[Cuda54]

50s and 60s boat motors used a belt drive generator you can add a pulley on the motor and drive the generator. Older gas golf carts use a starter generator you could electric start that way too. But they can take up some room too.