What is an Ignition Coil?
The ignition coil is a kind of ignition for the engine. It helps to turn the battery’s low voltage to a very high voltage, whichever is required to ignite the fuel to start the engine. It is the starting point for any vehicle because without ignition we can’t start an engine. An ignition coil, also known as a spark coil, is an induction coil in your car’s ignition system.
As it has been used every time to start the vehicle, the ignition coil needs to be repaired or replaced according to the need. There will be multiple factors to check the price of your ignition coil repairing system. All prices vary on the quality of the ignition system, model number of the vehicle, type of the vehicle, type of the engine, the labor cost, the time to repair or replace the ignition system. Like cars that have a v6 or even high, the position of cylinders on the back of the compartment of the engine, takes more time and effort than a normal one. And newer vehicles have more than one ignition coil to spark all spark plugs, so it will allocate more time and effort compared to the normal ones.
As there can be 3 to 8 ignition coils system can be achieved by your vehicle, so it’s highly recommended to replace or repair the coils in groups or sets, because if any single coil you would replace so its need a proper time to open the vehicle then disassemble the parts and replace or repair the ignition system, then assemble the whole parts and close the vehicle. But if you do the same for a set of coils or group of ignition coils, then it will take normal time, but the repairing cost would be low compared to single repairing because the timing will be divided into parts and will be low from single coil repairing time. You can simply say the first coil would require a higher cost but the subsequent will take too little than the first coil repair cost.
Structure of Ignition Coil.
As we all know what an ignition coil is, after that we should know the structure of the Ignition Coil. With the help of this picture, we will understand in a better way. Because it’s a common structure for all.
In this Ignition Coil, there is 1 Spark Plug, 1 Coil, 1 Center Core, 1 Connector, 1 Circuit board that controls volts. With the combination of all these items an Ignition Coil maid.
Cost of Ignition Coil
An ignition coil typically costs $70-$375 or more depending on the make and model of the vehicle, if it is a single-coil or a coil pack, and whether the part is made by the vehicle manufacturer (called OEM parts, and typically more expensive) or an aftermarket product from a company other than the vehicle manufacturer.
We are going to discuss some prices which we have to pay for small and medium cars.
| Car Company | Car Model | Car Year | Amount |
| Mercury | Sable | 2005 | $850.00 |
| Ford | Focus | 2011 | $900.00 |
| Nissan | Pathfinder | 2008 | $261.00 |
| Mini | Cooper | 2007 | $570.00 |
| Nissan | Versa | 2007 | $1,200.00 |
| Acura | Tsx | 2011 | $820.00 |
| Toyota | Corolla | 2003 | $620.00 |
| Ford | F450 | 2012 | $562.00 |
| BMW | X7 | 2011 | $1,298.00 |
| Cadillac | 4dr CTS | 2008 | $1,200.00 |
| BMW | 3 series | 2015 | $1,160.00 |
| Toyota | Avalon | 2006 | $278.00 |
| Ford | Crown Vic | 2009 | $99.00 |
| Ford | Mustang GT | 2006 | $950.00 |
| Chevrolet | Trailblazer | 2004 | $150.00 |
This Car model rate list can be changed according to your work, how much work mechanics have to do, and how many Ignition Coils are not working properly. If a mechanic is changing one Ignition Coil so it will be low cost, if he is changing a full pack of Ignition Coil so it will be high cost. One more thing is that its price depends upon the manufacturing company also.
How many types of Ignition Coils are there?
There are so many types of Ignition Coils but mainly 4 are mostly used on a regular basis.
*Conventional Ignition Coil:- Conventional Ignition Coil in a conventional breaker, point-type ignition system. The battery provides power to the primary circuit. Current passes through the windings of the primary coil and creates a magnetic field. The current’s electrical circuit is broken when the points are opened. Which results in settling the magnetic field. The settled force crosses the winding of the secondary coil and creates an electrical current between them.
The current flows through the distributor cap and finally into the spark plugs in a few seconds. These earlier mechanical distributor systems had their weaknesses. The ignition point got to break down and change spark timing which decreases the engine efficiency. Requiring replacement, as often as every 12,000/- mile.
*Electronic Ignition Coil. :- This Ignition has most of the characteristics same as that of a conventional Ignition Coil. but in the place of a distributor cam and point, there is the electronic system that needs a pickup coil to signal the control module. Distributor sharf manages to develop a specific amount of “lash” after miles. So gear wear always be an obstacle to proper spark timing and the development of mechanical ignition systems is required.
*Distributor-less Ignition Coil (DIS):- in the distribution less ignition coil, its design permits more energy to be accessible through many coils. In a coil pack, there are three or more mounted collectively. It uses a magnetic triggering device to find engine speed and crankshaft location. This system finds spark timing based on two shaft location sensors and a computer.
*Coil-on-Plug Ignition Coil (COP):- The Coil-on-plug (COP) ignition system unites all the electronic controls that can be seen in a direct ignition system. But in the place of two cylinders dealing a single-coil, each (COP) coil cooperates with only one cylinder. As a result, some (COP) ignition systems produce as much as 47,000 volts and much more…
Failure of Coil-on-Plug ignition coils:-
- Bad spark plugs
- Bad plug wires
- Voltage overload
How an Ignition Coil Works.
Ignition Coils are referred to as compact electric transformers. Their reason is to take the low 12-volt current normally found in automobile batteries and convert it into a much higher voltage which is wanted to ignite the fuel and start the engine.
Each spark plug in a car has its own ignition coil. The coil is either physically connected to the spark plug with wires or it sits on top of the spark plug without using wires.
The spark plug needs about 15,000 to 20,000 volts of electricity in order to form an electric spark that can ignite the fuel. If you don’t have robust ignition coils then it will result in weak fuel consumption or engine misfires.
Symptoms of a Bad Ignition coil.
If a vehicle is behaving badly and is giving its driver some trouble in smooth driving, then it could indicate that the ignition coil of that vehicle has gone bad. The failed or weak ignition coil symptoms may vary depending on the severity of the ignition coil failure.
- Backfiring:- Backfiring caused by your vehicle can indicate the symptoms of the ignition coil failure in its early stages. A car backfiring occurs when the unused fuel in the combustion cylinders of the engine leaves through the exhaust pipe.
- Poor Fuel Economy:- Another sign of a faulty ignition coil is poor fuel economy. If your vehicle is getting noticeably less mileage than it was before, then it could mean that an ignition coil failure has occurred.
- Engine Misfiring:- Engine misfiring will be seen in a vehicle whose ignition coils have failed. Trying to start the engine of such a vehicle will result in engine misfiring that sounds like coughing, sputtering noise. When driving at high speeds, jerking and spitting will be seen in the behavior of the vehicle. A vehicle with a failed ignition coil will also result in vibration when it is idling at a stop sign or light.
- Vehicle Stalling:- Ignition coil failure may also result in the stalling of that vehicle. This can occur because of the irregular sparks sent to the spark plugs by the faulty coil. Your car may shut off completely when brought to a stop leaving you with the trouble of it hopefully restarting.
- Engine Jerking, Rough idling, Poor Power:- Another symptom is rough idling of the engine, jerking, and hesitating while accelerating. It will feel like your vehicle is missing some power when driving.
- Check Engine Light on / DTC Code:- Often, the check engine light will turn on in your dash. Most commonly, engine code P0351 (Ignition Coil – Primary/Secondary Circuit Malfunction) is what shows up when scanned using a car diagnostic tool.
- Engine Hard Starting:- A hard-to-start engine is a symptom that will occur especially if your car uses a single coil. If the coil has a malfunction, it means the engine will be cranking without sparks inside the cylinders.
