Ignition coil gap... a word of caution

I thought on the outside was how they flowed.

 

I'm not positive but i think the kill switch "grounds" out the coil on the low side. It doesn't connect to the high voltage going to the spark plug.

As far as me using the term ground its kinda generic. In a chainsaw situation the case or stator body would be ground?

 

You can see them but you can feel them if you creat a path for them to flow through you.

 

That's the way it's explained but i don't think they can prove it. Mainly cause i don't think they can see electrons flow. That part is assumed depending how you wanna look at it.

 

Yes, that's what it does the current flows through the ground wire instead of through the plug wire because of the difference in resistance.

 

Someone smarter than me will have to confirm one way or the other but I'm 90% positive the high voltage that comes outta the coil doesn't flow thru the kill switch.

The kill switch is connected to the internal windings of the coil and when the kill switch is actived the high voltage "spark" part doesn't happen.

 

The current is directed to the kill switch before it goes to the secondary high voltage part of the coil. So it doesn't make high voltage because the current isn't going all the way through the coil anymore. Does that make anymore sense?

 

Makes more sense than the way you said it below.

 

How about the old time kill switches that you pushed or flipped onto the top of the plug? Those took full voltage to the case and shorted the circuit.

 

No doubt that worked but obviously they learned that it wasn't good. Weather its potentially more dangerous to the operator or the coil....... idk. I'm sure the lawyers ultimately decided that one.

 

A magneto actually makes AC current, so I guess you could argue the spark jumps both ways.....

 

Exactly.

 

Well as long as we're being argumentative. How's AC really "alternate"?

I'll use house wiring for example. There's only one hot wire. The other 2 are connected to ground. I've never got a shock from the white wire unless some idiot wired it originally.

 

Yep. This conversation has been had before.

 

Yep. Same thing

 

I was thinking about this a little and if that's the case, you make it sound like DC was invented first and maybe it was, why do vehicle alternators produce AC voltage and then its converted to DC? I've never seen a DC generator. They've all been AC with a DC regulator.

 

Apparently DC was around first, even naturally

 

Yes they did, I have one of those engines with a metal strap bolted to the engine and extending over the plug. It's kind of scary but the current flows from the plug to the case. It doesn't shock you because your body's resistance is much higher than that metal conductor and it takes the current away from the plug causing the engine to cut off because the plug isn't firing anymore.