DISTRIBUTOR

Description

Distributor

The distributor handles several jobs. Its first job is to distribute the high voltage from the coil to the correct cylinder. This is done by the cap and rotor. The coil is connected to the rotor, which spins inside the cap. The rotor spins past a series of contacts, one contact per cylinder. As the tip of the rotor passes each contact, a high-voltage pulse comes from the coil. The pulse arcs across the small gap between the rotor and the contact (they don't actually touch) and then continues down the spark-plug wire to the spark plug on the appropriate cylinder. When you do a tune-up, one of the things you replace on your engine is the cap and rotor -- these eventually wear out because of the arcing. Also, the spark-plug wires eventually wear out and lose some of their electrical insulation. This can be the cause of some very mysterious engine problems.

The breaker points type distributor consist of the following component parts:

Breaker Section

Distributor Breaker Parts

Breaker points

Breaker Points

Damper Spring

Distributor Damper Spring

Distributor Section

Distributor Section

Distributor Cap

Distributor Cap

Rotor

Rotor

Ignition Advancer

Ignition Advancer

Vacuum Advancer

Vacuum Advancer

Octane Selector

Octane Selector

Condenser (Capacitor)

Capacitor / Condenser

Types of ignition system other than the breaker points type distributor are listed below.

* In the transistorized ignition system, the breaker section of the breaker points type distributor is changed     from mechanical to electronic.

* In an ESA (Electronic Spark Advance) system, the breaker section and ignition advancer of the breaker points type distributor are changed from mechanical to electronic.

* In the DLI ( Distributor-less Ignition) and DIS (Direct Ignition System) types, multiple ignition coils are used in place of distributor to provide high voltage to the spark plugs.
Older distributors with breaker points have another section in the bottom half of the distributor -- this section does the job of breaking the current to the coil. The ground side of the coil is connected to the breaker points.
A cam in the center of the distributor pushes a lever connected to one of the points. Whenever the cam pushes the lever, it opens the points. This causes the coil to suddenly lose its ground, generating a high-voltage pulse. The points also control the timing of the spark. They may have a vacuum advance or a centrifugal advance. These mechanisms advance the timing in proportion to engine load or engine speed.Spark timing is so critical to an engine's performance that most cars don't use points. Instead, they use a sensor that tells the engine control unit (ECU) the exact position of the pistons. The engine computer then controls a transistor that opens and closes the current to the coil.
In the next section, we'll take a look at an advance in modern ignition systems: the distributorless ignition.

BREAKER SECTION

1. Breaker Point Operation

Breaker Points Operation

The breaker points are opened and closed by the cam installed on the distributor shaft. The distributor shaft is driven by the camshaft at half the engine speed. The cam has cam lobes identical in number to the engine cylinders. As the cam rotates, each cam lobe pushes the breaker points. As the cam rotates further, the breaker arm is returned by the breaker arm spring to close the breaker points. As the cam makes one full rotation, the current flowing in the primary winding of the ignition coil is interrupted as many times as the number of engine cylinders to generate a high voltage in the secondary winding of the ignition coil.

2. Breaker Point Requirement

Point Gap

The following conditions are required to obtain a sufficiently high secondary voltage:
*  Adequate primary current must be allowed to flow even when the engine speed is high.
 *  The primary current must be able to be interrupted instantaneously.
But the contracting surfaces of the breaker points are burnt by the high-tension sparks produced by the self-induced electromotive force of the primary coil, and oxidation develops. In addition, if the opening angle of the points becomes too small due to wear of the rubbing block, the point gap will become too small, thus causing the primary current to be unable to be interrupted instantaneously due to sparking between the gap. Therefore, breaker point must be checked periodically and replaced if excessive oxidation or other related problems are found. The breaker points are essential to good engine performance, so they must be checked, with attention paid to the following points.

    *  Breaker point contact resistance
    *  Rubbing block gap
    *  Dwell angle

BREAKER POINT CONTACT RESISTANCE
 
1. Oil/Grease Adhesion to Contact Surfaces
 The adhesion of these substances to the breaker points causes burning due to arcing and an increase in contact resistance. Therefore, care should be taken not to get oil or grease on the breaker points when they are replaced.
2. Incorrect Point Contact Alignment
Incorrect point contact alignment reduces the point contact area, accelerating point oxidation and point surface wear.
Therefore, be sure never to bend or otherwise deform the breaker baseplate or breaker arm.

REFERENCE
Grease is supplied with the TOYOTA distributor replacement point kit (breaker points). When replacing the breaker points, apply small amount of this grease to the breaker arm rubbing block (heel). This smooths contact with the cam to reduce rubbing block wear. Apply it carefully, However, as excessive application will cause the grease to spatter and contaminate the breaker points.

Rubbing Block

 

Ignition Coil

AUTOMOTIVE IGNITION COIL

Ignition Coil

Ignition coils contain two sets of windings, a primary low tension set (lt) and a secondary high tension set (ht). The primary lt windings have a resistance of about 4 ohms, meaning that about 3 amps will flow through them whenever the contact breaker points are closed. This electrical flow will have an associated magnetic field. Every time we open the contact breaker points, we stop this flow, and so cause the magnetic field to collapse. Now we have a moving (because it is collapsing) magnetic field. If we put a conductor in its way, the magnetic lines of force will cut across that conductor and induce a current in it.
We want a very high voltage, so we use a conductor with a great number of windings-more than 50 times the number of windings in the lt circuit. These are the secondary or ht windings. They are connected by ht lead to one or more spark plugs. If there is more than one plug, the ht lead runs to a distributor, which distributes the ht spark to whatever cylinder is firing.
Inside the coil, if we connect the primary windings to the secondary windings (secondary winding to the negative side of the primary winding), then, whenever the contact breakers are open, the two windings are wired in series with one another. When the contacts open, the magnetic field, as well as inducing a current in the secondary ht winding, will also induce an EMF in the primary lt windings-approximately 300 volts. This self induced EMF in the primary winding is added to the induced EMF in the secondary windings to give a much higher output to the spark plug.

1. IGNITION COIL SELF-INDUCTION EFFECT
A magnetic field is generated when a current flows through a coil. As a result, an EMF (electromotive force) is generated which creates a magnetic flux in a direction which impedes the generation of magnetic flux in the coil. Therefore, current does not flow immediately when it is first introduced in the coil, but a certain period of time is required for the current to rise.
For the more, when current is flowing in a coil and that current is cut off suddenly, an EMF is generated in the coil in the direction in which the current is tending to flow (in a direction which hinders the decay of the magnetic flux.)In this way, when current starts to flow in a coil, or when current is cut off, the coil generates EMF which acts to impede changes in the coil's magnetic flux. This is called the "THE SELF-INDUCTION EFFECT".

Self-induction diaphragm inside the Primary Coil

 BREAKER POINTS CLOSED WHEN SELF - INDUCTINGThe current from the battery flows through the positive terminal of the primary coil, through the negative terminal and breaker points, and to ground (earth).

Breaker Points Closed Formation

 2. IGNITION COIL MUTUAL INDUCTION EFFECT
When two coils are arranged in a line, and the amount of current flowing in one of the coils (the primary coil) is changed, an EMF is generated in the other coil (the secondary coil) in a direction which impedes the change in the primary coil's magnetic flux. This is called the "MUTUAL INDUCTION EFFECT".

Mutual Induction Effect inside the Secondary Winding

As you can see the the BLUE lines going  through, higher than other lines.That is the Winding of Secondary Coil (Mutual Induction).

 BREAKER POINTS OPEN WHEN MUTUAL INDUCTION EFFECT
As the crankshaft rotates the camshafts, the distributor cam opens the breaker points, causing the current flowing through the primary coil to be suddenly interrupted.

Breaker Points Open Formation

 As the crankshaft rotates the camshafts, the distributor cam opens the breaker points, causing the current flowing through the primary coil to be suddenly interrupted.As you can see the arrow when the cam 4 lobes touch the heel of the contact breaker it would open for 36 degree.As a result, the magnetic flux generated in the primary coil starts to decrease. Because of the self-induction of the primary coil and mutual-induction of the secondary coil, EMF is generated in each coil, preventing the reduction of the existing magnetic flux.The self-induced EMF rises to about 500V, while the mutually-induced EMF rises to about 30kV, causing discharge by spark generation at the spark plug. The magnetic flux change increases as the current interruption period becomes shorter, resulting in a very large voltage generated per unit of time.

IGNITION COIL W/ RESISTOR

1. AUTOMOTIVE CONSTRUCTION OF IGNITION COIL WITH RESISTORThe ignition coil with resistor has a resistor connected in series to the primary coil. Unlike the ignition coil without resistor type, the secondary voltage drop in the high speed range can be reduced. In almost all production automobiles that are fitted with the conventional ignition system, the ignition coil is of this type. Two types of coil are available: one in which the resistor is an external resistor type, and one in which it is an integrated resistor type.

Ignition Coil w/ Resistor Type

Integrated Resistor Type is same with external. BUT it have 3 Terminals (+), (-) and Terminal B. (-) Terminal is going to Distributor, And the (+) Terminal is going to Ignition Switch same as the Terminal B.

NOTICE
Since the integrated resistor coil has three external terminals, do not confuse the B and (+) terminals when making connections.


2. FUNCTION OF IGNITION COIL WITH RESISTOR
When the flow of current through a coil is started, there is a tendency for the current's flow to be impeded by the self-induction effect (during the time it takes from the point when the breaker points close for the current saturation value to be reached). Therefore, when current flow is started in the primary coil of the ignition coil, the primary current rises gradually, with the current rise delayed as the number of windings in the coil increases.In an ignition coil without resistor type, since the length of time the breaker points are closed is long when the engine speed is low, enough current flows so that a secondary voltage which is sufficiently high can be obtained.However, when the engine speed is high, the time the breaker points are in contact is shortened and not enough primary current flows, resulting in the secondary voltage becoming low.In an ignition coil with resistor type, the number of windings in primary coil is reduced, thus be impeded by self-induction. Therefore the primary current rise time is faster. In this way, sufficient primary current flows even at high speeds and drops in the secondary voltage can be prevented.

Ignition Coil w/ Resistor Type and Capacitor

Ignition System

A compressed air-fuel mixture explodes inside the cylinder. Power is obtained from the expansion of the resulting gases. The ignition system is the source of  the sparks which initiate the explosions of the air-fuel mixture.

Ignition System Diaphragm

REQUIREMENTS OF IGNITION SYSTEM

The three following elements are essential for effective engine operation:

    * A good air-fuel mixture
    * A high compression pressure
    * Proper ignition timing and powerful sparks

 Ignition Timing 

The ignition system on your car has to work in perfect concert with the rest of the engine. ­The goal is to ignite the fuel at exactly the right time so that the expanding gases can do the maximum amount of work. If the ignition system fires at the wrong time, power will fall and gas consumption and emissions can increase.
When the fuel/air mixture in the cylinder burns, the temperature rises and the fuel is converted to exhaust gas. This transformation causes the pressure in the cylinder to increase dramatically and forces the piston down.

The 4 Stroke Cycle of The Piston

In order to get the most torque and power from the engine, the goal is to maximize the pressure in the cylinder during the power stroke. Maximizing pressure will also produce the best engine efficiency, which translates directly into better mileage. The timing of the spark is critical to success.
There is a small delay from the time of the spark to the time when the fuel/air mixture is all burning and the pressure in the cylinder reaches its maximum. If the spark occurs right when the piston reaches the top of the compression stroke, the piston will have already moved down part of the way into its power stroke before the gases in the cylinder have reached their highest pressures.
To make the best use of the fuel, the spark should occur before the piston reaches the top of the compression stroke, so by the time the piston starts down into its power stroke the pressures are high enough to start producing useful work.

The Power Stroke Formation of the Piston

In a cylinder:
Force = Pressure - Area of the piston 

Distance = Stroke length So when we're talking about a cylinder, work = pressure - piston area - stroke length. And because the length of the stroke and the area of the piston are fixed, the only way to maximize work is by increasing pressure.
The timing of the spark is important, and the timing can either be advanced or retarded depending on conditions.
The time that the fuel takes to burn is roughly constant. But the speed of the pistons increases as the engine speed increases. This means that the faster the engine goes, the earlier the spark has to occur. This is called spark advance: The faster the engine speed, the more advance is required.
Other goals, like minimizing emissions, take priority when maximum power is not required. For instance, by retarding the spark timing (moving the spark closer to the top of the compression stroke), maximum cylinder pressures and temperatures can be reduced. Lowering temperatures helps reduce the formation of nitrogen oxides (NOx), which are a regulated pollutant. Retarding the timing may also eliminate knocking; some cars that have knock sensors will do this automatically.
Next we'll go through the components that make the spark.

The basic function of the ignition system is to generate sparks that can ignite the air-fuel mixture in the cylinders, so the following  conditions must be satisfied:

1. W/ A STRONG SPARK

When the air-fuel mixture is compressed in the cylinders, it becomes difficult for the spark to pass through the air.(This is because even air has electrical resistance, and this resistance rises as the air is compressed.)
For this reason, the voltage that is supplied to the plugs must be high enough to ensure the generation of a powerful spark between the electrodes of the spark plug.

The Powerful Sparks Between Air-Fuel Mixtures

2. PROPER IGNITION TIMING

In order to obtain the most effective combustion of the air-fuel mixture, there must be some means of varying the ignition timing in accordance with engine rpm and load (that is, of varying the crankshaft angle at which each plug fires.)

Proper Ignition Timing

3. AUTOMOTIVE SUFFICIENT DURABILITY
If the ignition system fails, the engine will stop running. The ignition system must therefore have sufficient reliability to endure.

Discussions

Read This For Your References


Two types of Enigne
Diesel - which have Compression Ignition.
Gas    - Which have Spark Ignition

Standard Percentage of Torque Wrench
1st Torque - 30%
2nd Torque - 30%
3rd Torque - 40%

Standard Measurement of the Spark Plugs
Platinum - 1.1 millimeter
Ordinary - .80 millimeter

NOTE :
    Replace Spark Plugs every 100,000km
Types of Sealant
* Three Bond    - 1280
  Sealant Color - Black
  Area of Use   - Enigne Oil Pan

* Three Bond    - 1281
  Sealant Color - Vermillion
  Area of Use   - Transaxle Case (Manual)

* Three Bond    - 1282
  Sealant Color - Black
  Area of Use   - Water Drain Plug

* Three Bond    - 1131
  Sealant COlor - White
  Area of Use   - Automatic Transaxle

* Three Bond    - 1324
  Sealant Color - Red
  Area of Use   - Fastening Screw

* Three Bond    - 1344
  Sealant Color - Green
  Area of Use   - Sealing Threads

Note:
    Sealant is a paste type which sealed and prevent leaking.
4 Methods of Joining Parts
* Fastening
* Welding
* Bonding
* Soldering

Handling Precaution
* Before coating w/ sealant,remove the old sealant carefully & clean the area to be sealed w/ gasoline.
* Use only the specified sealant. Using different type of sealant result in poor sealing,causing leakage.
* Immediately install parts to which sealant has been appplied. If not the sealed efficiency will decrease.
 
Types of Grease

* Grease Color - Ocher
  Area of Use  - Wheel bearing, Universal Joint, Steering Gear

* Grease Color - Black
  Area of Use  - Rackin Pinion, Drive Shaft

* Grease Color - Gray
  Area of Use  - Anti-Squeal of Discbrake

Note:
    Grease also is a semi-solid lubricant
      - Mineral grease has negative effect on rubber parts such as brake cylinder cup.
Types of Fluid

* ATF - Automatic Transmission Fluid
* Power Steering Fluid
* Brake Fluid
* Shock Absorber Fluid
* Suspension Fluid
* Brake Fluid Grades (Boiling Point - Dot 3/205'c, Dot 4/230'c, Dot 5/260'c)

NOTE :
    Replace Brake Fluids every 20,000km

Handling Precaution :
    Do not contaminate brake fluid w/ H2o/water.
    Do not contaminate brake fluid w/ Oil.
    Do not mixed different fluids grades.
    Do not let fluid spill to the paint.

2 Methods in Adjusting Valve Tappet Clearance
* Cycle Method
* Firing Method

4 Types of Stroke (4cylinder engine)
* Induction/Intake Stroke
* Compression Stroke
* Power Stroke
* Exhaust Stroke

The 3 Elements of Cars
* Good Compression Pressure (Diesel Enigne)
* Good Air & Fuel Mixture (Gasoline Engine)
* Good Sparks/Powerfull Sparks (Gasoline Engine)

How to Inspect the Battery Voltage
* Specific Gravity (you can use TACHOMETER)
* Voltage per Cell (you can use Multi-Tester ANALOG/DIGITAL)
* Electrolyte Level (just inspect the distilled water if it is in neck level)
* Status per Cell (you can use a cell tester)

Types of Ignition System
* Distributor            * Vacuum Advancer
* Distributor cap        * Governor Advancer
* Breaker Point            * Igniter (for transistorized type)
* Capacitor            * Pick-up Coil (for transistorized type)
* Resistor            * Signal Generator (for transistorized type)
* Ignition Coil            * Rotor

Major Stationary Parts of an Engine
* Cylinder Block
* Cylinder Head
* Manifold Assembly
* Oil Pan

Major Moving Parts of an Engine
* Crankshaft
* Camshaft
* Valve Train
* Pistons & Connecting Rod

Kinds of Valve
* Intake - Big
* Exhaust - Small

Kinds of Cylinder
* Inline Type
* V Type
* Horizontal Opposed Type

Types of Fuel
* Gasoline Fuel
* Diesel Fuel
* LPG
* CNG (Compress Natural Gas)

Kinds of Manifold
* Intake Manifold
* Exhaust Manifold

Piston Movement
* Rotary
* Reciprocating

Automotive Kinds of Basic Wiring
* Electrical Circuitry - Which is the internal parts wiring
* Power Circuitry      -Which is the external parts wiring

If you are an Automotive it is also important to know about wirings.
Like:
Headlights
Tail Lights
Reverse Lights
Break Lights
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