STARTING TEST: We'll start with the basic electric system of your car. I'll show you how the electricity is made, where it goes, and what it does when it gets there. We'll also cover the basic ignition tune-up and I'll try to help you along if you have any trouble with your electrical system. The electrical system consists of the ignition, starting and charging systems. Let's start out by taking a look at the ignition system. As this diagram clearly shows, the ignition key is turned and the car is started. Electricity is also sent to the electronic ignition module and the ignition coil. The coil is a transformer that steps up the 12 volts of the battery to approximately 15,000 or more volts, enough to make it spark. The ignition module tells the coils when to send the spark to the distributor. The distributor in turn distributes the appropriate spark at the proper time via the spark plug wires to each individual cylinder which fires the spark plugs and causes an explosion. On some cars, the electronic ignition module is located inside the distributor while on others it is a totally separate unit. Pre 1975 vehicles utilize points and condenser in the distributor instead of an ignition module. Let's take a look at the starting system. As the diagram shows, when the ignition key is turned, large amounts of battery current are also sent to the heavy duty starter solenoid switch. The solenoid switch utilizes this electricity to activate the starter. The activated starter then engages the fly wheel which turns the cylinders over and together with the ignition and fuel systems, starts the engine running. The starter is attached to the lower back side of the engine near where the engine connects to the clutch or transmission. The
solenoid switch usually rides piggyback on the starter itself but can be a separate unit on some vehicles.
