Part 1 in a Three-part Series

The Model T Ignition Coil

All in all, the magneto commutator coil units supplied by the Ford Motor Company did a better and more creditable job than anything offered by the accessory firms. - Reminiscences of H.L. Maher
What could be more characteristic of a Model T Ford than a box containing four vibrator ignition coils on the dash? Coils that always sound like a nest full of angry bees. Coils that sometimes will reward the Model T driver with a free start if when the engine was turned off, one of the pistons stopped just after top-dead center on the compression stroke. The vibrator ignition coil system did not originate with the Model T, nevertheless; the Model T was its most famous application. In this and the following two articles we will attempt to comprehensively present the story of the Model T ignition coil. Part 1 presents a brief history of the Model T ignition coil beginning with the evolution of the timer and vibrator coil ignition system in early Ford design automobiles. We will also go on to describe the various brands of ignition coils used on Model Ts during the first five years of production and some of the problems that developed with these coils. In Part 2 we will present the story of how Ford came to standardize on the ignition coil designed by Joseph Williams of the K-W Ignition Company in 1913 and the subsequent business relationship between Ford and K-W Ignition. Finally, in Part 3, we will attempt to construct an anthology of the various types of post-1913 ignition coils used on the Model T, describing their features and roughly dating their use. Two of the thorniest problems in the development of the internal combustion engine were the issues of carburetion and ignition. The first involved getting the right mixture of highly combustible fuel and air into the cylinders and the second involved igniting it at just the right moment. Henry Fords first car, the 1896 Quadricycle, took a brut-force direct approach to solving both of these problems. Carburetion was achieved by the expedient of a needle valve that allowed gasoline to drip into the intake manifold at a more or less controlled rate. Once in the manifold, the gas would be swept up and drawn into the cylinders by the air rushing through the manifold on the intake stroke. Once in the cylinders, the air-fuel mixture was compressed and made ready for ignition. Again Ford adopted a direct approach to solving this problem. The mixture was ignited by a technique known as make and break. This simple ignition system had been in use in stationary gas engines for a number of years and was later used on several early automobiles. Two electrodes, or contacts, were attached inside the cylinder head, one insulated and fixed, and the other one moveable and grounded. Electricity from a battery passed first through a simple electrical coil (that both created an electrical resistance and intensified the spark), then through the contacts to the ground and finally back to the battery to complete the circuit. When the two contacts were separated by some mechanical means (in Fords case, a bolt attached to the top of the piston would strike the moveable contact just before the piston reached the top of its stroke), a spark occurred that ignited the fuel-air mixture within the cylinder. This rough-but-ready solution to the ignition problem had one serious drawback. The timing of the ignition was fixed by the bolt on the piston at about 10 degrees before top dead center. The spark could not be retarded for starting the engine nor advanced to increase its speed. [In later development of the make-and-break system for stationary engines and early automobiles, the contacts were in the cylinder, but the mechanism for opening and closing the contacts were placed outside the cylinder. This allowed for a means for advancing and retarding the spark.] All in all, Henry Fords primitive ignition system combined with its equally crude carburetor worked, but it severely restricted the performance and range of operation of the engine on his first car. A better system was needed. Fortunately for Henry Ford, he made the acquaintance of Edward S. Huff and was able to enlist him in Fords automobile development work. Amongst Henry Fords many, early lieutenants, none was more talented in the field of electricity than Ed Huff. One early associate

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recalled Ed was quite a genius. He was a mechanical genius in putting things together. He had quite a yen for electricity and gears and things of that kind. When it came to the problem of ignition He was just the type of fellow who was needed on that job. In early 1902 while Ford was designing and building what would become the famous 999 race car, he delegated the task of designing of the ignition system to Ed Huff. Huff abandoned the make and break ignition system in favor of a jump spark system. T h e j u m p spark ignition system was not a new development, and in fact had been in use for nearly forty years. The FrenchPhoto 1: A simple vibrator coil ignition system showing the layout of the man Lenoir, who is commutator, coil and wiring. Illustration from Victor Page The Model T Ford Car, credited with build1917 Edition, Norman W. Henley Publishing Co, NY, 1917, p. 74. ing the first successful internal combustion engine, used something like it in his collapsed, inducing an electrical current through engines as early as 1862.2 the secondary circuit. Because of the large numThe jump spark system employed a spark ber of turns of wire in the secondary circuit, a plug, a commutator that timed the spark to the very strong electrical voltage was induced in it. cylinder, a battery to serve as a source of current, While brief, this high voltage was sufficient to and a vibrator coil. (See Photo 1). The theory of jump across the gap between the electrodes of the the vibrator coil was quite complex for the time. spark plug and ignite the fuel-air mixture in the It consisted of two circuits of wires wound around cylinder. The term vibrator coil arose from the use of two electrical contacts and a spring aran iron core. (See Photo 2). The primary circuit consisted of a number of turns of fairly heavy rangement to close and open the circuit between the battery and the primary circuit. When the gauge wire. When current from the battery flowed through this circuit it served to turn the primary circuit was closed and the iron core was saturated with magnetism, the spring would be iron core into an electromagnet. The seondary attracted towards the iron core, separating the circuit consisted of a very large number of turns of a very fine wire wrapped around the same iron contacts, and thus breaking the primary circuit. core. This secondary circuit was connected to the Once the contact was broken, the magnetic field collapsed, inducing a high voltage in the seconspark plug. When the primary circuit was brodary circuit that would jump the gap at the spark ken, the magnetic field around the iron core

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produces the spark that enables the make and break ignition system to ignite the charge in the cylinder. As in the case of the kick coil, a vibrator coil also tends to produce a spark between the contact points of the vibrator when the primary circuit is broken. This spark is undesirable for two reasons. First, it will cause the contacts between the vib r a t o r t o erode rapidly. Second, since current continues to flow through the primary circuit as the spark jumps between the point contact, the magnetic field in the iron core tends to collapse rather slowly. This in turn reduces the strength of the voltage induced in the Photo 2: Schematic diagram of the K-W vibrator coil showing the primary and secondary circuit. secondary circuits, the contact points and the condenser. Illustration from In order to reduce George W. Hobbs and Ben G. Elliott The Gasoline Automobile, 3rd Ed., the sparking between the contact points of McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc, NY, 1924, p. 162. the vibrator coil and to quickly collapse the magnetic field, a conplug. At the same time, the collapse of the magdenser is used in the vibrator coil. A condenser netic field released the spring allowing the conis a device designed to absorb or store up a charge tacts to touch and reestablish the primary circuit of electricity. At the beginning of the century, and thereby start the entire process all over condensers were made of two sheets of tin foil again. This continuous making and breaking of separated from each other by sheets of paper the contacts resulted in a vibration or buzzing of coated in paraffin and rolled up to make the the coil and an accompanying stream of sparks.3 A vibrator coil and the kick coil used on the assembly a reasonable size.. At the instant the contact points separate, the current flowing in make and break ignition systems share a comthe primary circuit begins to flow into one side mon component: a primary circuit wrapped of the condenser. This diverts the current and around a soft iron core that becomes an electrokeeps it from jumping the gap between the points magnet when current flows through it. In both when they separate. As current flows into the cases when the circuit is broken, either by the condenser, the electrical potential on the one side separation of contacts in the make and break of the condenser becomes much higher than the system or by the separation of the points of a other side. This in turn causes a discharge back vibrator coil, the magnetic field collapses through the primary circuit in the opposite directhrough the windings of the primary circuit and tion. The return flow of current out of the coninduces a surge of voltage in that circuit as well. densor very quickly dampens the current in the This surge of voltage can be 50 to 100 times primary circuit, contributing to a rapid collapse greater than the voltage in the primary circuit of the magnetic field in the iron core and consebefore the circuit was broken. It is this surge that

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Photo 3: Wiring diagram for a four-cylinder vibrator coil ignition system. Each cylinder requires a separate vibrator coil unit. Illustration from George W. Hobbs and Ben G. Elliott The Gasoline Automobile, 3rd Edition, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc, NY, 1924, p. 163. quently induces a much higher voltage in the secondary circuit.* A vibrator coil will continue to produce a series of sparks so long as current is applied to the primary circuit. It is necessary to break the primary circuit in order to stop the sparks when they were not wanted. To accomplish this, a commutator or timer is used. The timer is operated by the engine and permits the closing and opening of the primary circuit from the battery or magneto to the coil. The closing of contact within the timer would allow current to flow through the primary circuit at the proper time, initiating the vibrating of the coil and the stream of sparks. The timer is adjustable so that the circuit could be connected earlier or later in relation to the position of the piston within the cylinder, thus advancing or retarding the spark. In multi-cylinder engines, the vibrator coil ignition system requires a separate spark plug, vibrator coil and circuit for each cylinder. (See Photo 3). The timer is usually driven by the engines camshaft, which rotates once for every two revolutions of the crankshaft. The timer has a number of separate contacts, one for each cylinder. For the 999 race car, the biggest and most powerful engine that Ford had built up to that time, Ed Huff made a separate ignition coil for each cylinder. Each coil was placed in a wood box on the dash behind the engine with the vibrator extending out toward the back of the car. The primary circuit of each coil was wired in series to a bank of dry cell batteries and the timer. (See Photos 4 and 5) The success of the 999 race car

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Photo 4 (above): The vibrator coil ignition system on Henry Fords 1902 race car the 999. The timer is located at the front of the camshaft. The commutator wires are carried in a conduit along the right hand side of the engine to four separate vibrator coils mounted direct/y behind the engine. The high tension wires travel from the vibrator coils, across the top of the engine and split two the two separate sparkplugs used on each cylinder. These coils were made by Ed Huff and are so marked on the sides of each of them. Photo 5 (right): A close up view of the timer on the 999 race car showing the four contacts, one for each cylinder. The small gear visible in the photograph drives the water circulating pump. in late 1902 was due to its power and speed, which in part was attributable to the jump spark ignition system Huff had installed. When the Ford Motor Company was formed the following year and the Companys first products sent to market, they too employed the same type of jump spark ignition system that had proven so successful on the 999. The 1903 Model A Fords used two-cylinder engines equipped with jump spark ignition systems patterned after the one used on the 999. While Ed Huff continued to assist in the research and design of the companys evolving products,

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Ford turned to other companies to supply it with the ignition components for its cars. One of the first principle suppliers of spark plugs and vibrator coils was the Splitdorf Company of New York. Splitdorf was one of the best known of the early ignition system manufacturers. I t s p r o d u c t s , which included spark plugs and commutators as well as ignition coils, were used on many different brands of early automobiles as well as Ford. For the first three and a half years of the Ford Motor Company, Splitdorf coils were used almost exclusively on the Companys products. In addition to the Model A, they were used on the Models B, C, F and the famous Model N Ford of 1906. During 1907 Ford made two important decisions that affect the ignition coil story. First, Ford decided to begin buying vibrator coils from a second firm and installing them on the Companys two newest Models, the R and the S. The new coil supplier was the Heinze Electrical Company of Lowell, MassachuPhoto 6: Illustration of magnetos supplied by the K-W Ignition Company from setts. The exact reason their 1910 catalog. The Model F seems to have been intended for the for taking on this new Models N, R and S Ford. vendor is not known, From the collections of Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village but according to Fords financial records, after March 1907 Heinze bemade when Henry Ford concluded that his lower gan taking a larger and larger portion of the priced cars needed to be able to produce their Companys coil business, and purchases from own electricity for ignition instead of relying Splitdorf dwindled over the next 18 months.5 exclusively on batteries for current. Most of A second and more significant decision was Fords early models had relied on batteries to

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supply the power for the ignition system. For example, the two-cylinder Models A, C and F, and the four-cylinder Model N each came equipped with two banks of six dry cell batteries. Six new dry cells was considered to be sufficient to run the car continuously for about 100 to 200 miles. Two banks were used so that when the first bank began to run down, the driver could switch over to the second set or reserve set until either the trip was completed or the driver could purchase a new set of batteries. Even with two sets of batteries, it was common in that time period to see cars pulled off the side of the road because the batteries were dead.6 The new Models R and S for 1907 attempted to alleviate this problem somewhat by replacing one of the banks of dry cells with a wet cell storage battery. The initial cost of a storage battery was higher than a set of dry cells, but the

storage battery could be removed and recharged many times while dry cells had to be replaced when they ran down. Ford recognized that the ultimate solution was to equip the cars with a dynamo or magneto that would continuously generate the electrical power for ignition. The storage battery or dry cells could then be saved for starting the car. Once started the dynamo or magneto would supply the current for keeping the car running. At the time the decision to adopt a magneto was made Henry Ford was in the midst of designing a new car to replace the Models N, R and S. It appears that it was in fact Henry Fords own idea to attach a magneto to the flywheel of the new model and he assigned the task of designing the flywheel magneto of the future Model T to the able Ed Huff.7 In the meantime, Henry Ford seems to have seriously considered adding on a

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dynamo to the Models N, R, and S cars. This dynamo was to be located on the left-hand side of the engine and was to be powered by a belt from the engine flywheel to the dynamo. To supply this dynamo Ford turned to a little known

electrical company in Cleveland, Ohio: the KW Ignition Company. Relatively little is known about the early years of the K-W Ignition Company. The Cleveland City Directory for 1908 lists the KW Ignition Companys address as being the Whitney Building. Its officers were Joseph A. Williams, president; William Kaple, vicepresident; and, A. F. Williams, secretary. It is almost certain that the companys name was derived from the names of these two principle officers: Kaple and Williams. 8 A 1910 K-W Ignition Company catalog describes the companys product line. It included electric headlights, spark coi1s and magnetos. It was the companys Model F magneto that appears to have attracted the attention of Henry Ford. (See Photo 6). This magneto was really an alternator or dynamo that was driven by a belt from the automobile engines flywheel. The power generated by the magneto was then used to supply the stock ignition coils of the car. K-W advertised that this magneto was so powerful that it was actually guaranteed to start any engine without the use of batteries.9 Evidence that Ford gave serious consideration to adopting the K-W magneto can be found on original Model N factory drawings. A complete set of drawings was made by Ford draftsmen during late 1907 for all of the parts necessary to attach the K-W magneto to the engine of the Models N, R and S Fords.

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Photo 10: Adjusting Model T Coils at the Highland Park plant ca. 1911. A Heinze coil unit is in the test bed on the left. The large stack of coils on the right hand side appear to be individual Heinze coil units. Stacked against the window in the background are appear to be Kingston coil units.
From the Collections of the Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village. Neg no. P.O-8502.

Although a complete set of drawings for attaching the K-W magneto were made, it does not appear that Ford ever offered the K-W magneto either as standard equipment or a factory authorized accessory on the Models N, R, and S Fords. Perhaps Henry Ford concluded that Huffs progress on the flywheel magneto for the Model T would soon make the N, R and S models obsolete along with ancillary magnetos. In any case, this first business relationship with the K-W Ignition Company quickly ended. However, the following year, 1908, K-W placed advertisements in Horseless Age and other early automobile trade journals displaying the specially designed unit and offering it for sale. (See Photo 7). On October 1, 1908 the Model T Ford was introduced. It used an ignition system patterned after that used in the earlier Models N, R and S. While the locations of some of the components were changed as well as the method of wiring, it remained an ignition system based on vibrator coils and a commutator. The major innovation 23

was the use of the flywheel magneto. This virtually maintenance-free electric dynamo provided sufficient alternating current to operate the coils. On well-tuned Model Ts, the car would start on the magneto and the use of a battery could be dispensed with altogether. Along with the new model came a new ignition coil supplier. The new vendor was the Kokomo Electric Company of Kokomo, Indiana who supplied ignition coils under the trade name Kingston. A bit later in 1909 Heinze resumed coil sales to Ford and a substantial portion of the late 1909 production came so equipped.12 (See Photos 8 and 9). While the flywheel magneto seems to have solved the problem of a source of current for the ignition coils, there is also some evidence that it created new problems. Letters and other documents in the collections of the Research Center indicate that during 1910 Ford began looking at other coil makers products and consulting with outside engineers on the coil issue. This may have led to Ford taking on a third supplier of

coils, the Jacobson and Brandow firm of Pittsfield, Massachusetts. (See Photo 11). As nearly as can be determined at this time the problem involved the synchronization of the four coil units. Synchronizati on refers to the timing of the high-tension spark from each of the coils. Ideally, each coil will send a high voltage jolt to its respective sparkplug at the same relative point of crankshaft rotation and pistravel. ton Ignition of each cylinder at the same relative point will tend to promote a smooth running engine. However, synchrofour nizing different vibrator coil units so that each will send its spark at the proper moment is a bit problematic. The reason for this arises from the theory of the vibrator coil. Recall that current flowing through the primary windings of the coil turns the iron core into an electromagnet. The magnetic field from this core in turn attracts a steel spring which is making contact to complete the primary circuit. When the contact brakes, current stops flowing through the primary circuit, the magnetic field collapses, inducing a high voltage through the secondary circuit connected

to the spark plug. The nature of this design makes the breaking of the contact and the induction of the high voltage in the secondary circuit sensitive to the voltage applied to the primary circuit. Moreover, variations in the tension of the contact spring and its distance from the iron core of the magnet can greatly effect the amount of current that is required to attract the spring, break the contact, and induce the spark.

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Photo 12: Wiring diagram for a K-W Master Vibrator Coil. The points on the regular ignition coils were shorted out and the points on the master vibrator operated the four individual coil units. Illustration from Victor Page The Model T Ford Car, 1917 Edition, Norman W. Henley Publishing Co., Brooklyn, NY, P. 85. voltage will rise and reach a peak. As the magIn a battery powered ignition system the nets pass the center of the coils and rotate tovoltage supplied to the primary circuit of the wards the midpoint between them again, the ignition coil is constant. Since each coil receives voltage will fall back towards zero. As the magthe same amount of voltage when the commutanets continue their rotation the cycle will repeat tor makes contact, each coil will in turn send a itself, although with the current flowing in the high voltage surge to the spark plug almost inopposite direction. stantly afterward. As long as the contacts in the The performance of vibrator coils tends to commutator are properly arranged, synchronivary somewhat from coil to coil. This performzation will not be a great problem.. However, the ance is affected by the tension in the contact Model T flywheel magneto produces an alternatspring and its distance from the iron electromaging current ranging from six to twenty-eight net core of the coil. When the tension of the volts. This current occurs in the pattern of a sine vibrators and their distance from the core differ, wave that repeats itself 8 times over the course then one vibrator coil may require a different of one revolution of the crankshaft. Starting with threshold voltage level to produce a spark than the magnets on the flywheel located midway another. That is, four volts may be sufficient for between two coils on the magneto coil ring, the one coil to begin to produce its stream of high voltage will be zero. As the magnets approach voltage sparks while a second may require five and pass over the center of the magneto coil, the 25

Photo 13 (opposite top): Front view of a 1912 Kingston coil assembly incorporating a master vibrator coil in its design. The master vibrator is the middle unit in the coil. The other four are slaves. This box used the standard Kingston switch and latches for the top. Photo 14 (opposite bottom): Rear view of the special 1912 Kingston coil assembly. Note the c/ever way Kingston modified the back of this box so that it would fit the standard Ford dash, The commutator and high tension terminals for the second and third coils and the magneto and battery terminals are attached to brass contacts that shift the terminal posts in toward the center of the box. and a halfvolts before it begins to emit its stream of sparks. Since the voltage level produced by the flywheel magneto varies with the rotation of the crankshaft, this means that different vibrator coils would send a spark to its plug at a different relative point in crankshaft rotation and travel of the piston in the cylinder. For example, the first coil might send a spark at fifteen degrees of crankshaft rotation before the piston reached top dead center, the second might do so at thirteen degrees, the third at seventeen degrees, and the fourth at sixteen degrees. Since each cylinder will be tiring at a slightly different point, the power produced in each cylinder will also be different. This tends to result in a rather roughrunning engine.

One solution to the coil synchronization problem was the use of a master vibrator coil.

This is a specially built coil unit that is used in conjunction with the regular factory issued coils on the car. The principle behind the master vibrator coil is quite simple. The regular vibrator points on the factory issued coils were disabled and the master vibrator coil was wired into the circuit so that the points and primary circuit on the master would operate the primary circuits on each of the factory issued coils. With only the one set of points on the primary circuit of the master coil operating, it insured that coils for each separate cylinder would send a spark to the plug at the same relative point of crankshaft rotation and piston travel. With each cylinder receiving its ignition spark at the same point, power was equalized between the cylinders and a much smoother running engine was achieved. Master vibrator coils were manufactured and sold by many early automotive ignition companies including Jacobson and Brandow and K-W Ignition. (See Photo 12). Ford resisted the master vibrator coil solution. Instead, Kingston and Heinze continued to make improvements in the designs of their coils to alleviate the problem. As stated above, the Jacobson and Brandow coils were adopted as standard equipment on many Model Ts because it was thought that the design of their points tended to reduce the synchronization problem. The problem persisted for several years, and during 1912 Ford even tried a modified Kingston design that included a master vibrator coil and four slaves all in the same box mounted on the dash. However, this Kingston design soon proved not to resolve the problem to Fords satisfaction and all outstanding Kingston coils of this design were recalled and replaced by the factory. 13 (See Photos 13 and 14)
The authors may be contacted by writing: Trent E. Boggess Department of Business Plymouth State College Plymouth, NH 03264 e-mail: [email protected] Ronald Patterson 8 Olde Surrey Lane Medway, MA 02053 e-mail: [email protected]

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