Exploring the Causes of Hot Coil in Cars and How to Overcome It

Being one of the most important components in a four-wheeled vehicle, the coil indeed has the function of generating high-voltage electricity for the car. The electricity produced by the coil will later be transmitted to all engine components when the car is started. To ensure its performance is always optimal, here are the causes of a hot coil in cars and how to address it.

Causes of Hot Coil

When the coil is in a hot condition, it can cause several problems in the engine. Starting from engine stuttering, hesitating, or even causing the engine to stall due to the spark plug not being able to produce a spark as usual. 

So what causes it? The first thing that causes the coil to overheat is a short circuit in the current and voltage regulator flowing to the primary coil or primary wire. 

This regulator is known as a ballast resistor which not only functions as a current regulator but also regulates temperature so that the coil's performance remains stable.

Ballast resistor experiencing short circuit makes the electric current that should flow from the car battery unable to be limited as usual. 

As a result, the unregulated current will cause the conductor wire to receive an excessive load continuously, leading to overheating.

Not only in the ballast resistor, short circuit or shorting can also occur in the primary or secondary coil. 

Generally, the primary coil and secondary coil are wrapped with a solidified liquid insulating layer. However, it is still possible for a short circuit to occur if that layer is damaged. Consequently, the electric current becomes shorter in distance and causes a short circuit.

This incident can also occur if the coil experiences an electrical leakage. This electrical leakage will cause the ignition that should be produced in large quantities to become smaller and weaker. This can also make the coil hotter.

Read Also: Reviewing the Car Ignition System and How to Do It

How to Overcome Hot Coil

When you drive the vehicle and feel the engine stuttering, it indicates that the coil is having problems, for example due to excessive heat. 

As a source of ignition, it is normal for the coil to feel hot. However, if the heat experienced by the coil is abnormal, it will cause problems in the engine.

In addition, excessive heat in the coil also results in reduced current flowing through the coil. Even the magnetic field that will be created becomes smaller. One way to address this is to help lower the temperature to a normal range.

Prepare a bucket of water and a cloth. Then periodically compress the coil area to reduce its heat.

For owners of four-wheeled vehicles, especially gasoline engines, the coil plays a significant role in generating electrical current to start the engine. If the coil has problems, the vehicle will become fussy and hard to start. To prevent this from happening, try to maintain it regularly.

Read Also: No Need to Go to the Workshop, Here’s How to Check Your Fuel Injection Coil Yourself