The purpose of the ignition system is to ignite, or fire, the spark plugs in order to generate power to run the engine. To do so, the battery sends current to the ignition coil. Then that high voltage ...

The morphing of state-of-the-art electronics into today's performance vehicles keeps getting better all the time. And in case you're confused as to what magazine you're reading, we're not referring to ...

Yeah, it might be a nerdy gearhead thing, but as enthusiasts we want a lot of information about what our cars are doing. Unfortunately, the manufacturers don't quite see it our way, so cars are ...

Your (previous) column claimed that “many newer cars don’t have spark plug wires.” So how does the electricity get to the spark plugs to make a spark? Gary Wedemeyer, Seattle Good question, Gary. A ...

Heat initiates the internal combustion process. Diesel engines utilize the temperature buildup from extremely high compression (pressure) to ignite the air/fuel mixture, with a little help from glow ...

Q. I've noticed my new car doesn't have a distributor or spark plug wires, unlike every other car or truck I've ever owned. Can you explain how this works? A. This is one of the neatest automotive ...

Q: I have a 1994 Lincoln Town Car that had been intermittently stalling at low speeds and failing to start. After waiting 15 minutes or so, the car eventually would start. I have replaced the battery, ...