JoJo wrote:
power = voltage times current
current = voltage devided by resistance
This means: if your coil resistance = 3 Ohms and your voltage is 12 volts, the current through your coils is 4 Amps. (12/3=4)
Now, if the current is 4 Amps, the power through your coils is 12 x 4 = 48 watts.
If it still is allowed to dsikusse electrical theory, here comes some more......
In a coil you have resistance R (Ohm) and induktans XL (Ohm),
the vectoriel sum of this to values equals Z Impedance also Ohm.
If you have DC-current the R and Z value are the same and the XL is 0 (engine not running).
The XL value is changeing according to the frecvency (enginerevs).
In this case XL = 2*PI*F*60*L, where F*60 is enginerevs and L is related to the turns the coil is winded with.
JoJo:s calculation only applys if the Ohms are related to the Z Ohms, beacuse the coil is feeded with a kind of AC-current during running, meaning that the power consumtion of the coil is different, if the engine is not running and different according to the revs.
So, sounds confusing, on a bike you normally have DC-current except for the coils, they are feeded whith a kind of AC-current (pulsating DC)generated by the points.
If you feed a coil with DC-current, you would only get one single spark then you turn on your ignition and an other single spark then you turn off the ignition.
Beacuse the current CHANGE on the primary side is generating the spark on the secondary (plug) side.
Then you ones have turned on your ignition the current woudnt change any more until you turn of the ignition, then you would get an other single spark.
Slowpoke, this is the reason for that the coils not are fireing all the time as soon as you turn on the ignition.