Quote:
Originally Posted by 97 SL320
So, you are saying that at a 0.035" plug gap, a cap - rotor point type / point / electronic ignition system won't make corona but DIS using the same gap will?
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Corona is a very undesirable thing in anything electrical. The systems are purposely designed to AVOID corona.
Cap/rotor style ignition systems typically operate at a lower voltage and higher current than DIS systems to. If corona were a common occurrence on them, they'd routinely flash over inside the distributor cover, not through the HT wires. Eventually as they age, they do begin to flash over due to carbon tracking and contamination inside the distributor cap.
DIS systems operate at a MUCH higher voltage and a higher current than rotary distributor systems do. Modern coil-on-plug systems can easily break 100KV and having a "corona ring" around the porcelain insulator on the spark plug is not uncommon when the plugs and insulator boots get some age on them. That is still not "corona" in the sense of the word though.
Corona depends on atmospheric conditions to form, typically requiring very dry air to ionize the air and form a corona ball. If the conductor forming the corona ball is close enough to a grounded object, the corona will become an arc and ground through the object before it is ever visible to the naked eye.
Bottom line, corona or not, if you're seeing sparks coming from HT leads, they're done. Their entire purpose is to insulate the conductor, not dissipate the spark energy as coronal discharges.