Jacobs ladder help

[captainsideburns]

Hello all,

My brother bought my son a DIY Jacobs ladder kit. We have completed soldering and building the actual unit, however the ignition coil he bought doesnt match the one shown in the kit and I am at a loss how to finish the project. I am unsure how to connect the wires to the battery / coil

Can anyone help with the final step please ?

 

[Harald Kapp]

Is this the ignition coil?

If so, it seems to be not suitable for this circuit. The circuit requires an ignition coil with separate primary and secondary windings, resulting in 4 wires.
This coil has a common connection for primary and secondary coil, thus only 3 wires.


I recommend you get a matching ignition coil.

As a last resort you can try to use your coil like this (the two top connections are the common connection within the ignition coil resulting in a single wire) :


But note that the high voltage is now connected the battery, thus the whole circuit becomes dangerous to the touch!!!
You will also have to identify which wire (red, blue, black) goes where.

Also note that the Jacob's ladder's output wires will be at high voltage, regardless of the kind of ignition coil you use. Shield the output to prevent touching it e.g. using a glas or plastic cover as shown e.g. here. This is for the safety of everyone coming near the Jacob's ladder.

 

[Martaine2005]

I think that box contains the electronic ignition PCB.
The coil is the cylindrical unit in photo 3.


Martin

 

[AnalogKid]

Post a close-up image of the top of the coil. It looks like there might be + and - markings molded into the plastic near the threaded terminals, but it is hard to see. If yes, then follow the instructions you posted.

In the schematic in post #2, the lower red wire goes to the insulated center post of the coil, and is one of the two ladder rods. The other rod connects to the coil + terminal and the fuse.

ak

 

[captainsideburns]

Hey, this is all really good advice. Attached is a pic of the top of the coil.

Ak, I am not quite sure what you mean, sorry