TreeSeeker wrote:
Thanks Griff, good info and stories. We should all probably be carrying a spare coil too.
You are also welcome.
You can carry a spare coil, if you want, but I don't think it's really necessary. Coils very rarely, if ever, fail. They're actually very simple devices electrically and have no mechanical components. Just about the only problems I've ever seen with them is switched primary terminal connections. (Okay, I did see one case involving an external short to ground ... caused by an extreme buildup of oily dirt/dust trapping enough moisture to create the short circuit.)
Inside a coil's 'can' is two concentric coils of wire, sealed in epoxy. Just about the only way to damage one is subject it to extreme heat, in the range of 400 or more degrees F.
A lot of my knowledge comes from observing other people's (self-induced) problems and difficulties. Those observations are the source of most of my stories. My own misadventures tend to be infrequent, which is fortunate because they also tend to be notably spectacular.
