Kilovolts or kV is the unit used to measure the output of an ignition coil. Some coils can output 20kV to 40 kV. So, how does an ignition coil turn system or battery voltage into these huge voltages? The answer is inductance.
The ECM provides the voltage to the primary coil winding. The primary winding might have 100 turns around the coil’s core or plates. When the voltage to the coil is turned off, a magnetic field collapses. The collapsing field will generate more than 100 volts thanks to inductance. The energy is transformed by the windings in the secondary with inductance again, but thanks to the 10,000 windings, the voltage is boosted to 40kV at the spark plug’s electrodes. The best way to see inductance inside the primary windings is to use an amp probe placed around the positive wire for the ignition coil. With this setup, you can see the current ramping in the coil and the collapse of the magnetic field.