Volume 13, Issue 7 (July 2026), Pages: 90-97

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 Technical Note

Analysis of ignition signal characteristics of a spark ignition engine under ethanol–gasoline blends

 Author(s): 

Alwi Hidayah Harahap, Wawan Purwanto *, Ahmad Arif, Ichsan Nasution

 Affiliation(s):

Department of Automotive Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Negeri Padang, Padang, Indonesia

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 * Corresponding Author. 

   Corresponding author's ORCID profile:  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8576-7264

 Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

 
https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2026.07.008

 Abstract

This study aims to use a digital oscilloscope to analyze the ignition signal characteristics of a fuel-injection spark ignition engine operating with different gasoline–ethanol blends (E0, E20, E40, E60, and E80). Signal measurements were conducted under two engine speed conditions: idle and high speed. The evaluated signal parameters include frequency, period, duty cycle, peak voltage, peak-to-peak voltage, and effective (RMS) voltage. The results show that increasing the ethanol content generally increases the ignition signal frequency, even at high engine speeds, while reducing peak voltage and RMS voltage. The findings also indicate that a shorter coil dwell time reduces ignition power and suggest that the engine control unit (ECU) can adapt its settings for gasoline–ethanol combustion. Overall, the study provides useful insights for improving ignition system calibration and tuning in spark ignition engines operating on gasoline–ethanol fuel blends.

 © 2026 The Authors. Published by IASE.

 This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

 Keywords

Ignition signal analysis, Gasoline–ethanol blends, Spark ignition engine, Coil dwell time, Engine control unit

 Article history

Received 18 December 2025, Received in revised form 4 May 2026, Accepted 14 July 2026

 Acknowledgment

The authors would like to thank Lembaga Penelitian dan Pengabdian pada Masyarakat Universitas Negeri Padang for funding this study with a grant number: 2074/UN35.15/LT/2025. 

 Compliance with ethical standards

 Citation:

Harahap AH, Purwanto W, Arif A, and Nasution I (2026). Analysis of ignition signal characteristics of a spark ignition engine under ethanol–gasoline blends. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 13(7): 90-97

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