ignition

[QuickMick]

thanks Mac, i think you maybe right, as we switched back to the old condenser and points which were creating hella fire...however we used the old rotor but new cap. i bet you are right on that rotor/cap tolerance being off. heck, now those points are set perfectly im gonna drop the old cap on. i bet the problem was a combo/points off and the weak coil referenced above. thanks for the tip, ill tell you how it works out.

[MacGyverRI]

How did you make out? Is it running?

[HDChopper]

After being in the Hogg bissness over the years ...you would be suprized how many COILS are "bad in the box" this is not to say a bad one wouldnt start & run an engine ... Just that new in box mesurements with the correct meters I found 1 in 14 that was perfect ...and yes the store will sell all of them , go figure....

Plenty one can do to a cap & roter bug to make them better parts ... but would take wayyyy to long to say here ....just to be simple here .. keep an old cap cut it in half or so just so you can see the bug strike buy the pole & allways pick a bug that comes closer to the pole without hitting it ...


Plenty of little things to do to help old type engs....if you can find another bug that fits great and has same dim. ( even tho it is for another eng) it may have a longer arc shaped striker play with it and you might be suprized how well your eng runs with it ...normally this would add + or - timeing by 2-4* and a longer spark burning time for better fuel burn...just make shure the burn doesn't continue into the intake valve opening phase..

Ok thats enough info to help most & to get the rest into trouble ,,,, after all these are simple engines and playing with them and knowing them will go a long way to helping them.....after all thay were mass produced & everything was left short & loose just for that reason ( which doesn't mean we cant clean some of that up )

For the ppl who think everything was designed and built as close to perfect as possible when produced ....Disregard this post your mindset can't be changed lol

[QuickMick]

havent solved her yet... the replacement points i got have a plastic doo dad for the wire--as opposed to the 'nut' on the original. im going to order a new set from moyer. the old ones are clicking, but while set just right, they are slightly askew. may get a cap/rotor from them while im at it. my mech buddy who is helping me just had rotator cuff surgery so is out of the loop for a bit. ill keep you posted. i also found a 'mystery wire' the PO installed that is not on any schematic i have! the joys of trying to get inside the mind of a PO (an obvious loon)

[centaursailor]

Did you replace the heavy insulated cable between the coil and rotor and rotor and spark plug. Often the insulation breaks down and the spark is lost to an earth on the metal body. It can be intermitent depending on the positioning of the plug lead.

[thekeip]

One of the things that you need to check...most easily done if you have a voltmeter installed on your engine control panel...is that there is electrical activity at the panel at all when the engine quits. Often, VERY often in fact, the ignition switch fails...not the coil. You can see if that's the case just by looking at the meters. Sometimes you can "correct" the problem by jiggling the switch a little. No activity at the panel, no activity at the coil either.
Howard Keiper
Berkeley