No Lightning!/ Spark

[Bill Winn 156]

Saturday my c175 quit on me. It gets fuel and air and the little bit of spark it was getting was so weak it was orange not blue. I measured the voltage from the closed ignition circuit to the coil and it was about 12.4vdc. I checked the coil and it measure from pole to pole 4.7ohms. However from the + side of the coil to the plug wire sockets there was nothing. I tried the 2000, 20k, and the 200k setting. I also cleaned and gapped the points at .020 and the plugs at .025. The points are quite worn by the way.

 

One thing I noticed was what appeared to be heat/ pressure deformation on the coil housing where the engine's mounting surface had imprinted.

 

And check out the final picture. I have never seen plug wires without metal clips on the ends. I did not find them inside the coil like I expected either. Weird.

 

I plan to replace it all... coil, condenser, plugs, wires, and points. I promise to update.

 

Opinions, advise, well-wishes, and cautionary tales welcomed!

 

Bill

[squonk 41,118]

Coil got hot. It's possible that wire was still able to fire but it would have increased secondary resistance considerably. Damaging the coil.

[ebinmaine 67,498]

38 minutes ago, squonk said:

Coil got hot. It's possible that wire was still able to fire but it would have increased secondary resistance considerably. Damaging the coil.

I could see that. 

 

The plug wire may have been sending an arc to the plug to fire it. 

[Jeff-C175 7,202]

I understand that there's a Harley coil that will work.

[Crazyredhorse 295]

could probly use an accel point fired run one on my flh big improvement over stock one 

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/ACC-8140/applications and for twin cylinders

https://www.jpcycles.com/product/380-894/accel-12-volt-yellow-power-pulse-coil

Edited July 5, 2021 by Crazyredhorse

[edgro 677]

The last kt17 coil i bought off flebey was reasonably priced, came with wires, is working fine.

Had no luck with gorilla coil.

Genuine kohler coil is quite pricy

[Bill Winn 156]

So my condenser was not in the bag with the points (as was promised by the NAPA dude) so I have a new condenser for an Onan B series... will that one work just fine or will if fry something?

[Crazyredhorse 295]

dont know for sure but might be diffrent if its 6 or 12 volt

[Bill Winn 156]

Okay, here she is. New coil, new points, new plugs, new plug wires, old condenser (for now).

 

I set the timing with a continuity light so that the light was flickering on/off but mostly off when the "S" mark on the flywheel aligned with the timing pin. Upon rotating to the "T" tdc mark I measured just under .020.

The condenser will be replaced once the new one arrives. It tested okay but I want to replace it anyway just to be sure. Tarylfixesall says to always replace the points and condenser together. So, I'd bet my next dentist's bill he's right. (Looks like he did... and lost) LOL.

 

Loaded more bricks in the green dump cart and moved them around successfully last night.

 

Thank you WHF for the help. Now to get my lights and amp meter to work.

 

 

[ebinmaine 67,498]

Sounds great. Nice work.

 

Getting the rest of the electrical system going correctly is of course just a matter of testing and time. 

 

I'm not a fan of ammeters. I remove them from all of our tractors. Replace them with voltmeters instead.

Ammeters do have a place in the world but it's just not on anything I own...

[Jeff-C175 7,202]

I think you can turn the regulator around and tuck those wires inside...

 

 

Any reason they're hanging outside like that?

 

[Bill Winn 156]

6 hours ago, Jeff-C175 said:

I think you can turn the regulator around and tuck those wires inside...

 

 

Any reason they're hanging outside like that?

 

Yes, I noticed that. I was probably super tired and space that last evening. I will flip that reg around tomorrow.