lonestarjeff
Well-known Member
My 860 starter went kaput about(I'm ashamed to say)two seasons ago & I just got around to having it rebuilt. Of course, sitting up that
long it was bound to have other issues. Fuel bowl was pouring out fuel, float valve was stuck open, hollow fuel banjo bolt gaskets were
leaking. After fixing all that it would turn over but never fire, so I started isolating electrical issues.
No voltage(6v)to the coil unless I jumped around the key switch(replaced that), but still wouldn't fire. No obvious shorts to or in the
distributor, so I pulled all the plugs. They were a little sooty & damp w/fuel, but not bad otherwise. Checked for spark while I had
that last plug out...not even a whimper. Went ahead & changed the coil, points & condenser....new rotor & dust cover. Still no spark at
all. I checked the 6v wire into the distributor for insulation damage/short, but it looked good. Then I pulled the distributor cover &
opened/closed the points with the key on & got spark, but still nothing to the plugs.
Then I started checking the plug wires & rotor cap. The only thing I found was a couple of the wire ends were a bit corroded, not bad,
but I cleaned them up anyway. Also noticed the new coil had a longer neck on it, where the old distributor wire has trouble reaching it.
So, I stole the high voltage center wire off one of my other engines & substituted it.
After that, it was a great sound hearing that cold, neglected engine spit & sputter trying to come back to life. Fuel vapor, dust,
cobwebs, & other things were flying out of the stack when it kicked off. Didn't have time to do much with it before coming back to the
city, but I ran it around awhile enjoying the exhaust note & watching for fuel leaks. The hydraulics were a little stiff, but working
like they should.
Not sure if it was that distributor wire all the time(along with the key switch), but it's good to have her back online.
long it was bound to have other issues. Fuel bowl was pouring out fuel, float valve was stuck open, hollow fuel banjo bolt gaskets were
leaking. After fixing all that it would turn over but never fire, so I started isolating electrical issues.
No voltage(6v)to the coil unless I jumped around the key switch(replaced that), but still wouldn't fire. No obvious shorts to or in the
distributor, so I pulled all the plugs. They were a little sooty & damp w/fuel, but not bad otherwise. Checked for spark while I had
that last plug out...not even a whimper. Went ahead & changed the coil, points & condenser....new rotor & dust cover. Still no spark at
all. I checked the 6v wire into the distributor for insulation damage/short, but it looked good. Then I pulled the distributor cover &
opened/closed the points with the key on & got spark, but still nothing to the plugs.
Then I started checking the plug wires & rotor cap. The only thing I found was a couple of the wire ends were a bit corroded, not bad,
but I cleaned them up anyway. Also noticed the new coil had a longer neck on it, where the old distributor wire has trouble reaching it.
So, I stole the high voltage center wire off one of my other engines & substituted it.
After that, it was a great sound hearing that cold, neglected engine spit & sputter trying to come back to life. Fuel vapor, dust,
cobwebs, & other things were flying out of the stack when it kicked off. Didn't have time to do much with it before coming back to the
city, but I ran it around awhile enjoying the exhaust note & watching for fuel leaks. The hydraulics were a little stiff, but working
like they should.
Not sure if it was that distributor wire all the time(along with the key switch), but it's good to have her back online.
