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Basic ignition help

B

BarnabyHooge

Member
I'm trying to diagnose a sudden sputtering motor. Got it stuck somewhat sideways in some mud yesterday. I was able to get it out, but it started running funny afterward. Really rough idle, but it really just sputters all over the place.

Converted to 12volt this spring so coil is brand new.

1. Tested a couple plugs and got the same result. It would mis a spark here and there, and it seemed somewhat weak.

2. check all my connections and everything seems snug.

3. manual opened the points in distributer and got the same result as the plugs. It would spark but then miss every 4 or so times I opened it.

Just not sure what to do next. I'm still learning and the shop manual isn't making much sense to me at this point. Any simple steps I should try next would be appreciated.

Thanks
 
First suspect would be "bad" breaker points.

May be "burned", have a non-conductive oxide coating on them, or oil, etc..
 
I don't think so, it wasn't that messy. The only thing is one of the rears was on dry land, the other was sunk so it was at a little bit of an angle.

I'll check for mud anyway. Hoping there is some more basic trouble shooting that I can move on to, though. The points don't appear to be burnt or otherwise soiled. The plugs are pretty black, but I test a brand new plug and got the same result with the intermittent misses. When it first start is stutters and pops, sort of what I associate with a big drag car or something, but then it really starts to stumble and eventually dies.
 
Sorry to double post, but it's not allowing me to edit. I wanted to add that I had first thought it was a fuel issue, but the choke has no effect on the stumbling at all, and I would think it would at least do something when choked a bit.

Seems like a condenser, but I'm trying NOT to do my usual, which is buy parts and ask questions later!
 
Glad to see that you are trying to diagnose your problem rather than just throw parts at it. Strange that this started after you got the tractor stuck. Maybe just a coincident. You say the spark seems to be weak. Did you check battery connections? Could mud have gotten onto the battery? What is the battery voltage? Does it show that it is charging? Other than that, it could be a condenser (inexpensive) or the coil may be going South (more expensive). Is the coil hot to the touch? Just some thoughts.
 
Also check where the wire goes into the grommet on the distributor - if it has rubbed it can intermittently short out or jump the spark to ground at the distributor before it gets to the spark plugs.

When you hotwire the coil remember to un-hotwire it ASAP or you can fry it if it is an external resistor coil.
 
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