Hi guys..I have a Continental 4cyl., I cant get spark out of the coil!!! I replaced the battery and the coil...I have power on both sides of the coil when the key is in the on position.and power at the distibutor.. I bypassed all switches and wired it direct to the battery, and still no spark to the coil wire going to the distributor, or should I say no spark coming out of the coil when the motor is being turn over...I tested it with a test light, and the light is flickering when the points open and shut at the distributor....I actually changed the coil twice, thinking that the coil was bad, but no such luck...Please help me, am I overlooking something
Vinrum, It sounds as if everything is in order. I'd double check that the coil has a good ground to the engine first, I guess. The coil won't provide a spark if the current in the secondary side of the coil cannot make a complete circiut. I imagine you've already checked and made sure the points are opening up enough, appox .012-.015", too? With battery power to + side of coil, - side of coil to points which open and close correctly, points have a "good" condensor, coil is grounded, distributor is grounded & rotates correctly while cranking, it should have spark at coil lead.:beatsme Good luck!!
I thought of a question. I don't know how much you already know about electrical's so................you may know all this, I'm just double checking incase. The only power going to the distributor is the power coming through the coil, correct? There's not another power wire coming from someplace else going to the distributor by mistake is there? The power should go from battery(or switch), into coil+ & out coil-(primary cicuit), and finally to points and condensor which cause intermittant grounding. The coil is a transformer which steps up the voltage(secondary circuit) and it's current flows from it's winding, through coil wire, through spark plug engine block etc (if rotor and cap aren't in the picture), and back into the coil body. Lastly, is there an external resistor, before the coil, in the coil's + wire? Does the coil have a built in resistor? Some have an internal resistor, but if the coil doesn't, and a power resistor isn't installed before the coil, the coil can overheat or burn the point's up after a short time with a full 12volts. It shouldn't cause you not to have spark if everythings good, but could shorten the life of your new coil or point's. Hopefully you'll find the problem, they can be a real pain sometimes.
Attn: Jeff I have another question for you...If I stick the test light into the coil where the wire goes to the distibutor cap, should the bulb light up?? Of course, when the motor is being turned over... I was thinking about it at work today, Is there to many volts coming out to the coil for the test light to test??????? Thanks Steve
Steve, if you're referring to the small wire that goes from the coil's "-" terminal to the point's in the distributor, the answer is yes, you can use your test light to test it. that one should never be more than 12volt's. If you mean the big wire that goes from the coil and plugs into the top of the distibutor cap (the wire the spark goes through) then no. The voltage in that wire is 20,000 volt's or more. It doesn't have much current, but really high voltage. It will burn out your test light. Another question is, did this problem just happen out of the blue. Ie, one day it just lost spark, or have you been working on the skid steer and can't get spark now. It may help narrow it down to know which way. A test to find out if it's before the distributor or inside the distributor is this: Disconnect the small wire from the coils "-" terminal, that goes to the points, at the distibutor if possible. Take the coils ignition lead (big wire going to distributor cap top) out of the cap, put a spark plug into it's end( if it will fit) or hold it within 1/8" of the engine block. Put power to the coil, via turning on ignition switch, hooking coil's + to power, etc. Don't spin engine over. Take the small wire that you'de disconnected from point's and touch it to the engine block for just a second. Every time you touch it to metal it should cause a spark to jump the sparkplug or the 1/8" gap at the ingition lead. If it sparks the problem is in the distibutor. Point's/condensor, something. If it does not spark the problem is in the coil, coil bodies ground, power wire to coil, or the wire going from coil to point's. On edit: I just noticed I'd mentioned previously that the point gap should be .012-.015 ". That should've read 0.12- 0.15", or whatever the manufacturer recommends. It's usually in that range somewhere. Sorry for that mistake.
Steve, I must be having one of those days!!:Banghead Disregard my edit above. Point's are gapped in thousandth's of and inch, so .012-.015" is the range, possibly even upto .020". It's not critical in testing for spark, although at 0.12-0.15 like I mentioned in my edit they probobly wouldn't even close. Been awhile since I used a feeler gauge. ointhead As long as they're opening and closing and aren't too tight. Too small a gap can cause weak spark. I'd still gap them too whatever Continental recommends, if possible. Once you get things figured out with this spark problem the timing or dwell could be off if they're not within spec's.
Same problem with the same engine I have the same problem, one day it was working and the next day could not start it. I get a spark from the HT wire to ground when jumping the negative side of the coil to ground but the spark is weak and I have to hold the wire closer then 1/8"to get a spark. Also I do not get a spark every time I tap the neg (-) wire to ground. I have tried a brand new coil with the same result. Could this be a condensor problem and how do I find and test the condensor?? Also when I pulled a plug from the head I get a spark the first time I crank the engine but after the second revolution of the motor there are no more sparks. Any suggestions??
Huh?! First, welcome to HEF Don!!:drinkup Hopefully Vinrum will jump in and let you/us know what he found? I'm not familiar with you particular engine, so there might be something specific that might be a problem, so I am only referring to point ignitions in general. The condenson is usually located near, and connected to the points via a small wire. It is simply a capacitor, and stores an electrical charge. It's only job is to help reduce pitting (mountain/valley) wear on the point contacts, and can be thought of as an electrical shock absorber. It can be disconnected for the purpose of testing the ignition. You should have spark with it disconnected, if it is bad. If it is bad it will be shorted to ground, or it can no longer store a charge. You can test it by removing it from the distributor, connecting its wire to a +12volt source and it's body to ground for a second, and then disconnect. After it's disconnected touch it's wire against it's body and you should see a spark. It may be very faint, but it should have stored 12volts and discharged when grounded to itself. If it's bad it won't hold a charge. I can't think of anything else, other than something particular to this engine I'm not familiar with, that would cause these problem. Good luck!! Jeff
Welcome to HEF Don L! :drinkup