1989 Onan Generator ingnition coil question
Hi I have a 4000 watt onan emarald series generator, gas. I am having ignition coil problems and want to be sure someone did not change wires on the coil. Right now i have one wire going to the + an...
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The screw in the white plastic on the left must be a connection terminal. The screw on the right with the spring under it is the point gap adjustment. The black screw holds the points assembly in place on the engine block. The points usually work off of a little cam, but you can't see it on the ONAN because the cam is internal and a little push pin pokes out to open the points.
I think I'd do this:
1. Check to make sure there's voltage at the points with the engine not running, switch to Start, and Points open as in the picture. If there's voltage
2. Clean the Points very gently with an emery board, piece of fine sandpaper, or an ignition or jeweler's file. Check the gap and adjust. Crank and see if it starts.
3. If it doesn't, Clean or Replace Both Spark Plugs. As Chris says, either plug fouled/shorted and neither will fire.
4. If it still doesn't run, test or replace the Ignition Capacitor. Any ignition capacitor that you can mount will work. You can "kick test" ignition capacitors with an old-school analog (with a needle pointer) meter.
Do you by chance have another coil? Even if it's got only one high tension socket, it should throw spark if the rest of the system is working. That'd give you an idea if your ONAN coil is good or bad. Just wire it up to one plug.
I once tried wiring both plugs to an ordinary automotive coil with one terminal. It did NOT work...
At this point, you can
I think I'd do this:
1. Check to make sure there's voltage at the points with the engine not running, switch to Start, and Points open as in the picture. If there's voltage
2. Clean the Points very gently with an emery board, piece of fine sandpaper, or an ignition or jeweler's file. Check the gap and adjust. Crank and see if it starts.
3. If it doesn't, Clean or Replace Both Spark Plugs. As Chris says, either plug fouled/shorted and neither will fire.
4. If it still doesn't run, test or replace the Ignition Capacitor. Any ignition capacitor that you can mount will work. You can "kick test" ignition capacitors with an old-school analog (with a needle pointer) meter.
Do you by chance have another coil? Even if it's got only one high tension socket, it should throw spark if the rest of the system is working. That'd give you an idea if your ONAN coil is good or bad. Just wire it up to one plug.
I once tried wiring both plugs to an ordinary automotive coil with one terminal. It did NOT work...
At this point, you can
