BUILD UP ON MOVABLE
BUILD UP ON
CONTACT MOVABLE STATIONARY
CONTACT
CONTACT
STATIONARY
COULD INDICATE
CONTACT COULD INDICATE
UNDER CAPACITANCE
OVER CAPACITANCE
FIGURE
6
-
1
-
-
METAL TRANSFER
--
BREAKER POINTS
IGNITION COIL
Ignition coils as used on the
30
amp alternator ignition systems do not require servicing on a
regular basis,
however, the coil should be kept in clean condition and the terminals and connections
must be tight to provide good electrical contact.
The rubber nipple on the high tension terminal must
be in good
condition to prevent leakage of current across exposed surfaces.
If the terminals are marked, make sure the coil is hooked up properly.
On negative ground sys
-
tems
(as
used
on
all Kohler Engines), the positive
(t)
coil primary terminal must be connected to the
positive battery terminal. The negative
(-)
cail terminal is then connected to the distributor or directly
to the breaker points.
Reverse
polarity can require up to
8,000
more volts to fire the plugs.
If termi
-
nals
ar?
not marked, hook up either way.
Special test instruments are required to accurately test ignition coils.
When using such equip
-
ment, carefully follow instructions stated by the tester manufacturer.
A cail can be checked for opens with
a
simple test lamp.
To test for an open primary winding,
connect the two test points to the primary terminals
--
the lamp will not light if the circuit is grounded.
To check the secondary circuit, connect one test point to the high tension terminal and the other
point
to either of the primary terminals.
In this case, the lamp will not light but tiny sparks should be
noted as the test points
are
rubbed across the terminals.
If the secondary is opened,
no
sparks will
occur.
If
the tests show that the primary or secondary is open, replace coil
or
test further with the
cail tester.
CONDENSER
If the condenser shorts out, the coil will be unable to produce output voltage.
On the other hand,
if it opens
or
decreases in capacitance, the output voltage will be greatly reduced and the ignition
points will burn excessively.
If badly burned breaker points occur too frequently, the condition of the
condenser should be suspected.
If condenser has too small capacitance, metal will transfer from the
stationary contact to the movable contact.
If capacitance is too large, the metal will build up on the
stationary contact.
The condenser can
be
tested with an ohmmeter
or
a commercial condenser tester.
To check
with the
ohnimeter, remove the condenser then connect leads between the condenser lead and
a
good
ground on the engine.
At first,
a
low resistance should be indicated; however, this should very quickly
rise
to a high value.
If low resistance is indicated continuously, the condenser is definitely faulty and
must he replaced.
When using a commercial condenser tester, follow instructions given by the tester
manufacturer.
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