[SEL] No Spark on John Deere Model E

[Elden]

Jeff:

I think a quarter pound of pull is very weak.  You need to have
the magnets charged -on- the magneto and you should be fine.

You can test run the engine on battery and coil without the
magneto (just leave it unhooked -NOT- in the battery circuit!).
If the magneto is in any way connected to a battery, the magnets
may be depolarized and the magic smoke could leak out.

- The negative terminal of the battery should go to the engine
frame.
- The positive terminal of the battery should go through an
induction coil* to the ignitor.
- On a magneto fired engine, when running on battery and coil, do
NOT let the engine stop with the ignitor points closed.  If you
do so, because the ignitor points are closed most of the time,
they will probably be closed when the engine stops (see Murphy's
Law) and will keep the coil in the circuit.  If the coil is left
on for a relatively long time, the magic smoke will most likely
leak out.

*: A suitable low tension coil can be made using the primary of a
regular auto ignition coil, a starter solenoid, an auto A/C
clutch coil or other suitable inductance.

I hope this helped.

Take care - Elden
http://www.oldengine.org/members/durand


> -----Original Message-----
> From: sel-bounces at lists.stationary-engine.com
> [mailto:sel-bounces at lists.stationary-engine.com]On
> Behalf Of Jeff Allen
> Sent: Friday, November 05, 2010 4:22 PM
> To: 'The SEL email discussion list'; C. W. Jefferys Allen
> Subject: [SEL] No Spark on John Deere Model E
>
>
>      I am having a terrible time getting a spark at my
> ignitor from my
> magneto on my John Deere 1 1/2 Model E Stationary
> Engine. I have totally
> cleaned the mag (actually I have the same problem with
> another identical
> JD Magneto), put in new carbon brushes, cleaned the
> bearings, and still
> I cannot get the engine to run. I have followed the
> instructions in my
> manual for timing the ignitor and timing the magneto,
> matching the marks
> on the gears very carefully. The engine has fine
> compression, cleaned up
> the valves which are in great shape, new fuel tank and
> needle valve
> (lots of fuel when cranked). I have changed out three
> different ignitors
> that I have and the points are bright metal after
> cleaning and the
> points snap quickly. They whole engine turns easily
> through good
> compression. I have pressed the  "L" pin into the
> detent before mounting
> the magneto, matching the marks on the gears.
>      I have switched the horseshoe magnet between the
> two magnetos and
> still no juice. The magnets have about 1/4 pound of
> pull when I remove
> the keeper ( I kept them on the anvil of my bench vice
> as a keeper). Do
> these magnets go dead often and need to be re-charged?
>  For most cases I
> am very familiar with these old engines and generally
> don't have trouble
> getting them started. I have a good number of engines
> but this is my
> first ignitor project; I have mostly WICO magnetos on
> my flywheel
> engines and have had no trouble cleaning and
> refurbishing them. This is
> my first try with a JD and I thought because of the
> general good
> condition of the engine it would be quite simple to
> start. Live and
> learn. Any ideas would be welcome even if they make me
> look silly by
> being obvious.
> --
> Jeff & Marja Allen Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
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