Mag check for beginners

1) explain how a mag works

2) explain how I should check to ensure the mag is working correctly, and what I should do if it isn't

Thanks!

You'll know if it's working :)

I wasn't born last night.

Pull the coil wire from the mag's cap and hold it
within 1/8-1/4" of good ground and have someone crank over the engine to see if there's any fire.
You may want to use a pair of insulated pliers so you don't get bitten. If there's no fire or very weak fire clean those points with some 320 wet or dry until nice and shiny. Make sure the gap is at .013". If the points are pitted replace them. You should have a nice hot blue fire. Your coil could be weak too if its the original. One other thing is some of the mag's lose their magnetism and this is what creates your fire when they pass by the coil. This is easy to check by removing the coil.

Take a flatblade screwdriver and touch those magnets. They should attract that screwdriver with some effort. It's not going to shock you either. Don't pull that mag off the engine until
you see where the rotor is pointing. Make a sketch on paper and don't rotate the engine while the mag is removed. Hal
PS: Here's a mag with the magnets exposed.

• Magnetos

Many thanks!

This site WON'T allow it to be posted as a "hot link", though, for some reason.

Then you can move on to turning the tractor over... if you don't hear an audible "click" then you have an impulse coupling problem.

If you DO hear a click, then pull a wire from a spark plug and turn it over at least four or five complete revolutions while holding the wire about 1/2" away from a ground. You should get a nice blueish spark. If there is no spark or just a faint yellow spark, then start with new points and condensor. Set the points to .013" and check again for spark... if none of that works, come back with more questions!

This all works best with a manual that goes through the steps of how to take off the cap and rotor, set the points, etc. I had pictures at one time, but my computer has crashed about three times since then :o(

Where you at in CA? If you get terribly stuck I can always take a weekend vacation ;o) I'll be gone from June 15 through the end of July though.

I am going to order my manuals soon. I have to scrape some money together. It's $75 for me to get the 3 I need.

When the heck is the forum going to get better software?!?!?! This stuff is like out of the 90s or something =(
Plus it would be nice to have an actual account so people could send and recieve pms, let people know what they have in their shed, and stuff like that, and post counts so u know if someone has been on here a while and is trustworthy.

OH WELL, the site is free, so I cant complain mush, just dont complain about my typos =P

We have enough of it around my house, already!

=P

My post was (obviously a poor attempt) at a JOKE!

Do you have a PMS'Y unit at YOUR house? If you had the unit I have, you would take every attempt at getting a laugh, as the day goes by!

(2) Use the search function and list of articles on the side to do a little reading. I don"t think anyone who knows has time to write a tutorial right now.

After you"ve done a little background reading, come back here with SPECIFIC questions and I think you"ll get a better response.

I'll give it another try right now.

a Magneto system uses cound coil to produce the spark. a magnet passes by the coild and produces an electric spark, which is directed to the right cylinder through the distributor. With this method, no battery is needs, especially if it has a hand crank to start it and u dont need lights.

A non magneto system uses a battery to power a coil, or autotransformer. This autotransformer turns the 12v into tens of thousands of volts to create a spark. The dc current is turned into pulsating dc (which is require to allow the autotransformer to work) via the points. The high voltage is then directed to the right plug the same way as the magneto system.

To me there is not much advantage to with system. The magneto system can run with a dead battery, whereas the non magneto cannot.

I would imagine that a typical coil system could produce a much stronger hotter spark, especially with an aftermarket coil and electronics ignition (which replaces the points).

You can find out more about these systems at Link and lots of other places - remember that Google is your friend, particularly for general questions like this.

In my experience, my magneto equipped tractors start quickly and run great - the distributor equipped will do the same IF the battery is fairly new and fully charged. The slightest discharge on the battery makes them start hard - when the battery is low on those, I start with the hand crank so more power gets to the distributor.

Also, when I can't afford a new battery my magneto equipped tractors keep on going.