Chad, when you got that genny back, did you polarize it before you fired her up?? If it were opposite polarity from the battery it can harm the Voltage Regulator. I would have suggested you give the battery a good charge n polarize the genny before any starting attempts, if the battery was realllll ll low it would take some high RPM pull starting (like the 4th gear you mentioned) to get enough charge into her for good running and thats assuming the genny was correctly polarized to begin with and assuming its a coil ignition instead of a Magneto. If its a magneto that wouldnt be the case since it produces its own energy for firing i.e battery condition makes no difference and its not connected to any battery. If a battery is weak starting can drag the voltage down to excess causing a weak spark (on a coil ignition), Id still give her a good charge (or try a known good substitute battery) and have the battery load tested if theres any doubt. Is there electrolye above all the plates and do any cells exhibit a gray or milky color??? For no more then they cost Id also try a fresh set of plugs and if the ignition hasnt been tuned up lately Id at least install a new set of points and/or at least clean/buff/polish the old ones unless they are badly burned or pitted in which case Id definitely get new ones and check their gap. A weak starter and/or faulty cables or corroded or loose connections can also reduce voltage causing a weak spark (Ifffff its a coil ignition instead of a Magneto). If she cranks slowly Id remove, clean n wire brush, n reatatch each n every battery n starter n switch/solenoid n ground cable connection n see what happens. Regardless if a Mag or coil ignition, you need a good visible blue spark and NOT any faint thin wimpy yellow spark for good starting, so check that n the points n plugs and/or try new ones PLUS give the battery a good slow charge and have it load tested if shes a slow cranker run the cables as posted above. If its a Magneto n she starts right up n runs fine if pull started but she has a weak starting spark, Id suspect the impulse spring is bad or weak but other then that I dont know beans about IHC Mags, only the Wico C n X used on Mother Deeres. Let us know, best wishes n God Bless yall John T in Indiana
|