Onan electronic ignition conversion

[richard guthart]

Greetings and happy new year to all!

I just installed the Onan Magna-Arc but now I am not getting a spark.

Here's what I did:

1. ran the Onan with its O.E. points to verify that everything was working.
2. removed the points/cond. assembly.
3. installed the new gasket, base plate and ignition module assembly after
trimming off the adjustment ears according to the instructions posted by Emery.
4. connected red lead to coil pos. and black lead to coil neg.
5. connected timing light, cranked the starter and slid the module to various
positions relative to the rocking arm containing the little magnet.
6. observe no spark, except for a single spark at the exact moment I release the
start switch.

Does the module bracket have to be grounded or something? With the O.E. points
setup, current could flow through the primary coil windings from (+) to GND via
the closed points. But where is the path to GND with the Magna-arc setup? I'm
wondering what I am missing.

Richard

 

[richard guthart]

Thanks, Emery

I will try moving it in tiny increments and then get a replacement component if
that doesn't work.

Richard
>
> Richard -- first double check to make absolutely sure that the wires from
> the module to the coil are hooked up in the right polarity. + to + and - to -.
>
> When I first hooked up mine I didn't get a spark either and thought "have I
> made a big mistake buying this?". At the time I installed it not many people
> had done this yet. I then played with it a bit and found that the initial
> adjustment was a very narrow range. Try moving the adjustment plate in very
> tiny increments one way and the other..........