1963 Sovereign outboard....

emtsmith99

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Sep 21, 2014
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my ignition coil has went bad on my motor. I have read in several places that they coil can be converted to a standard 12v auto coil. is this possible and if so what parts do i need? I am not 100% that it is the coil, but i get power to the distributor box, and no further. No spark, no power in spark wires, etx...points are brand new, timing has been checked...any ideas...
 

F_R

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Forget the car coil. Ain't going to work. And what do you mean by power getting to the distributor box??? Please explain. Bottom line is the ignition system is a magneto, generating it's own "power" within. No outside power is needed. In fact, outside power applied will destroy the coil.

What is the nature of the "bad" coil? Cracked? Arcing through? If it is, you have one choice: Replace it.

Another no-spark possibility is a shorted distributor rotor (arcing through to the shaft).

And don't assume those new points are doing their job. They often will have an invisible coating of non-conductive coating on the contacts. Clean them and see what happens.

EDIT: OK, let me say it a bit differently. It would be possible to re-engineer it to run on a car coil. But I suggest fixing the problem rather than trying to work around it.

EDIT,EDIT: Picture here: http://s19.postimg.org/gobuxb0tv/60_2_Magneto_and_Distributor.jpg
 
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emtsmith99

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F_R thanks for your response. I guess i should have been clearer. The motor turns over when attempting to crank. Compression is 90 in all 4 cylinders. We tested with a multi meter for current. We have power all the way to the coil but none thereafter. i attempted to hook the coil to the multi meter but the results were all over the place as if there was a short possibly inside?!?! I have not checked the points other than they are new. Planning on working on it again tomorrow a little bit. When i say distributor box i am referring to the black box with the wires going to the spark plugs. the box that houses the coil/magneto. I just bought this motor with a boat, to try and learn how to fix and keep motors running. If i get it running, great. If not, its ok too. I at least want to try and learn how to work on it. I understand that the parts are very hard to come by and when you do they are extremely expensive. There are very little resources i have found with much on this motor as it was only manufactured for 1 year. with that said, I am willing to fix if i can narrow the problem down so that i dont just have to "throw" parts at it til it starts to work again. any help or ideas would be appreciated. I will let you know on the contacts hopefully tomorrow. Thanks again for the help!
 

F_R

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I still don't know what you mean by power all the way to the coil. If you mean you are feeding 12 volt battery power to it, that is WRONG and will destroy the coil. As I said previously, it generates it's own electricity.

Be aware that the motor and ignition system is not as rare as you think it is. In addition to your Gale sovereign, it was used on a multitude of Evinrude and Johnson motors. In fact, E/J continued to make the 60hp very much like yours even after Gale quit production.
 

emtsmith99

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Sep 21, 2014
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obviously im horrible at explaining myself lol. When the battery is hooked up correctly to the motor to make it turn over, and the coil(?) is doing its on thing creating power to spark the spark plugs, there is no power generated by the coil to give the spark, or at least that is what i have come up with so far. we have not directly connected a battery to the coil or any of its parts. The only testing we have done to the coil is hooked it up to a voltage meter to see if current passes through without resistance. I understand the magnets and all create the power within the coil. does this help at all.....
 

F_R

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Ok, now I understand what you are trying to tell me. Troubleshooting that mag should be an orderly two step process. With the distributor cap removed, rig up a 1/4" spark gap between the coil's button terminal and ground. Now see if it will create a spark to jump that gap. If it does, you know it ok up to that stage. Then install the distributor cap & rotor and see if you have spark at the plug boots. If you had spark in first test, but not second, you know the problem is in the distributor cap or rotor.

I'm betting you don't have spark on the first test. If you don't, the FIRST thing you should do is check the breaker points. "New" doesn't mean squat. Clean the contacts.
 

steelespike

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My after market manual indicates that some 61-67 motors use battery ignition that mounts exactly as the magneto ignition.
They do have a a cylindrical automotive like coil.
 

emtsmith99

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F_R, thanks for responding. I have not been able to work on it any this past week. been super busy at work. Hope to work on it some more this week. Steelespike, thanks for your response as well.
 
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