1962 evinrude 75hp no spark

hi well ive got a 1962 75hp evinrude, its been sitting since 1992 now it does not have any spark. the last person that had it said he may have hooked the batt up backwards.so what will this screw up maybe a coil,condenser,nutral safetyswitch or ? i guess my real question is how do i test and troubleshot this. thanks for your replys. oh one more thing on the starter switch there is one red wire un hooked not sure what it goes too. there is a empty termanal also on the switch. is this important for the engine to run. it does turn over. thanks again for any help anyone can give
p.s. its a starflite model #50528b

Re: 1962 evinrude 75hp no spark

Is the distributor belt spinning the distributor? The red wire might have been added to take accessory power from the ignition switch. Accessory power should be connected from the junction box.

Re: 1962 evinrude 75hp no spark

Mike, There were two kinds of ignition used on those V4s. If the plug leads come out of the bottom of the dissy cap, the ignition is magneto. if the plug leads come out the side of the dissy cap the ignition is battery/point.

I would not think that hooking the battery up backward would damage either ign system, but you need to clean and gap the points, and test the coil for continuity and cracks. Replacing the condenser is always a good idea.

I built a battery/coil ignition system for my magneto ign fat fifty. I used a standard 1960s ford coil and condenser. I mounted the coil in the back of the cowling pan, an substituted the ford condenser for the OMC one. I drilled a hole in the center of the dissy cap and shoved the coil high voltage wire into it to make contact with the center connector and siliconed it in. it worked fine. I eventually found a stock ign coil and condenser and restored the magneto ignition.

Re: 1962 evinrude 75hp no spark

hay thanks i found a crack in the side of my distrib cap and some one had made a jumper wirer on the points power wirer. i guess the factory wire had a bad spot in it so they jumped that spot. hopfuly with the new parts itll run again thanks again.

Re: 1962 evinrude 75hp no spark

Mike, Watch the routing of the wire that connects the two sets of points. If it rubs against any moving part, the insulation will be rubbed away and the points will short killing the ignition. The insulation will last just long enough for you to get out into the middle of the lake......