65hp 1964 mercury intermittent sparking

O

ozyacht

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Joined
Jan 15, 2012
Messages
1
I have a 1964 65hp 4 cylinder 2 stroke which only sparks intermittently. I have new spark plugs, condencer and points. When I test the spark plugs leads I get the odd random spark that is bluish in color. I have some months ago tested sparking at the points by spinning the distributor shaft using a drill (on the bench) and got regular sparking. I am about to pull the distributor off again but thought that someone might a a thought as to what is going wrong between the points and the plugs ( I have disconnected the mercury kill switch, and added extra earthing from powerhead to distributor. Any ideas please?
 
M

Maxz695

Guest
Re: 65hp 1964 mercury intermittent sparking

If you tested the distributor out of the engine and had good fire on all cap towers then there should be no need to remove it again. The problem lies beyond the distributor from the description that you gave. Are you sure the contact points first of all are not badly worn. I would move on down the line to checking the plug wires and possibly the coil and connections. Being the dist. worked when out all wire connections for grounds and leads should be considered a source as well.
 
L

Laddies

Banned
Joined
Sep 10, 2004
Messages
12,218
Re: 65hp 1964 mercury intermittent sparking

Thats a magneto not a dist. So if you disconnect the ground out wire from the terminal and still have intermittent spark then the problem is in the mag as it is a self contained ign. source. If the cap is not a tan or white cap that could be a problem as the red and green caps would crossfire. Points set at .011 or dwelled at 48. you can check the spark at the coil tower by spinning the mag, you can OHM test the coil or find someone with a Merc O Tronic ignition tester to test the coil and condenser.
 
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