1957 2hp Elgin still flaky, need some ideas...

[Texwing]

The big river trip happened last Friday, and my rehabed Elgin 2hp, which had run two hours perfectly in my lake, flaked out. and restarted. and stopped, restarted, coughed, stopped, started, ran great, quite, ect ect.
The carb was immaculate, new condensor, points cleaned, fresh gas, api-tc oil, and so on. About the last thing I can suspect is the coil, which looks almost new but has never been tested. The only other think I can suspect is a seal that starts leaking when hot. The problem does seem to heat related, when cold or cool it usually starts and runs for a while. I wish I had checked for spark when it quit, but that was tough to do on a river.

So, any test procedure on the coil would be helpful, how to replace, where to find parts, or anything else to look at. Where to find parts would be great.
This has now become a contest between man and machine, and I am losing-I appreciate the help in advance.

 

[F_R]

Re: 1957 2hp Elgin still flaky, need some ideas...

The big river trip happened last Friday, and my rehabed Elgin 2hp, which had run two hours perfectly in my lake, flaked out. and restarted. and stopped, restarted, coughed, stopped, started, ran great, quite, ect ect.
The carb was immaculate, new condensor, points cleaned, fresh gas, api-tc oil, and so on. About the last thing I can suspect is the coil, which looks almost new but has never been tested. The only other think I can suspect is a seal that starts leaking when hot. The problem does seem to heat related, when cold or cool it usually starts and runs for a while. I wish I had checked for spark when it quit, but that was tough to do on a river.

So, any test procedure on the coil would be helpful, how to replace, where to find parts, or anything else to look at. Where to find parts would be great.
This has now become a contest between man and machine, and I am losing-I appreciate the help in advance.

Probability is a coil. About the oly test you can do on it without a thousand dollar coil tester is a visual looksee, and a resistance test of the windings. Look for any signs of deteriation, cracks, pin holes, etc. The primary winding should have about an ohm of resistance and several k-ohms on the secondary.

When looking for parts, think Chrysler or Force. They bought out West Bend that made your Elgin. Force was last owned by Mercury, but Merc dumped it completely. May be some old Merc dealers with parts still on the shelf.

 

[Texwing]

Re: 1957 2hp Elgin still flaky, need some ideas...

OK thanks, on testing the coil, do I test the ohms on the secondary between ground and the spark plug boot, and primary between ground and the coil input? I have looked very closely at the coil and wire and it looks great, no cracks or discoloration or problems. I think it is original, since the magneto cover had never been tapped in order to pull it (unless there was some other way to pull it, i doubt it since it barely came off).

 

[F_R]

Re: 1957 2hp Elgin still flaky, need some ideas...

OK thanks, on testing the coil, do I test the ohms on the secondary between ground and the spark plug boot, and primary between ground and the coil input? I have looked very closely at the coil and wire and it looks great, no cracks or discoloration or problems. I think it is original, since the magneto cover had never been tapped in order to pull it (unless there was some other way to pull it, i doubt it since it barely came off).

Yes, check ohms as you suggest. The wires sometimes arc through where they are clamped. A pin hole too small to see, but the spark can see it.