new to board and to cletracs here,question on magneto

mikeinnh · August 04, 2009, 04:50:16 PM

Hi all, have a question on the magneto in my hg-31 with the ixk-3 engine. this rig has been sitting for quite some time and finally trying to get it running. im new to cletracs and magnetos actually, so i dont know quite how they work, this one is a wico model c, im tring to time it but it does something odd that i have never seen before, the rotor does not stay in constant motion as the engine turns over, it stops every quarter turn at each cap terminal then contines on, i assume this is normal operation? another issue i have is that putting the #1 cyl. at tdc compression stroke , the spark mark in the flywheel hole is nowhere to be found for half a turn or so, i think maybe the flywheel was removed at some point and never indexed properly, so not sure how to time it correctly without that marking. is there any easy way of doing this without removing the clutch and flywheel to retime the flywheel correctly? I do get spark out of the plug wires and it does make a snap noise when cranking, but the engine just pops and blows some nice flames outta the exhaust stack. any help would be great, thanks

Mike

John Schwiebert · August 05, 2009, 01:13:51 AM

I think what you are trying to tell us when the rotor stop is when the impulse "winds up so to say" to snap and make a clean sharp spark. When the impulse trips and you are on number one cylinder is the rotor by #1 plug wire on the cap?

mikeinnh · August 06, 2009, 01:44:53 AM

I believe it is, i will go out tomorrow and check, i know its pointing at the #i cap terminal before it snaps, so is that normal that it"winds up"?

mikeinnh · August 06, 2009, 11:04:15 PM

it was a little off, so got it to line up better, and tried again with a fresh battery, and away it went ,smoke, flames and some clattering, had it running for a bit, but seems like one exhaust valve stuck open when it started so thats the next project.

mikeinnh · August 13, 2009, 02:32:39 AM

on somewhat of the same subject, what does everyone use for spark plugs in the ixk-3 engines? mine has some old looking C-4 champions. but i was told these are no longer available, so not sure what these like to run on.
thanks

John D · August 14, 2009, 09:37:21 PM

Quote from: "mikeinnh"on somewhat of the same subject, what does everyone use for spark plugs in the ixk-3 engines? mine has some old looking C-4 champions. but i was told these are no longer available, so not sure what these like to run on.
thanks

I'm not sure why my search on this site didn't find the post from Walter Hudson on Dec 17, 2005 - he answered a similar question as follows:

the autolite # is 3076, i believe that if you cross w14,w18,or w20 you will get this part# since popularity determines production a lot of the different heat ranges have been dropped

mikeinnh · August 15, 2009, 02:15:28 AM

ok, i will try to find those, my rig has champion c-4's in it, but cant find any reason to believe these are supposed to be there. I did the search as well, and couldnt find anything . thanks

Blake Malkamaki · August 15, 2009, 02:37:04 AM

I would suggest running one heat range hotter than what is recommended due to the poorer quality of gasoline these days. Plug manufacturers have actually made the newer style plugs to run hotter than they used to so they can handle the fuel.

Blake

walter hudson · August 16, 2009, 03:09:59 AM

The new theory in the automotive world is too make the engine run hotter ,leaner and use a lower heat range plug to cut down on emissions . Most high heat range plugs are becoming obsolete .Champion still makes a W20 but the last I bought were $7.oo each .The Autolite 3076 is close to a W18 and a lot cheaper .
Walter