MAGNETO TIMING LIGHT HOW TO

First thing is making sure that you know the firing order. Having all the basic settings correct, and knowing the magneto fires correctly, the next step is engine timing.

I always test under 8 bar pressure in a testing device, which shows much better if it sparks correctly. If the plug sparks at atmospherical pressure (outside the cylinder) this doesn’t mean it sparks under full cylinder pressure. It’s not a very critical dimension if your magneto is in top condition, but the weaker it gets, the harder it becomes for the spark to jump larger gaps.ģ.

Make sure your spark plugs have a gap of about 0,4mm and the breaker points have about the same. Otherwise, the arc wants to jump the windings of the magneto and this will damage the winding insulation, causing premature failure.Ģ. If it’s not equipped with a spark bridge, then always have HT leads and a spark plug attached. This is an internal parts with a large enough gap to the distributor that it can arc there, but won’t arc there when a spark plug (with a smaller gap) is attached. This voltage needs to be able to arc somewhere. When the magneto is turned, it induces a high voltage. Never turn a magneto without having a spark gap on the high-tension leads, or a spark bridge in general on the magneto. First you need to know a few basic principles:ġ.

MAGNETO TIMING LIGHT HOW TO

I always find that if a car is not running correctly, it’s best to first look at the ignition for correct timing and adjustment because these are the simplest problems that often give fast results. I want to explain how to simply adjust the magneto to the more-or-less correct timing (enough to run a car) and how to fine-tune it to perfect adjustment. Today's article is about a thing I find on many cars: wrong or slightly wrong timing on the magneto (or battery ignition, but I mostly fettle with magnetos so I will concentrate on that).

Magneto timing light