I have a 85 vintage 316 with Onan B43E engine. No spark at the coil/plugs. I have 12v at the coil and test light blinks slightly on negative side of coil while cranking. Points look good & will spark/arc slightly when I insert a feeler gauge w/ign on. Not sure how to check condenser. Check fuses & connectors at ign switch & downstream in the wire harness. Terminals are clean. Anybody have any more ideas before I buy a new coil? Thanks.....
Model 316 no spark
- Thread starter JohnMC
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Ledgemere Farm
Veteran Member
the condenser is cheap money to replace. Also, the ignition switch is a common fail point on these old machines. I'd replace the condenser first. They usually recommend replacing points at the same time.
Check the grounds, battery cables, and make they are tight and clean, then check the points and make sure they are gapped correctly. I would also check the battery to make sure that it's still good and has enough amps to fire the plugs.
The points were staying in the open position. Finally fixed it. The points weren't moving because the baseplate that the points attach to wasn't positioned correctly causing a side load on the pin & keeping it in the up position. Once I centered the baseplate the plunger moved freely. After that I diagnosed a bad coil. New coil & all is well. Now I have another issue I'm going to start a new thread on.....