Need some wiring help

[smudvapor]

I have a JLO 440. It does not have an electric start on it. I have a rectifier that has four wires on it. 2 yellow, 1 red, 1 black. My engine has 1 brown wire, 2 yellow wires, 2 black wires. I have looked at the wiring diagrams but I cannot figure out what goes where. No matter what I do I don't get spark. Help!

[thebuggyman1]

With none of the wires hooked up, you should have spark.
You will have to ground one wire to kill the engine once it starts.
You could have a bad ignition unit/coil causing your problem...making you waste your time. First check for spark with all wires unhooked and the fuel supply shut off in case it did start, it will die in a few seconds.
Are all your engine wires coming from under the flywheel? A picture could help here.

[Bazooo guy]

The 2 black wires from the engine kill the spark when connected together at a kill switch or thru the ignition switch.
With the engine harness unplugged you should have spark from the magneto.
If you connect the 2 black wires together it will kill the spark.

[smudvapor]

With none of the wires hooked up, you should have spark.
You will have to ground one wire to kill the engine once it starts.
You could have a bad ignition unit/coil causing your problem...making you waste your time. First check for spark with all wires unhooked and the fuel supply shut off in case it did start, it will die in a few seconds.
Are all your engine wires coming from under the flywheel? A picture could help here.

Yes all of the wires are from the flywheel. I will try what you said.

[smudvapor]

With none of the wires hooked up, you should have spark.
You will have to ground one wire to kill the engine once it starts.
You could have a bad ignition unit/coil causing your problem...making you waste your time. First check for spark with all wires unhooked and the fuel supply shut off in case it did start, it will die in a few seconds.
Are all your engine wires coming from under the flywheel? A picture could help here.

There is no spark. The wires coming out of the engine case are all accounted for. The coils are hooked up. I pulled the plugs so I could get a good spin on the engine and there is nothing happening. What next? Is there a way to check without tearing the entire engine apart?

[Bazooo guy]

Is your engine a LR440
Heres some info

http://www.vintagesnow.com/Engine_manuals_files/2F-440-3_SM.pdf

[hydromike]

I pulled the plugs so I could get a good spin on the engine and there is nothing happening. What next? Is there a way to check without tearing the entire engine apart?

If you've got all your wires just hanging out, not connected to anything or each other, you should have spark. If you don't have spark on either plug, my first move would be to check the breaker points to make sure they're opening, and that they're clean. It could be a lot of things (points, both condensers, both coils, bad plugs, etc.) but I'd really check the points. You can get to them without taking the flywheel off, but it's a bit of a pain to clean and adjust them this way (especially if the engine is in the machine).

Pull your recoil starter off, take the plugs out and rotate the crank slowly while looking through the window in the flywheel to see what sort of condition the points are in. If the engine sat around for a long time, they could just have a little crud on them. You can clean them with a very fine slip of sandpaper (I'd go with 400 grit) fold it up so it's about twice as wide as a toothpick and drag it through the points a few times when they're open. Check the gap when they're fully open, too. If they're not opening sufficiently, they won't generate a good spark.

See where this gets you. If it doesn't get you at least a little spark, we'll have to try something else. Good luck!

[smudvapor]

If you've got all your wires just hanging out, not connected to anything or each other, you should have spark. If you don't have spark on either plug, my first move would be to check the breaker points to make sure they're opening, and that they're clean. It could be a lot of things (points, both condensers, both coils, bad plugs, etc.) but I'd really check the points. You can get to them without taking the flywheel off, but it's a bit of a pain to clean and adjust them this way (especially if the engine is in the machine).

Pull your recoil starter off, take the plugs out and rotate the crank slowly while looking through the window in the flywheel to see what sort of condition the points are in. If the engine sat around for a long time, they could just have a little crud on them. You can clean them with a very fine slip of sandpaper (I'd go with 400 grit) fold it up so it's about twice as wide as a toothpick and drag it through the points a few times when they're open. Check the gap when they're fully open, too. If they're not opening sufficiently, they won't generate a good spark.

See where this gets you. If it doesn't get you at least a little spark, we'll have to try something else. Good luck!

I did what you said and everything looks like brand new in there. It is as if no one has been in there since it was put together. When I turn the flywheel one the the points (top) does not seem to do anything it just sits there. The other one (bottom) opens really far and then I hear a click when it closes.

[Bazooo guy]

Sounds like you need to set the points gap.

[hydromike]

In my mind, the easiest way to do it on the JLO is to pull the flywheel off, and remove the breaker point cam off the back of the flywheel and then put the cam back on the end of the crankshaft. This will let you actuate the points and set the gap without having to fiddle with them through the window in the flywheel. Some folks can adjust them through the window, but I like to have everything more accessible. It'll let you do a better job of cleaning them (if necessary) and inspecting them. Like Bazoo Guy says, it could be a matter of just getting the gap right.

[Joe H]

You are welcome to bring it over here if you can't her going.

[smudvapor]

You are welcome to bring it over here if you can't her going.

Did you get my email? I just took the flywheel off and I think the points are no good. One doesn't seem to have any spring in the spring so it cannot be adjusted and the other one had the spring totally worn off. Never seen anything like it. I am going to order new points for it and give it another try. I do have one question though. I was reading about the carb and I think I have one with a pulse pump built in. Look at the pics and tell me what you think. I also included a couple of shots of how far I am with the rebuild. Once I get the engine running I am going to stop and get going on the body.

[jpswift1]

The carb you have looks like a Walboro. The correct one for a Thuderchief would be a Mikuni. The Mikuni would be a much better choice and it would need to have a separate Mikuni pulse fuel pump.

[Joe H]

No email, I have some ignition stuff here if you need it.