lcso10
ArboristSite Guru
Brad, Good to hear you saw is running well. I was thinking about a key way off but it as been a little while. As mentioned, glad you got it running.
031 Won't Rev with Nova II Ignition
- Thread starter blsnelling
- Start date
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No backfiring or anything out of the ordinary at all. Throttle response is great and it's revving well. It restarts with just a little tug on the rope. It'll be some time before I have a chance to get it in wood though.
Rookie1
Addicted to ArboristSite
Well here is my rudementary input to this. I thought I had an electronic 032 turns out to be a points type. Look at the flywheels and notice the difference in key location versus magnet.032 flywheel is advanced as Brad found out. Ill bet you need the extra advance to let the trigger do its thing.Oh the 031 flywheel has the plastic wndow covers. I know the pics arent the best either but if you look hard you can see the difference. 
derekc
ArboristSite Operative
Brad,
You have a non-electronic flywheel, right? Try grounding the positive tab of the nova module. Do you see spark at all (weak) if you remove the spark plug from the cylinder and ground it while using a power drill to spin the engine in normal direction? Now spin it backward and is the spark stronger? Can you try regapping the coil to flywheel really close to see if you get stronger spark (in normal direction)?
I am experiencing the same. I believe you need to have the positive tab grounded to get the correct timing. The coil gets energized by the magnets passing it from S to N which is a bigger round of the flywheel so a closer gap might help.
Maybe some Nova (or compatible) modules might have some smaller capacitor, making spark too weak to start the engine?
I get spark and it is weaker than when I spin the engine backward.
You have a non-electronic flywheel, right? Try grounding the positive tab of the nova module. Do you see spark at all (weak) if you remove the spark plug from the cylinder and ground it while using a power drill to spin the engine in normal direction? Now spin it backward and is the spark stronger? Can you try regapping the coil to flywheel really close to see if you get stronger spark (in normal direction)?
I am experiencing the same. I believe you need to have the positive tab grounded to get the correct timing. The coil gets energized by the magnets passing it from S to N which is a bigger round of the flywheel so a closer gap might help.
Maybe some Nova (or compatible) modules might have some smaller capacitor, making spark too weak to start the engine?
I get spark and it is weaker than when I spin the engine backward.
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I addressed this in the first post. It is 100% a timing issue.
derekc
ArboristSite Operative
Right, it is a timing issue. We want to make the nova module work instead of running the engine without the flywheel key.
From what I understand so far, you'll have to find a flywheel from a 031 with electronic ignition in order to do that. I have one coming to verify this. Reversing the polarity of a Nova II on a 031 with the points flywheel will not work. The saw will not rev at all.
derekc
ArboristSite Operative
I see.
JohnO
ArboristSite Member
Take a look at this thread for flywheel comparisons: http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=43485
Good info on the keyway orientation. What confuses me is that he said he has no trouble with modern coils and the timing issues. He also said he's reversing the polarity. I found neither of those to be true. The polarity is not reversed on mine and the timing was off with a Nova II module. I guess that's why there's so much confusion on this topic. All you can do is try it out and see what happens. The worst that can happen is that you have to take it back apart to switch polarity and/or replace the flywheel. Or you can just reindex your flywheel like I did.
I know that this thread is 5 years old, but some good information.
I have an 031 that I am hoping to convert to the Nova II or similar ignition.
Does anyone have any photos of how they installed the module and
also is it better to install the newer f/w?
I have an 031 that I am hoping to convert to the Nova II or similar ignition.
Does anyone have any photos of how they installed the module and
also is it better to install the newer f/w?
Ifishsum
ArboristSite Member
When preparing to do the same project myself, I found that my 031 had already been converted to electronic using a Stihl trigger module - I have not pulled the flywheel to see if the timing has been changed, but I know that it does still have the points FW. Turned out my problem was a very poor ground on the module itself so that's as far as I went with it.
