angry inch
ArboristSite Operative
how do you test a coil. my little Ryobi lost its spark. the kill switch checks out.
coil ?
- Thread starter angry inch
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ckelp
just being myself
dose the coil have a good ground?
did you pull the wire off of the coil going to the kill swich?
try closing the gap on the plug to .010" on a known good plug
if you did all three you have a bad coil
did you pull the wire off of the coil going to the kill swich?
try closing the gap on the plug to .010" on a known good plug
if you did all three you have a bad coil
Most modern saws today no longer have coils in them, they use a module which is a combined switching mechanism and the old standard coil in one unit. Most times it is the switch or triggering unit inside the module that fails and without the right test equipment it is very hard to test out any other way than just trying what was posted above in post #2.
Someone here on AS posted a way to remove the switching mechanism from the module and using it as a coil only. Of course then you'll have to buy a switching mechanism, aka Nova II. I haven't tried this yet, it seemed a little over my head. What I have tried is removing the module from the lamination and putting a module from a different saw on it and it worked. Got lucky..
That can be done sometimes if they are a slip fit but if they are epoxied/sealed on then its much harder or next to impossible. If they are still available new then its best to just bite the bullet and get a new one or even a good used one.
exSW
ArboristSite Guru
Get one of those in line test lights,goes between the plug and coil wire.Cheap,easy and invaluable for any small gas engine.
Not impossible to remove epoxy, a little heat applied to the lamination will do it but you have to be careful to just apply enough and not overdo it. Then you have the task of slipping the coil from the hot metal, I guess welder's gloves might do it. I used to remove epoxied parts at a military contractor job I had, just used a hand held LP torch.
It gets pretty dicy cause heat ruins the triggering mechanism in the module, that is why I don`t recommend doing it but yes it can be done.
Usually the sparkplug wire is too short to accommodate one of them but an extension wire can be made up to get around that .
I'll admit that this is a case where experience sure helps. Normally I look for the coils and modules that have the metal clip holding them together, much easier to remove them. Prestolite is one brand that uses the flat metal clip on some coils.
On the older coils that was so but I notice more and more of the newer modules coming out are sealed on the lamination's.
On the newer ones I just change 'em. Some of the older ones are a little harder to find and more expensive, that's the ones I usually work on. I worked on one on my super ez because a new module cost more than the saw was worth, IMO.
