'59 Elgin 40hp replacement coils

[corvairkid]

My '59 Elgin 40hp dropped the top cyl. After new points+condensers,still no spark.I was curious to know where I might find coils or if something else might work in place of the originals. Thanks

 

[F_R]

Re: '59 Elgin 40hp replacement coils

Can we assume you have a McCulloch Elgin (model # starting with 574.) ? Does it have the external coils? Is it electric start, or recoil start?

Don't be jumping to conclusions. It could be a coil, but it could also be something else. At the least, you need to check it out with an ohm meter. Again, with all the questions in mind, does it have the vacuum switches? One of them could be bad. Back to the ohm meter.

 

[steelespike]

Re: '59 Elgin 40hp replacement coils

As FR suggests don't jump to conclusions.Could have a bad plug wire or just the end, check for rubbed spots,cracks etc., maybe even a defective plug.You could swap the coils see if the problem follows.

 

[corvairkid]

Re: '59 Elgin 40hp replacement coils

Sorry for the delay,I've been busy as a bee at work.I had a brainstorm and fixed the problem!I was just standing around and was looking at an old Kawasaki KH400 motorcycle engine I had sitting around.It was a 3 cyl 2 stroke with a coil ign(1 coil per cyl.)So I decided to see if it would work on the old Elgin.I wired the coils up with a ballast resistor and keyed power from the ign. switch.(My motor has elec. start & alt.)The old girl ran better than it ever has!I think the charging system should be able to carry the extra load of the coils(I hope,anyway!)It almost looks factory installed! Got to go for now and see how well it works.I'll post the results of my test run! Corvairkid

 

[F_R]

Re: '59 Elgin 40hp replacement coils

Sounds like the way the factory did it?

 

[corvairkid]

Re: '59 Elgin 40hp replacement coils

That schematic is interesting due to the fact that my motor is McCulloch built and was equipped with a Repco mag.That schematic is exactly how I wired my setup! By the way, my little trip to Fontana Lake went without a hitch! The old gal ran flawlessly!Is that schematic for West Bend built motors? I think they changed to MuCculloch sometime in '59. I'll keep that schematic for reference. Thanks again!

 

[F_R]

Re: '59 Elgin 40hp replacement coils

The schematic is supposed to be for a 1960 McCulloch-built Elgin model #574.60460. It is a McCulloch C6HB