Re: Magneto??????????
Flywheel magnets rotating around coil makes electricity.<br />Condenser stores the electricity.<br />Breaker points break, sending the electricity out to the sparkplug (something about collapsing fields, WAY over my head).<br /><br />Now about that switch. Outboards use an ignition switch made specifically for magneto ignition. There are two M terminals that connect when the switch is in the Off position. Originally, that connected two sets of points together to cancel eachother out and stop the spark. Later ignition systems use those terminals to ground-out the ignition system, calling it a Kill circuit.<br /><br />How am I doing so far?<br /><br />Some early electronic ignition models can use a regular ignition switch since most of those are battery ignition. Turn off the power to the ignition amplifier, and you turn off the spark. My motor is like that. That was around 1970, a few years give or take. But since then, they've gone to the Kill circuit.<br /><br />You can use an outboard ignition switch on a conventional system, you just don't need the M connections. They operate the same otherwise. You can't make a conventional switch work on most outboards unless you have some other way to kill them.<br /><br />Choking it to death was the solution on early models, or throttling down to nothing. Many had two simple pushbutton switches. One to engage the electric start, the other to choke (to start cold) or choke to death. 1950s.<br /><br />This has become a fairly universal wiring code. There are definately variances. The first letter of the function corresponds to the letter on the switch in most cases:<br /><br />Battery - Red (may have a purple stripe which indicates that it's fused)<br />Accessory - Purple (corresponds to the Ignition terminal on the gauges)<br />Choke - Yellow with a Black stripe<br />Start - Yellow with a Red stripe<br />Magneto - There are two of these, one Black (ground) and the other Black with a Yellow stripe. It don't matter which wire goes to which M.<br /><br />I should mention that the Start wires usually go thru a Neutral Safety switch (usually in the throttle/shift lever mechanism).<br /><br />Do NOT put battery voltage to a magneto coil. It'll explode. Be wary of the M terminals. They can pack a whallop!
<br /><br />So much for a Simple explanation.
