points setting moving around on 1963 johnson 3 hp

[Canoe2]

Well, back again with a 3 hp question. I have a 3 hp johnson, no spark on the top cylinder, re-did the ignition (wires, coils, condensor, points, plugs), set the new points at .02, ran for a bit then it ran rough again and died out at low throttle. I rechecked the points and the gap has moved from .02 to about .03 on both points. I've tightened the set screws so it shouldn't be the vibration from running, but they won't stay in the correct place for love or money. I've re-set, re-tightened and tried again, but I must be missing something. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[racerone]

Is the magneto plate loose on the bushing ?----Never had a problem with points moving on the magplate itself.-----I always tighten the screw first.-----Then use the cam adjusting screw to adjust the gap.

 

[kbait]

Check for lateral play of armature plate. ANY slop is translated directly to point gap. If there's play, post back for fix.

 

[gm280]

Also, make certain you used a little cam grease on the crankshaft lode. Otherwise the rubbing block on the points will wear really quickly changing the setting. Don't go crazy with the grease, but just enough to coat the cam/lode... Don't ask me how I know to do that... :facepalm:

 

[Canoe2]

well, seems I had a couple screws loose below the armature plate. Tightened those up, made sure everything else was all nice and snug, re-set my points and gave it a workout in a barrel in my yard. Works great. And yup, remembered to grease the crankshaft, did a bunch of reading to make sure i got the easy things right so troubleshooting the harder stuff might be simpler. Thanks for the help!