Reply To: Mid 70’s OMC. No spark.

[Don]

jeff-register wrote:

Thank you Fleetwin! I think a few of us got an education! Thank you! Onlyitem I knew was the alternator windings 😉 Wasn’t an older motor have a charge coil to run navigation lights or is my memory going away?

Jeff

Well, it is the terminology that confuses us for sure.  The “stator” includes two separate electrical components.  The term “charge coil” is misleading.  The “charge coil” charged up the ignition power pack, while the heavier yellow leads/windings were for charging the 12 volt battery.  I always refer to this component as the “alternator windings”.

And your memory is spot on.  Some of the newer smaller engines sold outside the US had what was referred to as the “AC lighting coil” along with the usual charge coil.  This “AC lighting coil” was found on some smaller/midsize engines that were manual start.  Many countries required this feature to power running lights.  The “AC lighting coil” was very similar to the alternator windings, but did not use the usual rectifier.  The lighting coil provided AC voltage for running lights on manual start engines with no 12 volt battery.