Re: low tension magneto question

[johnyrude200]

The one thing that had me turned around is using the timing fixture with "T" and "B," this did not necessary correspond to when the dimple on the timing cam began opening the respective point (or so I surmised). On the universal mag, if you are looking at the mag plate from the AFT/REAR of the motor, top is on the port side, bottom starboard. On the low-tension mag, it is reversed based on what we’re talking about. Of course if we consider the prospect of the crank keyway also being reversed, now we have a head-scratcher situation (on top of the diagrams being a bit ambiguous to the untrained eye).

I think the diagrams leave a lot to be desired in the service manual, and your extra notes posted on the pics should be something that makes this post a ‘favorite’ somewhere on these forums so that future readers can understand this scenario.

The 1st two ‘theory of operation’ pics you put up, notice you can’t tell where the striped/solid point lead wires go to. The black lines representing wires out to the coils aren’t labeled. So when you progress to the wiring diagrams at the back of the manual which DO show what wires go where, it still doesn’t let you figure out how to set the timing using a fixture based on where the crank is turned because those wiring diagrams don’t show the corresponding position of the timing cam. (!!!!!!!!!!!!)

The 2nd item is that the wire color/stripe leads from the charge coil/points is very difficult to see in these older service books. The large images you posted are easier, but the real-life pics you pulled these from are only about 2" x 2" in dimensions and use of a magnifying glass is a must in reality.
And I have 20-10 vision and am 37…so forget it for the untrained/foggy eye.