Help on continental Y69 Engine

huntingreen2day · Sep 17, 2013

Need help on a Continental Y69 engine. This is a mag engine and here is the problem. There is a hot spark coming out of the coil lead on the mag and going to the center point of the (dist) cap but we cannot get any fire coming out of the towers for the spark plug wires. This is a new cap and new rotor button. The cap and rotor are for the H4 mag which is all that I can find that might have come on this engine. is there a chance the Y69 might have had some other magneto other than the H4 IHC one and we are getting the wrong parts somehow?

jm. · Sep 17, 2013

By memory from long ago is there not a little spring loaded rod there in the center. Take some fine sand paper and clean every thing that is shiny. You are not getting connection right there at the pivot point.

gene bender · Sep 17, 2013

Make a mark on the body where the tower is so when you remove the cap and turn engine over the rotor is lined up on the mark when it fires. The gears need to be timed so the rotor trips at the tower mark cause if it isnt you will never get any fire to the plugs.

Janicholson · Sep 17, 2013

Maybe it is the wrong rotor. to check, turn to TDC #1 and pull the cap. If the points are just beginning or about to open, the rotor should point to #1 tower terminal. If not it may be wrong. Jim

pete 23 · Sep 17, 2013

If your center brush in cap with spring is good, then I would say your distributor gear on the magneto is out of time. The gear rotor goes on is marked L and R and a slight notch or bevel on the driving gear. Align the R for that magneto with the notch. They usually get out of time when someone take mag apart to replace points and take wrong screws out pulling rotor gear out.

JDemaris · Sep 17, 2013

How hot is that spark? It takes an extra 2000-3000 volts to jump the gap from the rotor end to the cap--pole. If that spark is weak - it can show at the coil but not make it out of the cap. Spark ought to jump a 1/4" gap easily.

teddy52food · Sep 17, 2013

Follow pete's advice.

Bob · Sep 17, 2013

"It takes an extra 2000-3000 volts to jump the gap from the rotor end to the cap--pole."

That"s interesting! Did you find those numbers somewhere, or have you done the research?

(I AGREE it takes Voltage to jump the gap from the rotor to the HT terminals in the cap, I have just never seen detailed voltage values before.)

Owen Aaland · Sep 18, 2013

You can figure roughly 25,000 volts per inch when jumping an air gap at atmospheric pressure.

JDemaris · Sep 18, 2013

I have many charts around that give those specs. Some from the 1930s and some current. Takes 12,000 volts to jump the gap in a spark plug set at .035" (in free air). More under compression. Takes 3000 volts to jump the gap between a rotor-end and distributor-cap pole. E.g., 15,0000 volts minimum if a distributor cap is involved and 18,000 volts probably needed under compression.

Help on continental Y69 Engine

huntingreen2day

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jm.

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gene bender

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Janicholson

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pete 23

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JDemaris

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teddy52food

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Bob

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Owen Aaland

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JDemaris

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