1960 Evinrude LIghtwin 3 HP- No Spark?!

Hi everyone,

I'm new here and this is my first post. I recently became the owner of a 1960 Evinrude Lightwin 3 HP outboard. The short story there is I bought a new-to-me fishing boat and the seller threw this old motor in for free because it was taking up room in his shed. Anyway, it seems like a neat little motor. I've cleaned it up (it was pretty nasty with 61 years of gas, oil, dirt, and dust sitting on it) and it actually looks pretty good still! It isn't seized and has 50 PSI on both cylinders (from what I've read that is OK for these small old motors).

The problem I am currently having is with spark - it doesn't have any! Here is what I have done so far (after reading a lot on this forum):

• Replaced Coils (old ones were cracked and falling apart)
• Replaced contact points (old ones seemed ok but points were dirty and these were cheap so why not)
• Replaced condensers (read about how to check these using a multimeter and that test showed me the ones on it were bad)
• Replaced spark-plug wire

After replacing all of those things, I made sure the coils were aligned properly with the aluminum posts they sit on and not pushing proud where they would make contact with the flywheel. I made sure the contact points were gapped to 0.020" (as stamped on the flywheel) at the widest point (where the cam on the crankshaft comes around to the little area that says "top"). Connected everything per a photo I found from the original Evinrude manual...some confusion there because I found a different link where someone restored one of these and he connected the black-wire from the coil to the opposite post on the coil...still not sure which is right but I stuck with how it looked in the Evinrude manual because, well, ya know, they're the ones that designed and manufactured it.

And nothing! No spark. Not weak spark....no spark! Nada. I really don't have a use for this motor but it has quickly become a hobby and the challenge of getting this old motor to run (with no experience on my part) is something I really want to accomplish. Any help, advice, info, or tips is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Clean those new points. They often have an invisible non-conductive film on the contacts.

This magnetos are just so simple.----The black wire can go to ground anywhere.----The other wire must go to the correct set of points.---Cam must not be upside down.---Plug wires must be screwed into the coil before coil is put in place.---New points must be cleaned.------If that unit was on my bench it would be an easy fix.----Post pictures , that may help.

Racer and Gator covered almost everything. Maybe the old plug wires are shorting out to stator plate. Did you remove the entire stator plate and look under the clamps and areas of abrasion? Loosen those 4 screws near the hub.....2 of them go through the coils, you don't have to remove them all the way. These are great motors. Maybe Evinrudeman from Finland has some other suggestions too.

Thanks for the feedback everyone - I knew it had to be something simple and just needed a little feedback to get it. I took it all apart this morning, including removal of the entire stator plate this morning to clean it up. After cleaning, I reassembled and took careful care to clean the contacts. I HAVE SPARK! Thanks again.

Good job, good call Racer. Yes just because parts are new it doesn't mean they are "good to go". Be sure to put a drop of oil on that cam wick. Point's followers will wear faster if you don't....then gap will close up on you. I also lube the pivot posts that the points mount on. I use high quality stnthetic grease.....just a tiny bit. As may have been mentioned earlier be sure that the coils are mounted right at the back edge of the chamfer on top of the mounting posts. The results of coils rubbing the flywheel may be worse than having the coils set back slightly farther. As stator plate bushings wear, the magnets tend to wiggle the plate pulling the coils closer than you may think.

Nice to hear that everything is working now. I was little bit late with my answer. With spark problems, it is often also good remember to check that spark plug wire have good and tight connection with the spark plug. With my classic car, i noticed a lot of corrosion on the spark plug connection end. Of course only repair was put the new wires.