K301 Bizarre Starting Problem

[J-Mech]

Doesn't sound like a bizarre problem to me.
About every 5th starting issue thread has conditions just like yours exibit.

Static time it and charge the battery. May need to do some work to the starter also. Same thing George (and others) said.

[Hephy]

I had a bit of time today to set the timing according to the static timing method, and I'm pretty sure I got it exactly right -- the gap when fully open is .020", and the points just break contact as the "S" mark is at the middle of the window. Still need to check that the ACR is lifting the exhaust valve at the right time, but ran out of time for today, so that will need to need to wait for another day, hopefully very soon.

There's one thing I do want to get clear on, though. J-Mech's article, and others I looked at on more general automotive sites, talk about "setting the point gap" and "setting the timing" as though they were two different operations. But, at least for this motor, both are accomplished via the same adjustment.

It seems to me that if you set the gap to .020", and then discover that points don't just start to open when the "S" mark is visible, you're kind of screwed. You can change the adjustment so that they do, of course. But if you do, then the gap won't be .020" when you come back to the points-fully-open condition.

Right? Wrong? What am I missing here?

[Berwil]

It doesn't matter how far the points open. It matters when they open because that determines when the plug fires. Proper Timing is when the "s" is in the window just as the points open. On most k series engines, setting the gap gets the "s" close enough to run well. From the manufacturers standpoint, it's an easier process for Joey bag of donuts to follow in his garage. Setting the timing is better.

Bill

[J-Mech]

On automotive engines (distributor engines) point gap and timing are two different things. You set the point gap, then adjust timing by rotating the distributor. Point gap sets what is called dwell. The amount of time that the points are closed. This is the duration that the coil charges. Dwell is important on the multi cylinder engines because of the number of times the points have to open. If dwell is too short, the spark may get too weak. If it's too long, it may burn up ignition components. They are two separate things.

Single cylinder Kohler's don't care about dwell. As long as the points break at the right time, that's what they need. The coil is a higher OHM coil, so it can handle a long dwell. Yes, the book talks about gapping the points, but if you read it, it tells you that is a standard setting, then goes on to tell you to set the timing and how. Most people only read the part where it gIves the gap then stop reading. They do the same thing reading a Bible, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

[dbuck]

Originally Posted by J-Mech

On automotive engines (distributor engines) point gap and timing are two different things. You set the point gap, then adjust timing by rotating the distributor. Point gap sets what is called dwell. The amount of time that the points are closed. This is the duration that the coil charges. Dwell is important on the multi cylinder engines because of the number of times the points have to open. If dwell is too short, the spark may get too weak. If it's too long, it may burn up ignition components. They are two separate things.

Single cylinder Kohler's don't care about dwell. As long as the points break at the right time, that's what they need. The coil is a higher OHM coil, so it can handle a long dwell. Yes, the book talks about gapping the points, but if you read it, it tells you that is a standard setting, then goes on to tell you to set the timing and how. Most people only read the part where it gIves the gap then stop reading. They do the same thing reading a Bible, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

Well said, J-Mech.