Flywheel gap???

[Jason Wilcox]

Ok let me start off saying that this is a very serious actual ?? I have scouted the internet and there are 1000 articles posts in forums etc..about how to set the gap...and there will be no spark or very unreliable spark if the gap is too wide...not one place can i find anyone specifically say exactly what happens if the gap is too small or skimming the coil...I'm just trying to learn here...what happens to the saw if it's ran this way for an extended period of time?? Would you guys run a saw that the two were contacting..thanks for any insights

 

[JonCraig]

Just thinking out loud...

Coil fires very slightly early, advancing the timing (I seriously doubt it’s enough to notice).

More voltage is induced into the coil, and shortens its lifespan.

Or if you’re me, you forget to tighten one coil screw enough, and it throws sparks and scratches the hell out of the coil & flywheel. After making me scream like a 12 year old girl.

 

[s sidewall]

I just set mine with a business card and make sure the coil is tight, never had any problem.

Steve

 

[jackjcc]

Well if they touch it usually shears the key and rotates the flywheel so it won’t run. Probably wouldn’t even get it started if they were in contact or rubbing. If they do make contact the ignition module would have the leads worn away and would contact each other meaning no spark.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jason Wilcox]

From what i gathered i kind of expected if they contacted the saw would not start..or at the very least take 100 pulls and a miracle...but this is the saw i am talking about and it would start... one pull choked..pop pop...maybe two pulls half and a trigger touch all day everyday hot cold didnt matter...just a new guy trying to learn....btw what's this "tape" stuff??? You can feel it is significantly harder to turn in this position..yes shes very dirty shes been apart for a week!!

 

[pioneerguy600]

Just my experience, I have had saws brought in with the module laminations beaten and mushroomed out from running against the flywheel, the flywheel scored deeply from the contact,the saw still running but making a heck of a racket.Would start no problem though idle was a bit unstable. There is really not a lot of room in the mounting slots for adjustment clearances and when experimenting with spark timing advances I have run saws with the modules forced out away from the flywheel to the max.If the module is in good condition it will produce spark even with the air gap set at the max the mounting screws would allow.

 

[svk]

I had one saw start acting poorly one day then quit and wouldn’t start at all. The coil was not loose but had worked it’s way away from the flywheel. Regapped with a business card and it was back in action.

 

[jr27236]

From what i gathered i kind of expected if they contacted the saw would not start..or at the very least take 100 pulls and a miracle...but this is the saw i am talking about and it would start... one pull choked..pop pop...maybe two pulls half and a trigger touch all day everyday hot cold didnt matter...just a new guy trying to learn....btw what's this "tape" stuff??? You can feel it is significantly harder to turn in this position..yes shes very dirty shes been apart for a week!!

The business cars gap is the quickest way of setting and will be fine. As for the tape on that fly wheel I have never seen anything on any flywheel like that on any machine from large to small I have worked on. If you bought the saw second hand maybe that was the previous owners way of setting the gap? I do notice evenly spaced striations on it (maybe from the coil rubbing slightly) . What saw model?

 

[svk]

I have noticed scratches along the outside of a few flywheels too. I can only assume it is from dust/dirt getting sucked in and contacting between the flywheel and coil. Being just a little bit north of many iron mines, we do have a few types of ferrous metals in the soil because if you drag a magnet through the dirt you'll have all kinds of little bits attached. Can imagine the magnet in the flywheel does the same thing to anything in it's vicinity.

 

[ray benson]

Have a Makita DCS6000i, business card gap was too much and the saw was hard starting. Reset to specs (.006" )and have much easier starting. Check your specs.

 

[s sidewall]

That's Dolmar for ya, have to be an odd ball.

Steve

 

[svk]

That's Dolmar for ya, have to be an odd ball.

Steve

Like a fine German watch! LOL

Can't knock them though they are usually pretty reliable.

 

[pioneerguy600]

I had one saw start acting poorly one day then quit and wouldn’t start at all. The coil was not loose but had worked it’s way away from the flywheel. Regapped with a business card and it was back in action.

What saw Steve and how far back can the module go?

 

[svk]

What saw Steve and how far back can the module go?

My previous 61 converted to 272. It could go way back from there even and was maybe ~3 business cards gap and wouldn't fire.

Saw had a brand new NOS carb from ebay and would start and idle awesome. Then one day it was really hard to start, was dying between cuts then just quit and would not start.

 

[AlfA01]

Ok let me start off saying that this is a very serious actual ?? I have scouted the internet and there are 1000 articles posts in forums etc..about how to set the gap...and there will be no spark or very unreliable spark if the gap is too wide...not one place can i find anyone specifically say exactly what happens if the gap is too small or skimming the coil...I'm just trying to learn here...what happens to the saw if it's ran this way for an extended period of time?? Would you guys run a saw that the two were contacting..thanks for any insights

Make sure when you set the gap that the flywheel is rotated to align the magnets with the coil. Loosen the coil bolts and slide it away from the flywheel and insert a business card. Slide the coil contacts against the business card and tighten bolts. Make sure that both sides of the coil are evenly applying pressure to the business card. Rotate the flywheel and remove the business card. Give the flywheel at least one full rotation to make sure there is no contact with the coil and you have a slight visible gap when the magnets are aligned. Check for spark and you should be all set.

If that doesn't work and you have the manual, find the proper gap specs. Take the corresponding size feeler gauge and remove it from the feeler gauge set. Repeat the same steps as above with the feeler gauge. If you don't have a set of feeler gauges, Wal-Mart, Auto-Zone, O'Reillys, etc., should have them for next to nothing.

I've never had an issue doing it this way.

 

[pioneerguy600]

My previous 61 converted to 272. It could go way back from there even and was maybe ~3 business cards gap and wouldn't fire.

Saw had a brand new NOS carb from ebay and would start and idle awesome. Then one day it was really hard to start, was dying between cuts then just quit and would not start.

I work mostly Stihl but have dabbled in Husqvarna a few times. My 266 will run fine pushed all the way back but is a good bit harder to start, have to really rip the starter cord but I do that instinctively as I am a drop starter. Always have been, taught that way from first handling the 600 series Pioneers. Will archive your experience and checking air gap is a must do on any saw I work on.

 

[pioneerguy600]

I have taken notice on weak modules that closing the gap up will allow the saw to run for a while longer. Had a very young fella here that his mom bought him a black Craftsman, beautiful little saw in its factory case brand new. It was a devil to get started but once warmed up it would run great, shut it off and restart fine but take 20 pulls or more to get started when cold, often flood before getting it started.He brought it to me to see if I could make it easier to start. Everything checked out so I suspected the carb, removed it,cleaned it, kitted it and reset it but still same problem. When cold I noticed it had very little spark, just a needle point jumping the plug gap so I adjusted the module in in progressive steps, .010 weak, .008 some improvement.006 better again and settled on a tight .004 air gap. Saw was much easier to start so he was happy. A few months later another Craftsman showed up all mangled, parts saw fell off moving truck on the highway. I took the module out of that one and put it in the weak module saw. The replacement would fire a big blue flash set at .010 so left it at that, saw still going strong for him.

 

[dynodave]

flywheel magnetism in gauss

pioneer farmsaw-phelon-1614

poulan-3400-phelon- 1585

poulan-2150-phelon-1793
poulan-2150-walbro-1549
poulan-2150-repco-1721

husky-268-???-1993
I would think that dragging the coil/module armature over the flywheel magnets armature will make them magnetically lossy, which consumes a bit of magnetic therefore electrical induction a bit, lowering the final electrical pulse/spark.

 

[svk]

flywheel magnetism in gauss

pioneer farmsaw-phelon-1614

poulan-3400-phelon- 1585

poulan-2150-phelon-1793
poulan-2150-walbro-1549
poulan-2150-repco-1721

husky-268-???-1993
I would think that dragging the coil/module armature over the flywheel magnets armature will make them magnetically lossy, which consumes a bit of magnetic therefore electrical induction a bit, lowering the final electrical pulse/spark.

When you say Phelon do you mean they share the dreaded blue coil from Homelite? Or are those more reliable?

 

[svk]

Make sure when you set the gap that the flywheel is rotated to align the magnets with the coil. Loosen the coil bolts and slide it away from the flywheel and insert a business card. Slide the coil contacts against the business card and tighten bolts. Make sure that both sides of the coil are evenly applying pressure to the business card. Rotate the flywheel and remove the business card. Give the flywheel at least one full rotation to make sure there is no contact with the coil and you have a slight visible gap when the magnets are aligned. Check for spark and you should be all set.

Yes, thank you for pointing that out. I noticed that some flywheels aren't perfectly round so there might be double or triple the gap on the other side of the flywheel away from the magnet. As long as there is no interference in the other spots, the gap at the magnets is what is important.