Foggy Fail?

[Josh Kessler]

I took in a 045 project that was in excellent shape minus the ignition. I pulled an old Bosch ignition from my parts box and completed the foggy fix. I'm fairly certain I have the correct flywheel but I could be wrong. I'm not getting any spark.
Dumb question though... Does the flywheel have to be completed seated? I put everything back together and did not tighten the nut. The idea was that if there isn't spark after testing, it'll be a lot quicker and easier to take back apart. These flywheels are terrible to get off. It seems most people's success rate is pretty good with this fix. What are the odds another part of the ignition is bad?

You can see from my pics that my new wire is running to the same side of the capacitor as the kill switch and the other side is grounded to the tank (and then there's the stock wire joining the tank to the crankcase).

 

[Vintage Engine Repairs]

The inductance of the coil will be increased if the flywheel magnets pass over it fully, therefore the quickest way to answer this question is to clean up the rusty surfaces and assemble it, remove the spark plug, put the nut on the crank and carefully spin the engine over with a drill. While it’s off though, see how strong the magnet is on the flywheel. It should forcefully draw a screwdriver onto it.

 

[Josh Kessler]

I screwed up royally last night. First, I discovered my kill switch was bad. I was certain I tested that after assembly but I thought I was golden at that point. Well, I spun the flywheel nut the wrong way and continued to tighten it. The engine barely turned over, didn't spark and instead, stripped the threads on the crank. Now I can't get the nut off and I'm in for a complete tear down and rebuild. What an idiot

 

[Vintage Engine Repairs]

Sounds like you had it under compression? Best to have removed the plug and carefully turned the engine without any resistance. Anyway, it’s not all lost, the crank is hardened, the threads may be ok, it’s the nut that is likely your issue and has stripped. If you carefully saw or dremel either side of the nut just above the threads you’ll likely be able to remove it. Work carefully and methodically, one slip will certainly damage the threads.