Well folks, the 40 is FINALLY running again. As of about 20 minutes ago I finished up buttoning everything back up and tuning in the carb. She purrs just like she did the day i bought her... Not really, that thing barely functioned when I bought it... It runs like it did before september. After many months of frustration, the problem has finally been solved = bad coil and bad ignition module.
We rebuilt the carb about a month ago and I put it back on, tried to crank it, and nothing. So I figure, "an engine needs fuel, air, and spark to run." I knew it was getting fuel and air, so I plugged a screwdriver into a disconnected plug wire and held it close to some metal while my room mate cranked it over. No spark. I pulled the ignition module to advance and it tested bad. "Problem solved!", I thought... I took it home and installed it, put everything back together, and nothing. no go. Did the screwdriver test again, and still no spark. About 2 weeks later I finally had the chance to work on it again, pulled the module and the coil and went down to advance again. Tested the module, and it tested bad. But, come to find out, the lady didn't know how to operate the tester, so once a guy who did came over we figured out what was up (she wasn't grounding the module properly.) Bought a new coil and headed home. Installed the coil and the module and crossed my fingers. To my surprise, but delight, she fired right up! Today I got a vacuum gauge and borrowed a tach/dwell meter from Marshall. It took a while to figure out how the heck to adjust the idle speed on the carb I have, but i finally got it (turns out the primary butterfly adjustment screw on the base of the carb controls the idle speed.) Thanks to Marshall's ancient tach and the new vacuum gauge, I got it purring right around 700rpms. I'm so freakin relieved to have it running again. It's been far to long. Now all I have to do is make sure there aren't any little bugs from sitting for 4 months, and I should be good to go. Thanks everyone for any help you've contributed, whether it was loaning tools or just giving advice here on mud. UC is the best club around, and probably the reason I haven't given up and parked it for 4 more months.
We rebuilt the carb about a month ago and I put it back on, tried to crank it, and nothing. So I figure, "an engine needs fuel, air, and spark to run." I knew it was getting fuel and air, so I plugged a screwdriver into a disconnected plug wire and held it close to some metal while my room mate cranked it over. No spark. I pulled the ignition module to advance and it tested bad. "Problem solved!", I thought... I took it home and installed it, put everything back together, and nothing. no go. Did the screwdriver test again, and still no spark. About 2 weeks later I finally had the chance to work on it again, pulled the module and the coil and went down to advance again. Tested the module, and it tested bad. But, come to find out, the lady didn't know how to operate the tester, so once a guy who did came over we figured out what was up (she wasn't grounding the module properly.) Bought a new coil and headed home. Installed the coil and the module and crossed my fingers. To my surprise, but delight, she fired right up! Today I got a vacuum gauge and borrowed a tach/dwell meter from Marshall. It took a while to figure out how the heck to adjust the idle speed on the carb I have, but i finally got it (turns out the primary butterfly adjustment screw on the base of the carb controls the idle speed.) Thanks to Marshall's ancient tach and the new vacuum gauge, I got it purring right around 700rpms. I'm so freakin relieved to have it running again. It's been far to long. Now all I have to do is make sure there aren't any little bugs from sitting for 4 months, and I should be good to go. Thanks everyone for any help you've contributed, whether it was loaning tools or just giving advice here on mud. UC is the best club around, and probably the reason I haven't given up and parked it for 4 more months.
