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magnetron


chris87

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i was looking at replaceing the stupid automotive coil one of the po has rigged up. got to love what some people do sometimes.... but i seen that that there is a magnetron kit that elimates the points. and the price for the magnetron kit is 23.42 and a coil is 42.28 for the briggs and 39.88 for aftermarket. it kinda sounds to good to be true. its cheeper it gets rid of point problems. so my question is are they any good?

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If you are referring to this clip on kit. I tried an OEM kit from Briggs like in the picture and could not get it to work. Others may have had success with it. I personally wouldn`t buy another one. I have used both the Mega Fire II and Nova II without issue and have sent the flywheel in for repolarization and installed a Magenetron after that, with no issues.The automotive coils are actually not all that bad, but you still have the stupid points to deal with. My opinion the points are the biggest problems in these system and you will never have those issues with the Magnetron, Nova II or the mega Fire II.I can also do quite a bit better for that Magnetron ignition in aftermarket price and never had an issue with the aftermarket parts.

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I have used at least 10 Magnetron kits over the years and they work great. We even used them in Kart racing over 6,000 RPM with the "stock" 5 hp Briggs.

They can only be used on the 2 leg armatures. You can just leave the original points in place. Mostly to hold the breaker point plunger in place to prevent a possible oil leak. Briggs does make a hole plug for that application.

The only problems I ever had were wire connections, never a module failure.

Now days it is easier to find a used original Magnetron coil. From parts engines or ebay.

The Magnetron kit is p/n 394970.

Gary

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Bought mine from a Briggs dealer (OEM). It didn`t work and I wouldn`t waste the money on another to find out ifit would work. It was used on a 326431 - 16hp. Which has a 2 leg armature. It didn`t work period. I would suggest the Megafire II or Nova II since I never had a issue with either. I can get them for $19 and that includes shipping from a supplier.

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I have used a MegaFire with good results. On my 1942 Model ZZ, WWII generator, since the coil was bad, I used the points, a Points Saver ( WWW.overnightsolutions.com ) and automotive coil with a ballast resistor.

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Just on curiosity, what problems do you guys have with the points set-up? All my older equipment that you can still get the points for has it on them and I never had a problem with them. I've never tried anything else but points, so i can't say anything about magnetron. I'm not trying to start any arguments on what is better.

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The common problem with points is usually the condenser. There's no real way to test them and they also have a "Shelf life".

The problem with the upgrade shown in Ray's photo is the fact that it will only work if you put it on a good coil.

I have done both kinds of Magnetron upgrades on the 5hp engine in my Serf. Yup,,, it turned out the original coil was bad. The engine didn't run any better after clipping in the little pickup module, so I bit the bullet and bought a new Magnetron coil assembly and the engine now runs just fine.

I've also done the Magnetron upgrade in my 243431 10hp engine that requires the flywheel being sent to Briggs to get repolarized. I have no ignition issues with that engine as well.

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I always had problems with the points getting wet, especially if I sprayed off the tractor, or left it out in the rain. With the megafire, the wet doesn't bother it. Never had any problems starting it again. Had one megafire for at least 7 years and still going. Got my last one for $10 delivered on ebay. You can't get points/condenser for that.

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had to change point setting on my 10hp landlord 243431 every 4-6mths and went with the novaII & have had no problem with them since for 4 yrs. had to adjust spark plug gap to run smooth.

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The old cast iron Briggs have a problem with the tip of the push rod coming off inside the engine. I was a lot easier to instal a MegaFire than tear the engine apart to change the push rod which could only be changed from the inside.

When the engines sit for a long time, the points oxidize and do not conduct.

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quote:Originally posted by chris87

i was looking at replaceing the stupid automotive coil one of the po has rigged up. got to love what some people do sometimes....


id="quote">
id="quote">I and many others have found that adding an automotive type coil to a cast iron briggs is a very good thing to do. Quick starts when it is cold, and always runs very well. Don't be too quick to throw the baby out with the bathwater. You may need to clean up the PO's installation, but it will be worth doing.John U
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I skip the retro kit for magnetron and go to full modern magnetron. No reliability issues as long as the flywheel gets sent out and energized. Just did my recent addition same way. No regrets and dirt cheap to do. The service is free(as of a week ago) and the coil is the same as just about any briggs. For the sake of trying it, I put on a 12hp vertical coil on the 16hp horizontal and it works just fine. Cold starts and consistent performance.

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