Oregon Spark Tester

[WI_Hedgehog]

How can it help the spark start and jump the large gap, unless it is grounded? If grounded, why would the spark jump the wider gap and not just the short gap of the third post?

If there's no spark a shorter path could be grounded to see if the coil is weak, I suppose.

There's this "thing" where a mechanic puts the spark plug in the plug boot and clips a test lead between the plug body and engine ground then fires the engine...
...if it doesn't spark the plug gets replaced and re-tried.

There's no guarantee the replacement plug is good and tightening the gap to test the coil isn't as easy as on the ECHO spark tester, but the test lead doesn't cost $85...unless it's from Snap-on.

 

[slime]

I just copied and pasted.

Thought it might give you something else to explore.

Philbert

Thanks, Philbert. I appreciate any information. I may be wrong, but I am thinking that at one time the Briggs one may have been adjustable, and that Oregon just basically copied it, but without the adjustment. I am going to do some checking to see if the old Briggs ones were ever adjustable.

 

[slime]

I contacted Briggs & Stratton......

 

[slime]

Messed up the files. Anyway, I contact B&S and asked them what the 3rd terminal was for. Made it very clear what I was asking. Their reply?

"The bare end is for grounding if you need it"

In other words, they don't know either. I cannot believe it. At least two different companies, B&S and Oregon, put out a product, and cannot even answer a simple question. I am an old fart now, and I guess it is just expecting too much. Now I know what the old farts meant when they said "the good ol' days"!

 

[Philbert]

Thanks for sharing that.

I’m speculating that if the spark won’t jump the long gap, you can ground that terminal to the engine block, just to test if there is even a weak current being generated?

Might help further diagnose some ignition problems?

Philbert