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Old 06-20-2021, 06:48 PM
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Al Schober Al Schober is offline
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The flyweights and their springs control the centrifugal advance. At idle, the spark occurs close to top dead center. As the engine turns faster, the fire needs time to get going so the spark occurs sooner (before TDC). Clean up the rust and install new springs. Unlikely the drive gear is an issue.
Check the shaft for excessive side play. You don't want the rotor hitting and damaging the cap. Check the cap for chips/cracks.
With EI, the condition of the cam is not an issue. Your coil should be the one recommended by the maker of the EI.
Bad coil will produce no/erratic spark. Typical and common failure is no spark when the coil is hot, works again when it cools off. Leaking oil is not a good sign.
Ignition timing is typically set to TDC at idle, then refined when the boat is at cruise speed by tweaking the distributor to get max RPM. Shouldn't take much if the advance is working properly. A big tweak or an engine that won't idle after the tweak is a sign the advance isn't working as it should.
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