My car is a 1910 REO equipped with a low tension Splitdorf mag. Type E. The car starts first crank on the battery (an Optima 6 volt hidden under the floorboards) and runs fine when switched over to the magneto. However, it has developed a problem. If I slow the engine down to an idle while switched to mag it will die. It runs fine at idle switched to battery. According to the owners manual, if it is idling at at least 225 RPMs then that is fast enough for the mag to keep it running. On my car I need to idle it at least 350 RPMs to keep it from dying when switched to mag. This is a problem that has just developed in the last couple of hundred miles. About two years ago (500 miles ago) I had a guy supposedly remagnetize the magnets on the magneto. Right now when driving I have to remember to not idle the engine completely down when I come to a stop. Its either that or set my idle up way to high.
What could be causing this.
Sounds like your mag is weak,needs recharge. Cheers pete
My car is a 1910 REO equipped with a low tension Splitdorf mag. Type E. The car starts first crank on the battery (an Optima 6 volt hidden under the floorboards) and runs fine when switched over to the magneto. However, it has developed a problem. If I slow the engine down to an idle while switched to mag it will die. It runs fine at idle switched to battery. According to the owners manual, if it is idling at at least 225 RPMs then that is fast enough for the mag to keep it running. On my car I need to idle it at least 350 RPMs to keep it from dying when switched to mag. This is a problem that has just developed in the last couple of hundred miles. About two years ago (500 miles ago) I had a guy supposedly remagnetize the magnets on the magneto. Right now when driving I have to remember to not idle the engine completely down when I come to a stop. Its either that or set my idle up way to high.
What could be causing this.
Do you have the mag fully retarded when this happens? I once had my mag timing just a little off and when it was moved to full retard it no longer made contact to deliver the spark. A slight advance and it was fine. It was a simple fix.
Peter
I don't think having it on full retard is the problem because it will continue to run on full retard as long as I give it more than minimum throttle.
You said earlier that you thought the mag needed to be recharged. Do you mean re-magnitize the two magnets? I just had them re-magnitized (supposedly) 500 miles ago. Or is there something else that I am not aware of when you say recharge? I wonder if there is a way to test the magnets.
At low rpm a mag does not produce a lot of electrical current if the magnets are not up to a good charge,but will at higher rpm. The way they test a magnet,is to see if it will pick up a 5-7 pound weight after it has been charged.
I guess my next step would be to remove them and see if they'll pick up 5 - 7 lbs. Might take me a day or two. I'll get back to you.
The only problem is when you remove the magnets from the mag they willl need to be recharged when you install them.removing the magnets from the mag will weaken them,so you must recharge them put a keeper on them and then reinstall. Get a 1918 Dykes Encyclopedia and start learning,I say 1918 because it seems to have the most info,everything I learned was from that book,takes some time but it is worth it.
ok, I've got four or five Dykes laying around. I'll study them and see what I'm getting into before I remove the magnets. Yes, Dykes are very interesting reading!
According to the Dykes it looks like I would need an "electromagnet" to recharge my magnets. I don't see any details on how to build one. I guess I'll just live with this problem and if it gets worse I'll have to send the magneto to a magneto specialist to get it checked out.
I'm not any sort of magneto expert but it seems to me that if it was working before, it's worth checking everything: breaker points, plug gaps, mag timing, even plug wires. If your spark is not strong any of these could make a difference if not correctly set. Peter F
I put this question on the REOfour board ( https://groups.io/g/REOfour) and got this response from someone who knows more than I do about magnetos:
I think his magnets were charged incorrectly or not at all. If it works at all that's the only solution I can think of and is typical. I'm glad to see he still is able to use his Splitdorf. By now, all the pot metal has usually disintegrated.
... basically what Peter M has been saying.
.By now, all the pot metal has usually disintegrated.
Yes that usually does happen.On our E.M.F with a Splitdorf model D the pot metal looked good until you unscrewed the end plates,the end plate broke around where the screw countersink was. Crazy glued it back together and 6 years later still going.Fingers still crossed! Peter M
I would have replied sooner but I was having trouble logging back in to the forum. Brad with HCCA got it straighten out. I'm not an expert on magnetos but I know more about them than I do computer problems.
Anyway, I have had numerous problems with pot metal on various cars over the years. Having said that, the Type E magneto that I have has a grey face to it but there is no pot metal like deterioration whatsoever. Therefore, I'm not sure if its pot metal or not. From what you two Peters are saying it seems like I don't have a good charge on my magnets. Any suggestions as to who might do this work?
No idea , I do my own. Try asking other members in your area cheers pete
Any suggestions as to who might do this work?
Several members of our Regional Group, including me, have had magneto work done by Mark's Magnetos in Connecticut. He usually has an ad in the Gazette.
You may want to call Mark about your mag problem. He's probably at Hershey this week but later you should be able to reach him.
Peter F