I know this is far fetched, but I have watched it done in my own family. One of my brothers was pulling and cussing for what seemed like forever and finally we asked him to sniff his fuel. He had picked up a red fuel jug, but it had diesel in it and filled the tank and also had pulled sparkplugs and primed that way. We teased him for years about that folly. It is worth checking to make sure, because your symptoms sound just like what diesel in a gas engine will do. "Just another idea" Grant.

HAHAHA!!! THAT IS AWESOME!!! NEVER LET HIM FORGET!!! lol. Unfortunately, that is not the case. The 5 gallon can I am using was filled just before the project started with fresh from-the-pump ethanol free 87 octane. Has Stabil in it, and I filled my riding lawn mower up with the can from a completely empty tank and used it for an hour. It is gas. But that is an awesome story, and sounds like something I will have to share. lol

My analysis of the rotation is as follows (all viewed as sitting in tractor seat)
Pony crankshaft turns clockwise
Camshaft turns counterclockwise
Magneto shaft turns clockwise
Mag distributer shaft/rotor turns counterclockwise

I agree. If you are sitting in the operator's seat looking at the pony motor, the main flywheel that you would normally wrap a rope around turns clockwise with the arrow, up thru the gears, and then the rotor on the magneto is turning counter-clockwise. That is exactly what I have. Thank you for confirming that for me. I picked up a inline spark checker today that has a solid core wire in it, so I will be checking spark while trying to start the engine when I get home in about 6 hours.

It would be great to have a perspex or glass head for that stinking motor, just to see what the spark is like under compression, I remember watching a youtube link last year of a guy who made a clear head for a small gas engine and filmed it running, it was fascinating to actually see the gas burst into flame every compression stroke and the smoke get pushed out the exhaust valve.

I have a RD6 diesel Cat here I dragged home about 10 years ago, it has a 2 cylinder vertical starting motor that uses the Eisemann RC-2Q mag, the tractor had sat out in the weather for decades filling with water and the mag was full of dirt so I sent it off to a magneto guy for reconditioning, this guy used to attend all the old engine swap meets with rebuilt old mags for sale, and he had a really neat magneto testing table where he would demonstrate the spark jumping big gaps from each lead, very impressive to a idiot like me, and everyone else standing around.

Anyway, after refitting the reconditioned mag I was super excited when that old pilot motor popped on the very first compression stroke, and again on the 4th or 5th compression stroke, but 4 hours later with bloody hands from cranking that rotten thing I finally gave up in disgust and quit trying. I tried everything in that 4 hours to get it to run, that reconditioned mag was happily throwing a spark outside the engine so I assumed it must be OK inside the engine, so I tried new plugs, switched wires, re-timed it a dozen times, gas down the spark plug holes, crank crank crank, on I went without another pop fart or puff of smoke.

Reluctantly I mailed the magneto back to the old flea who "reconditioned" it and he discovered the used coil he had fitted had died, boy was I wild, it was not just the 4 hours cranking or the blistered hands, but the postage to mail the rotten thing was $30 each way and it was a few weeks waiting each time, I was desperate to get my RD6 pilot motor running. I'm sure your magneto is fine, but I thought you might enjoy my story, I have a few of them about reconditioned magneto's quitting when actually fitted to a old Cat, particularly at old machinery rallies when you have 30 old fleas watching you try to start your old Cat just before the Grand Parade...

It will be something simple, I guarantee you.
Mike

That is an awesome story. I read it while sitting with my father, and he just about died laughing. I have a similar story with an outboard boat motor. Come to find out when I finally took it to a mechanic, someone had put the wrong coil on it, and it was wired backwards. Lol

So with your magneto and reconditioned coil, I am hoping that is where I am at. I would love to just find out that I am not crazy, and that I need a coil. Now finding a coil, or getting one made would be an interesting and possibly $$$ prospect, but at least it would make me feel a little better that I'm not insane. The 3 places that I have in mind right now would be Finn Electric in Aberdeen, WA, Oldcroak down in Camas, WA, or a gentleman that I was recently given a name and number for that is supposedly a guru from long time back, and just works out of a little shop at his house.

If anyone has any other sources or ideas as to where I could buy or have a coil built for a Eismann RC-2H Magneto if I need one, I will gladly take all contacts. Thank you

If you're not a purist, get a Wico/Prestolite, or the American Bosch

I had a good guy here in Oz who rewound Eisemann coils for about $US50, and could make me new end caps for the spark wires for about $40, those distributor caps he made looked just like a new one with the carbon brushes and all, sadly he got busy a year or 2 ago with a regular job and just doesn't have time right now. I've used several mag guys here in Oz over the years and never found the perfect one.

A Aussie buddy of mine uses Rudy on your east coast and talks highly of him, my buddy buys Rudy's rebuilt mags, I think it's Mainely Magnetos, or Rudys Magneto's, look on youtube for Eisemann magneto rebuilding, he will come up, they are not cheap, like $450 or $500, but my buddy has bought several and swears by them.

You have had that mag looked at and tested good, I wouldn't be giving up on it just yet, but it sure would be nice if you could borrow a known working mag from someone and bolt it in to test, just to prove one way or the other if it is mag related, I've got a couple of spares here but that's no use to you, all I know is that electricity is lazy and will always take the easiest path to earth. Try closing your spark plug gaps down to 12 or 14 thou as Eddie Bedwell suggested, make it easier to get a spark inside the engine, and as others have mentioned, this new gas we get sold, it is toxic on spark plugs, and if plugs get wet it just soaks into that center electrode insulation and will carry away your spark, even plugs that look dry can be useless.

I use the Autolite plugs in my old Cats, I really like them.

You want to hear a great old Cat story, ask me about the fuel delivery docket and the 22, but you better pull up a chair and order in a pizza though, that was a 4 day sucker solving that one, I had a full head of hair before I started saving old Cats, now my head looks like the surface of the moon........

Stephen - I am a bit of a purist, but I can't say that I would be opposed to having a different brand sitting around as a spare if they are easier to come by then an Eisemann RC-2H.... Those things seem to be like trying to find a 4 leaf clover.... Do you know what other brands/models would swap on for the Eiseman RC-2H?

Mike - I did switch over the Autolites to try and resolve any issues as suggested by Oldcroak. They are Autolite 3116, an 18mm plug with a non-resistance copper core. The "testing" that was performed on the magneto, was it getting stuck in a vise with a plug wire in, the wire held roughly 10mm from the case, and it spun to see the the spark could jump that gap. That was the test it was given saying it was good to go. Great guy that knows stuff, but I'm starting to wonder if it isn't a little TOO simple of a test. I'm glad to hear a good review on the Mainely Magnetos, because I came across their website a few days ago, and thought they looked like a good place to have the magneto, and possibly also the carb for the pony rebuilt. I will have to try closing the spark plug gap down to the .012 or .014. Apparently I must have missed where Eddie said that, because otherwise I would have tried that. I feel kind of dumb for not trying that now. As for your story that requires a pizza, that defiantly sounds like a good time. lol

So I have come to the conclusion that the magneto is going to be need to be sent off and rebuilt, or at least a new coil made for it. After getting some information from Oldcroak, and purchasing some reading material, I have found that the timing is correct and it is just putting off a weak spark. I put a inline spark tester on it, and I got a few random "good" sparks/flashes, and the rest barley even lit the bulb. So at this point, I want the magneto put on a machine to see if the output from the magneto is at spec.

On a side note, I learn some interesting information in some of the reading material that I purchased. According to Eisemann, the RC-2H and RC-2Q are almost identical, except for the back plate and distributor cover. Most of the parts are interchangeable between the two, meaning the horseshoe magnet, coil, shafts, ect., are all interchangeable between the two.