Wico Series A Magneto oiling

Home › Forums › The Main Forum Area › General talk and discussion › Wico Series A Magneto oiling

Tagged: 

Viewing 6 posts - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • September 9, 2019 at 6:32 pm #31919
    ssorthiek
    Participant

    Hi

    This is likely to sound like a really stupid question to those who know, but none the less I’ll ask.

    On a Wico Series A magneto there are two oil ports at the bottom of the casing. Does anyone know what grade oil should be used, how much oil and how to squart the oil in? I have managed to get a healthy spark from one that I bought for £20 at an auto jumble at the weekend after striping it down and now just want to look after it.

    Many thanks in advance.

    Keith.

    September 9, 2019 at 6:55 pm #31920
    ransomes256
    Participant

    Keith,
    No such thing as a stupid question just one you need an answer to.
    In general the magneto only needs a little oil and only about every 200 hours so I guess with a vintage machine not that often. Use engine oil and only a few drops required assuming lubricated when serviced.
    I use a conventional hand oil can but it is not easy to get access or see what you are doing.
    Neil

    September 9, 2019 at 7:44 pm #31922
    ssorthiek
    Participant

    That’s brilliant Neil and thanks for your prompt reply. I’ll be looking at the Magento again at the weekend. Fingers crossed it will still give a spark.

    September 9, 2019 at 10:29 pm #31923
    wristpin
    Participant

    Oil. A few drops of SAE30. Be careful testing for a “ healthy spark” and only do it with a standard gapped plug on the ht lead firmly anchored to the mag base. Waving the ht lead around to create a gap can cause the spark to find an easier route internally resulting in permanent damage.

    September 11, 2019 at 4:44 pm #31931
    ssorthiek
    Participant

    Thanks wristpin, the info is much appreciated. I didn’t have any HT kicking round but used a bit of coax instead which was connected to the spark plug as you suggested. I’m not keen on getting a belt off the HT side so decided to control where the spark ends up (ie the park plug). The coax did the trick for testing purposes only.

    So SAE 30 or new type of engine oil sounds good to me. I have now managed to take a none working one apart and found out how these are put together and found the sponge the holds the oil. I’m much happier now.

    Many thanks once again

    Keith

    September 13, 2019 at 10:31 pm #31962
    wristpin
    Participant

    First, I was wrong about the oil, it should be SAE20 not 30. In the day it would have been Castrolite or another manufacturer’s equivalent.
    I knew that I had a very good guide to all things Wico series A tucked away somewhere and I’ve just unearthed it.
    http://www.wizardclassics.co.uk/douglas
    Maintenance Manual for the Wico Series A.
    Edited by and additional content by Peter Chadbund

    I’ve got another useful booklet which is a reprint of a Wico publication. Reprinted by David W Edgington, Lodge Wood Farm, Hawkeridge, Westbury, Wiltshire.

  • Author
    Posts
Viewing 6 posts - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.