anyone worked on a Cushman OMC 2 cyl engine,,,?

  Hey Thad,,That right there sure might be a consideration as what is happening happens at SAME spot in the engine rotation and sure could be the culprit,, 

  This engine uses what Cushman calls a "TiMER" with single contact points and condenser inside it.  Power from a  12 volt battery goes thru a "Resister" then goes thru TWO ignition coils,  (one for each cylinder,)  wired in series and on to the "Timer" or distributor with contact points and a condensor inside it. That wiring path kinda don't make sense to me as the "TIMER" only has the one wire on it's single connector,,,,??

 Am I missing something here,,,??

My Cushman uses a Kohler K-single, so I can't do a direct comparison, but I've worked on others with the OMC 4-stroke horizontally opposed twin.

This was a very unique motor for Outboard Marine Corporation... we expect, from their Evinrude, Johnson, and Lawn-Boy, that it'd be a two-stroker, but it's not... it's truely a unique beast for OMC.

The 'timer' is no different from any other ignition system, because of it's horizontally opposed arrangement, both cylinders are at TDC at same time, one is on exhaust stroke, the other is on compression stroke.  Both spark plugs fire at same time, one on a viable charge, the other on exhaust, so it is what is referred to as 'wasted spark' operation.  Simplifies ignition.  The ONAN CCK in my detassling platform, and in my Miller Bobcat welder are same, but instead of two coils, it uses just one coil that is 'double ended'.  There's good and bad to a double ended coil, benefits are that it's just one coil to mount, and services both plugs...  the bad is that it's just one coil, and if it goes bad, you lose all spark...

I suspect you've either got a ridge, or some debris in there.  Horizontally opposed engines are susceptible to that sometimes, particularly if debris can fall into the carb and migrate down in there.  Pulling the heads WILL help alleviate that.

The alternator on these was frequently a stator coil beneath the flywheel.  If you have debris in there fouling the rotation, it'll do that, but it also may just be tight clearance or strong magnet.  IIRC they used a charging stator very similar to, perhaps same part  as used on the SkiTwin/FasTwin/Industrial 40 two stroke outboard (it was an option on the ski/fast, and standard on the industrial 40hp, they all had electric start as an option, charging was an option on the Ski/Fastwin.  The magnet on those was just a sector portion, not a full circle of magnets).

DJ, do me a favour, post the model number info.....please

I do NOT want to go 'north 200 feet'...

prefer to surf the web !!!!!

ANYTHING but go to 'contractors BBQ ' !!!!!

 Well,, I got a bit of an update  on the OMC engine.I figured I was gonna have to pull the cylinders or pull whole engine out so I was removing the flywheel and LO AND BEHOLD when it came off,,,,there was the danged'est bunch of UGLIES stored in there by RATS,,,,maybe at least a 5 gallon bucket full for sure,,!!! After cleaning all that BS out of there,,,I slip the flywheel back in there and ,,,,,,,,it rolls like it is supposed to free and clear,,,,I'll just be danged,,,!!!! ALL that frigging work and then to find that BS,,,,!!

  AND,,,I still have a NO SPARK sitiation on the engine. I tested both coils , one at a time using the battery and a spark plug and they both tested good,,altho spark was not to big ,,it was a spark,,,?? Hooked both coils and the timer (distributor) as per Dave Kamp suggestions and still NO FIRE at either spark plugs or at the points,,!! For funs I installed the old condensor and still NO FIRE,,,!!!  What the heck could be the problem,,,???? How do you "TEST" the timer,,(distributor),,?

 Well, Jay,,,at least you did not find a king sized Rats nest in your project like I did,,,,!!! That was amazing at the amount of garbage them rats had "RATHOLED" in the space behind the flywheel,,,!!!! Prolly what burnt the starter up,,,!!!

The 'timer' is nothing more than just contact points.

Pull out the coils, install a double-ended coil for an Onan CCK-series, it'll work fine.

To run two coils in series, they need to be 6v coils, not something you'll find in many environments nowdays.

 On the "No Spark"   sitiation,,,it almost has to be the timer (distributor) that is not grounded properly as THAT is what provides the spark that goes back to the secondary windings on the coils which then provides the spark to the spark plugs,,,,right???

Fingers crossed,,,,,

Ok...progress !!!

Now, I wanna SEE a pickture of youe new beastie !!!!

that's a sixty ohm, 25 watt resistor though I suspect it might really be a SIX ohm ( get  extra eye power and see IF it's says 6.0 ohms. Itty bitty decimal point between the 6 and the 0.