Oliver Bendix Coils

[sgriff144]

Just purchased a 16 hp oliver outboard and want to get it running for a conversation piece. No spark and the coils are cracked. Spoke to Dan and Jim from Oliver fixation regarding the issue. Jim no longer sells the coils for these motors and Dan is looking for a new supplier. Jim suggested writing a post on this forum to see if anyone has coils in working order. Spoke to a guy from Massachusetts this morning who said if push comes to shove, he has the ability to rewind bendix coils. Any input/leads would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[wbeaton]

Can you post a photo of the coils you need?

Wayne
Upper Canada Chapter

uccaomci.com

[The Boat House]

These are available but the plug wire connection
is in different location than the Bendix coil so it
would be difficult to make them work.
There are many other reasons to loose spark
so check everything to be sure it is the coils.
This motor had lost spark on one cylinder but it
wasn’t the coil. If in fact the coils still do produce
a spark seal the cracks with liquid tape. I think
these coils are not going to be available any longer
so it may be worth your while to see if you can
save the ones you have. I have a cracked one I
sealed up and it is still working.

Link-
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Andover-Coils- … 1438.l2649

[chinewalker]

I’ve used the military motor coils. They spark in my Mark 20 but the motor still drops a cylinder. I don’t think the issue is with my coils, though. I used a segment of bicycle tire to insulate the offset coil output.
https://m.ebay.com/itm/Andover-Coils-97 … Sw3SFaj1w8

[jw-in-dixie]

Last resort – use motorcycle coils with a battery. No change to the points or conds and this Mark 20 runs like a striped ape without the mag drag. 😛

[jerry-ahrens]

Oliver coils are a bit of a challenge to make work. Those coils originally had the spark plug wire already molded into the coil from the factory. When I installed Jim J’s coils in my motor, they would jump spark from the high tension terminal to the mag plate while cranking. I tried several things to insulate them, with no luck. i ended up finding a pair of the rubber insulating pads from a Mercury Bendix mag or a Chris Craft …. then installed them on the Oliver mag plate. Chris Craft used these rubber insulating pads along with ”coil boot insulating compound”, as specified in the service manual. Oliver is the only motor I’ve seen with a Bendix mag that doesn’t have the rubber insulator pads, and has the plug wire built into the coil. My advice is to be gentle with those coils, and try to recoat them. Whatever you use, it has to be a thin coating, or it will cause the coil to not mount properly due to being too thick. Maybe liquid tape? I’ve seen OMC coils coated with fiberglass resin that worked great also. I have another Oliver 16 that needs coils too, so, I’d love to find a way to fix those. Let me know what you come up with.
Here are some pics of an Oliver 16 mag plate.

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[mercuryman]

I have installed a OMC coil on the Bendix laminate connecting the plug wire was tricky but it worked on my KH7 merc.

[The Boat House]

quote Chinewalker:

I’ve used the military motor coils. They spark in my Mark 20 but the motor still drops a cylinder. I don’t think the issue is with my coils, though. I used a segment of bicycle tire to insulate the offset coil output.
https://m.ebay.com/itm/Andover-Coils-97 … Sw3SFaj1w8

As the connection for the plug wire doesn’t
come out the bottom like the Bendix coils
how do you route the plug wire through the
magneto plate? That would be the only issue.
They should work fine otherwise.

[chinewalker]

Hi Tubs – I removed a bit of the sheathing and ran the wire around the underside of the coil to exit where it normally would.

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[The Boat House]

💡 Well there you go.

[Author]

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