The universal mag was used on the 3 and 4 horse motors until ’84, the 6 until ’76, 9.5, 18, and 40 horse until ’73, 20 and 25 horse until ’72. The 2 horse used it until ’86 and the 1.25 and 2.5 horse motors used it from ’87 on.
Remember the cranky Low Tension mag as used on ’74 – ’76 9.9/15 horse motors? It and the Universal Mag were replaced with the superior CD (Capacitor Discharge) Ignition system as time went on.
The last year for the universal ignition system was the 1990 model year. 1.2 HP 1 cyl and 3 HP 2 cyl were the last models sold in the USA that used them. May have still been used else where.
Just curious… what was the issue with the ’74 to ’76 9.9/15 magnetos? low speed issues? I know it used a charge coil and 2 ignition coils… never really fooled around with one. I have a ’75 evinrude 9.9 that i plan to work on in the spring.
The ’74-76 9.9 and 15hp motors were terrible running motors (they fouled spark plugs, often in a single outing). A lot of it was blamed on the Low-Tension magneto, but in reality that was only part of the problem. OMC came out with several kits to “fix” them—mostly unsuccessful.
Just my opinion and observation. Yeah, yeah, I know, there are people out there that are happy with theirs.
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