Albin gasoline engines are equipped with either a distributor (battery ignition) or with magneto.

Distributor (battery ignition)
Below types of distributors are used on Albin gasoline engines:

• Bosch JF2 0231 109 014 (O-22, O-21)
• Bosch  VE 4 C300 (O-41, O-411)

Below types of distributors are used on Volvo Penta MB10a:

• Bosch JF2 0231 109 014 (early productions)
• Bosch F2 0231 109 015 (late productions)

When overhauling the distributor, wear parts such as contact points, rotor, capacitor, distributor cap, ignition coil and spark plug cables are replaced. The advance mechanism (centrifugal) is inspected for damage and checked for proper functioning, and repaired where needed. If necessary, the bearings of the distributor shaft are replaced and the axial play and shaft seals are restored.

Ignition distributors are easy to maintain but unfortunately parts are becoming scarce, especially for for the mechanical centrifugal advance mechanism. Therefore we have developed an electronic 123-Ignition as a replacement.

Magneto
Below types of magneto’s are used on Albin gasoline engines:

• SEM EY-1R (O-11)
• SEM EY-2R (O-21)
• SEM EX-2L (AL-23)
• SEM EX-4L (O-41, O-411)

The magneto was developed at the time that engines were still started by hand. A magneto ignition requires no power from a battery to work and is self-powered.

For some people the magneto may have a bad reputation because of malfunctioning. However it should be noted that  the magneto has worked fine for a period of 50 years or more before falling into trouble. Commonly known problems are:

• Ignition coil looses power
• Weak magnet
• Slip rings of the bakelite distributor get cracked
• Worn or stuck carbon brushes
• Damaged wiring (internal)
  Contact points get burned
• Bearings worn out
• Damage from moisture ingress
• Worn pulse starter
• Wrong spark plug cables and / or spark plug caps
• Damage to the contact breaker

The most well-known symptom of a magneto that is no longer working properly, is when the engine starts to run irregularly when the engine is at working temperature, while when the engine is cold the problems do not occur. A simple test to locate the problem is to wrap a wet piece of cloth around the ignition housing when the problem occurs. If the problems suddenly disappears, then the magnetois probably due for overhaul.

Overhauling of magneto’s is specialist work. In  case of overhaul, the ignition coil is rewound, the anchor magnet is strengthened, the contact points are flattened or re-soldered, the bearings are replaced, the capacitor is replaced, the spark plug cables and caps are replaced, and a plastic bushing is placed between the shaft and the bakelite distributor with the slip rings. The mechanism of the pulse starter (click-click) is also being overhauled. Because most parts of the magneto are no longer available, replacement parts are used when certain parts can no longer be reused. In this way, the magneto is restored to its original condition and becomes again a reliable piece of technology.

Although we can overhaul the magneto, a replacement electronic 123-Ignition can also be chosen here.

We often see magneto’s that have been ‘refurbished’ by replacing the internal coil with an external standard coil. The magneto housing is then damaged, the coil is often gone and the contact points burn in faster than normal because the ignition coil and capacitor are not properly aligned. In addition, the magneto is no longer protected against moisture ingress, which is essential for its reliability.

The older types of Albin engines (O-1, O-2, O-4) may have other types of magneto (Bosch)  than mentioned above. Although these engine/magneto types occur less than others we can also overhaul these magneto’s for you.