I found aa old Pioneer 1074 Chainsaw in my father-in-laws old shed recently. It was manufactured in Canada in 1980 and is now about 45 years old.

I came across his daughter sometime in the late eighties and I have been around his place since 1995 but I never saw him use that chainsaw. I presume that was because the ignition coil had failed and they were no longer available. I tested the coil with a multimeter and it's dead. I had also tried it beforehand and it was delivering no spark either when connected to the switch or when disconnected from the switch.

The coils for such machines are no longer available but alternatively, I notice 'High Voltage Igniters' available as battery powered arc igniter kits (example as link below) with a switch that could maybe be replaced with a magnetic reed type switch that would be activated with the chain saw's own magneto. Can such 'high voltage igniters' be alternatively used to activate a single cylinder engine's spark plug?

HV-1 High Voltage Igniter DIY Kit Arc Ignition Parts DIY Kit Arc Generator Arc Cigarette Igniter Module PCB Board DC 3V 5V 3A - AliExpress 502

P.S. I confirm again that the saw is not working but the girl I met then is still working fine and she still has plenty of spark!

 

The spark may not be the only issue. There could be significant corrosion in the cylinder.

I have an old chainsaw myself that has a bad coil. I bought it new and have fixed it many times, so I'm reluctant to let it go but I really think that's the prudent move.

A new or lightly used chainsaw is not very inexpensive, compared to the work you might have to do on this ancient saw, which by the way probably lacks modern safety equipment. No other part of the saw makes as much difference as a freshly sharpened chain and so you want a saw with sharpening life left in the chain and one you can get a new chain for. An old saw may not meet either hurdle.

 

......... compared to the work you might have to do on this ancient saw

I totally agree and get what you are saying and thanks for making that point. I know that I can purchase a new chain saw locally very cheaply. My query was more to do with 'the challenge' of getting the old yoke to run and cut wood again. I do not need timber for heating as I use heating oil for the central heating. The old saw looks like new has good compression and is very clean overall. It seemed like a good sample machine to try a alternative spark production technique on hence my query.

The High voltage production item on AliExpress costs approx one dollar/euro so I thought it might be worth a try as a alternative means of producing the required spark now that the specific coils are no longer available. So the question again might be, can or could such 'high voltage igniters' be alternatively used to activate a single cylinder engine's spark plug? I do not want to scrap the saw without getting some fun and learning from it.

 

I have no idea if that would work but come back and let us know one way or the other if you try it. I'd love to get my old saw going, just because.

 

I found aa old Pioneer 1074 Chainsaw in my father-in-laws old shed recently. It was manufactured in Canada in 1980 and is now about 45 years old.

I came across his daughter sometime in the late eighties and I have been around his place since 1995 but I never saw him use that chainsaw. I presume that was because the ignition coil had failed and they were no longer available. I tested the coil with a multimeter and it's dead. I had also tried it beforehand and it was delivering no spark either when connected to the switch or when disconnected from the switch.

The coils for such machines are no longer available but alternatively, I notice 'High Voltage Igniters' available as battery powered arc igniter kits (example as link below) with a switch that could maybe be replaced with a magnetic reed type switch that would be activated with the chain saw's own magneto. Can such 'high voltage igniters' be alternatively used to activate a single cylinder engine's spark plug?

HV-1 High Voltage Igniter DIY Kit Arc Ignition Parts DIY Kit Arc Generator Arc Cigarette Igniter Module PCB Board DC 3V 5V 3A - AliExpress 502

P.S. I confirm again that the saw is not working but the girl I met then is still working fine and she still has plenty of spark!

I don't think it worths the time and money. Let's assume that you install a 'high voltage igniter' instead of the coil successfully but after that you may notice some other fault.

 

An examination of the non-working coil assembly might possibly reveal that there is a repairable break that could be restored. Vibration does tend to break wires free to vibrate. In an older chain saw there is a connection to the plug and a connection to the points, and often a separate connection to the kill switch. carefully checking those wires for an internal break in the conductor might reveal a repairable open. THAT could be a very rewarding experience.

 

Go to an auto wrecker and pick up a waste-spark ignition coil to sub in.

 

Go to an auto wrecker and pick up a waste-spark ignition coil to sub in.

We're talking about a magneto with tight mechanical tolerances to fit the saw. It's not as easy as an interchangeable part.