# No spark Honda EM500A



## dFlintstone (Jan 13, 2020)

My thanks in advance to anyone who can share insight into why this old girl isn't sparking. I'm not positive but it may have lost spark after I ran the oil low enough to trip the low oil shutoff. Could the float be stuck? BTW I put a screwdriver right in the spark plug wire, pulled hard and felt nothing. Also I have a spare genny for parts and swapped coils and still nada. Wondering if I can unplug the low oil shutoff wire to diagnose if that's the fault? (I don't know which that is)


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## tabora (Sep 6, 2018)

dFlintstone said:


> I'm not positive but it may have lost spark after I ran the oil low enough to trip the low oil shutoff. Could the float be stuck? ...Wondering if I can unplug the low oil shutoff wire to diagnose if that's the fault? (I don't know which that is)


According to the manual, the EM500A does not have a low oil circuit, but the EM600A does.
On the chance that you actually meant EM5000A, here is the oil pressure sensor wiring:


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## dFlintstone (Jan 13, 2020)

Thank you tabora. My 500 is quite different than the 600 it seems.It does have a hole (a bung?) in the case about where the oil sensor is on the 600. Set in AC 20V I hooked my meter to the wire to the coil and it flashed a 13 when I pulled. So it's not completely dead. Both coils I have test 1.5 ohms small wire to ground.


I'm at a bit of a loss here. Wonder what resistance to expect from the secondary.


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## dFlintstone (Jan 13, 2020)

OK turns out my kill switch is not the issue. Anyone following this thread might see this U tube where a guy finds his kill switch stuck.


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## tabora (Sep 6, 2018)

Disconnect any wires going to the coil kill dongle wire (not the spark plug wire, of course), and see if you get a spark then. That would eliminate ALL the possible safeties/kill switches, etc. When that small wire is grounded to the frame via one of those mechanisms, it keeps the coil from supplying the spark plug with high voltage by collapsing the 12ish volts the coil's primary generates. 

The wire that plugs into it from the kill switch should show infinite resistance to the frame when the kill switch is in the run position if the switch is OK.

Be certain that the coil mounts are tight to the flywheel without binding, too.
https://www.amazon.com/Ignition-Replaces-30500-ZG0-W01-30500-ZG0-013-30560-892-003/dp/B07B9KST18


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## dFlintstone (Jan 13, 2020)

Yea, darn tabora, I did try that, also I changed out the whole panel with no difference. I did notice a collar with slots in it on the crankshaft. It may have a hall effect transducer as a CPS, (crank position sensor) I found this nifty page with a good complete parts diagram, https://www.jackssmallengines.com/j...-generator-jpn-vin-em500-1000001/em-500-panel


It shows a "component" near those slots as the ign control module. Maybe tomorrow I'll try swapping that with the parts genny up in the barn....


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## Melson (Dec 8, 2019)

Seems like everything is pointing to the cdi ignition module.


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