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#1
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lawnmower coil problem?
I have a hand-start lawnmower that stopped running recently. It is a Briggs
& Stratton, about 5 yrs old, and gets medium usage. It has given me no problems until now. The cylinder appears to be getting a fuel/oil mix delivered but is not getting spark. I have pulled the plug, checked it for fouling and proper gap, and grounded out the 'outer' terminal of the plug while connected to the plug wire and not seen a spark when cranking the engine. Finally, I wound up jamming the tip of my little finger in the plug boot and while my thumb was grounded to the motor head cranked the engine. No pulses into my hand so unless somebody tells me otherwise, I am confident my primary issue is the 'spark'. I removed the engine covers and see an electronic device similar to the device in the following link: http://science.howstuffworks.com/question375.htm My flywheel looks almost identical to that though scaled up a bit in size. Soooooo........ I have read about coils elsewhere at that above link and am left with more questions (from more knowledge) than I started. I have checked the 'safety' aspects of the mower to be sure they are not intervening (the mechanism that breaks the circuit in case you release a lever up at the top of the handle that is required to be depressed during operation). 1) I read 4.5K ohm between the plug wire and the engine block. 2) I have very lightly sanded the track of the flywheel the travels under the coil poles(?) to remove some light rust on the flywheel and be sure the gap between the flywheel and coil was consistent. Sooooo, unless you think otherwise, my guess is that the condenser/cap of the magneto/coil is bad. (It seems like I might still feel a little jolt at the plug wire - just not as much as normal - unless the cap is shorted out, but then wouldn't I read a short to ground from the plug wire?) Anyway, thanks for your time if you have read this. -- For emails, don't forget to 'fix' the address. A special place in hell awaits spammers!!! http://groups-beta.google.com/group/...97f2ea555c8883 |
#2
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On Mon, 17 Jan 2005 04:42:04 GMT, "ProdigySBC_SUX"
wrote: I have a hand-start lawnmower that stopped running recently. It is a Briggs & Stratton, about 5 yrs old, and gets medium usage. It has given me no problems until now. The cylinder appears to be getting a fuel/oil mix delivered but is not getting spark. I have pulled the plug, checked it for fouling and proper gap, and grounded out the 'outer' terminal of the plug while connected to the plug wire and not seen a spark when cranking the engine. Finally, I wound up jamming the tip of my little finger in the plug boot and while my thumb was grounded to the motor head cranked the engine. No pulses into my hand so unless somebody tells me otherwise, I am confident my primary issue is the 'spark'. I removed the engine covers and see an electronic device similar to the device in the following link: http://science.howstuffworks.com/question375.htm My flywheel looks almost identical to that though scaled up a bit in size. Soooooo........ I have read about coils elsewhere at that above link and am left with more questions (from more knowledge) than I started. I have checked the 'safety' aspects of the mower to be sure they are not intervening (the mechanism that breaks the circuit in case you release a lever up at the top of the handle that is required to be depressed during operation). 1) I read 4.5K ohm between the plug wire and the engine block. 2) I have very lightly sanded the track of the flywheel the travels under the coil poles(?) to remove some light rust on the flywheel and be sure the gap between the flywheel and coil was consistent. Sooooo, unless you think otherwise, my guess is that the condenser/cap of the magneto/coil is bad. (It seems like I might still feel a little jolt at the plug wire - just not as much as normal - unless the cap is shorted out, but then wouldn't I read a short to ground from the plug wire?) Anyway, thanks for your time if you have read this. The last time I worked on one I found that it had a set of points inside a housing that was under the flywheel. That was quite a while ago and they might be all electronic now. But the fix on mine was to file and adjust the points, just like on an old car. -- Elbridge Gerry, of Massachusetts: "What, sir, is the use of militia? It is to prevent the establishment of a standing army, the bane of liberty. . . Whenever Government means to invade the rights and liberties of the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order to raise a standing army upon its ruins." -- Debate, U.S. House of Representatives, August 17, 1789 |
#3
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I've worked on a bunch of those. Point gap is .020 inches at the widest part
of the cycle. They worked well for a lot of years. I can't remember when they went electronic, but it was at least five years ago. -- Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus www.lds.org www.mormons.com "AZGuy" wrote in message ... The last time I worked on one I found that it had a set of points inside a housing that was under the flywheel. That was quite a while ago and they might be all electronic now. But the fix on mine was to file and adjust the points, just like on an old car. -- Elbridge Gerry, of Massachusetts: "What, sir, is the use of militia? It is to prevent the establishment of a standing army, the bane of liberty. . . Whenever Government means to invade the rights and liberties of the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order to raise a standing army upon its ruins." -- Debate, U.S. House of Representatives, August 17, 1789 |
#4
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The ignition module is a likely cause, test the coil first to rule it
out. |
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