Bolen's tractor

Couple of question's, Bolen's 16 HP , all the wires were burnt. Trying to do this cheap. Purchased a new coil ($75.00)the other one got burnt out during our rewiring process. So don't want that to occur again.Was using a full size 12 volt battery. Is there some process to use to drop the current to the coil. I now have a regular small size battery for the lawn tractor. Am bypassing all the safety features that were on the tractor.Thanks, Murray

Depending on make/mod eng with a few execptions most of the ign systems used on small engines in the past 25/more yrs are solid state or point type mag systems,both of these systems are self powered off flywheel magnets or a seperate winding on alt stator to power trigger module,the most probable cause of your problem is you applied 12v from ign sw to kill lead on coil,doing this will instantly burn out ign coil on either of the above systems,on solid state/mag ign systems the primary of coil is grounded to chassis/battery neg thru a set of contacts in ign sw when sw turned to off/stop position to stop eng.

The exception to the rule may be the the K series kohler eng & possibly older onan eng,depending on yr of kohler eng you may have 12v point/coil,point/mag or solid state ign on eng,the best thing you can do right now is post mod# of tractor & also make,mod & spec/type number of eng so we can help you determine type of ign & possibly someone will have a wiring diagram that they can post,provide a link to or email to you.

Hi, Thanks for the information.Model # 3016 G
serial # 0100264, B & S Twin cyl.

Ignition ..magnetron
Battery 53amp./12V (info from the manual)
Thanks, Murray

I HAVE TO ADMIT THAT THE TRACTOR WIRES WERE BURNT WHEN I STARTED WORKING ON THE TRACTOR AND I REPLACED WITH THE STANDARD AUTOMOTIVE IGNITION SWITCH.
I AM SLIGHTLY MECHANICALLY CHALLENGED,ALTHOUGH I AM SORT OF PROUD OF THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS ON OLD TRACTORS THAT I HAVE GOT OPERATING QUITE SUCCESSFULLY THROUGH THE ADVICE RECEIVED FROM THESE TRACTOR BOARDS FROM PEOPLE ALL OVER THE U.S.A. AND CANADA. SORRY FOR THE CAPITAL LETTERS.DIDN'T LOOK AT THE SCREEN UNTIL I COMPLETED THE TYPING.

Since you have a magnetron armature/coil you don't need a 12 volt coil or points. Your battery is just used to crank the engine and your stator and rectifier/regulator keep the battery charged. There should a wire to the magnetron that will ground out the magnetron when shutting off the engine It may be connected to an ignition switch. Hal

OK-the ign system is solid state & powered off flywheel magnets however the coil is operated by a trigger module that differs from other type ign systems in operation in that the ground(chassis/battery neg) is provided to trigger module with ign sw in RUN position rather than stop position as most solid state systems use,if you put +12v to this lead at ign sw you may have burned out trigger module & coil.

Do a goggle search for bolens 3016g+wiring diagram,click on link to sam's bolens(1st link),look at right drawing for eng parts,you'll see trigger module #897 in drawing,if you look at left parts list for eng you'll see 897 listed as trigger module for coil,next click on wiring diag for 3016g,look at lower right corner of diag,has voltage path of ign sw in different operating modes,in run position the chassis/battery neg is connected to G term on ign sw,the lead to trigger module is connected to M(motor/trigger module)term on sw,if you look at run position drawing you'll see a voltage path is completed between G & M term,when ign sw turned to stop position path between G & M term broken & eng stops.IF you put 12v into lead that's supposed to go to M term,you may have destroyed trigger & coil,best thing to do before buying/installing new ign parts is get a service/repair manual for your mod eng at local dealer,briggs website or ebay & check ign system as per troubleshooting guide in ign section to determine what's bad in ign system,trigger module,coil or both.

Also a standard type auto ign sw WILL NOT work with you're tractor/ign system,you MUST have an ign sw designed to work with way tractor wired & type of ign system on eng,perferably an oem pn sw from tractor mfg.

DISREGARD what I said about operation of ign sw & type of ign sw,I MAY BE WRONG.

This is what happens when you're tired/bleary eyed,it was late & I wanted to get bed & quickly looked at eng parts list & wiring diag for tractor before posting reply's,just before I dropped off to sleep the back view of ign sw showing voltage paths thru sw popped into my mind & starting position drawing made me stop & think.After I got up this morning I went back & looked at wiring diag & also looked at briggs service manual,this caused some confusion.

Check type & sn on eng name plate,look at wiring diag to see if sn is within range listed,also check type# of eng,according to briggs manual eng with type# below 0500 have point type ign,this is where confusion comes in as to type of ign system on eng & type of ign sw needed for ign,best thing to do as I said before is get service manual for eng & determine which style ign system is on eng as briggs manual shows an early/late style solid state ign & a point type ign used on eng.

Hi Joe, thanks for the info update. Just one question this morning, where do you live? The reason for asking was a few years ago was asking some questions on a tractor and the person responding only lived a few city blocks from my residence. will follow up on your advice and will have additional question's and if your memory suggests different thoughts , please pass them on to me. Thanks, Murray

Some of the older Bolens with flywheel magnetos (not battery igntion) and electric start had trouble with bad IGN switches burning up the ignitions.

A correct switch if NOT battery ignition - sends a ground signal to the magneto when you turn it "off" and nothing to it when "on."

A switch for battery ignition sends power to the coil when "on" and none when "off.

Some of the older Bolens developed a problem with mags - and the IGN switchs would get worn and send power to the flywheel mag and ruin it.

Safe way to avoid that is to install a separate on-off switch to your mag if that's what you have. Tecumseh and Wisconsin mags are real sensitive and Briggs Magnetron not as much.

What is the engine model number? Should be on the fan shroud. Hal

Hi Hal, Engine model, 402 707,
type 0144.01, code 8312 0712
3016G B&S, twin cyl, Megnetron Ign.

Thanks, Murray

I think your engine has the magnetron armature/coil B&S p/n 4440441 and it replaces old coil 394891. Cost is about $46.00.

Make sure there's no battery voltage is being fed
to your magnetron coil. It will ruin it. It will create a hot spark when the magnets pass by the armature. The wire connected to the magnetron is used to ground it when you shut down the engine. I would leave that off to see if the engine will start. You also need to find which terminal on your switch will ground out the magnetron. Use a multi-meter to check for voltage on that wire to your magnetron before you connect it. I would try and get the original switch they used if it's available and see if someone has a wiring diagram for that tractor. Hal
PS: Make sure you note which way the grounding terminal is pointing on the old magnetron so the new one is installed in the same direction.

Here's a link on the 402707 ignition problems. Hal
Untitled URL Link