simplicity sovereign no spark

frdmnn · Sep 22, 2008

working on a neighbors riding mower with no spark
12 hp briggs cast iron block long stroke, cleaned the points with fine sandpaper and adjusted gap pretty tight @ the suggestion of the local mower shop,any other ideas before i start throwing money at it. i also unhooked kill wire and held straight out from motor to make sure it wasn"t grounding out somewhere.

Anonymous-0 · Sep 22, 2008

If this is an eng with external mounted points,try removing box cover & check for spark(clearance tight between box cover & point terminal,if same loosened & wires disconnected & reconnected,if lug from condenser installed in wrong position it can short to cover,been there done it)if points & condenser under flywheel or external type,check wire from points to coil,make sure it's not shorting to block,if points ok & no shorts in wire then ign coil bad.

Jim k · Sep 22, 2008

Have you had the shroud off the engine and cleaned out the mouse nest? they like to build-em on top of the ignition coil and the mouse pee corrodes the laminations and shorts the windings.
What I did was to get an automotive ignition coil from an early 70's vehicle at my local auto parts store. 20 bucks with the internal resistor. I mounted it to the engine cover on the outside under the hood and wired it to the points. I got power from the headlight circuit so the that you have to have the headlights on to start it. Keeps you from burning out the new coil because you forgot to turn it off. Of course now you really need that 12v battery.
Good luck Jim K.

El Toro · Sep 23, 2008

Check those magnets for magnetism by touching them with a flatblade screwdriver. Should attract that screwdriver with a lot of effort. If they're weak you can use an auto type coil that's been described for the conversion. Hal

Trailer Trash Tractors · Sep 30, 2008

See if it sparks with points cover off,
As a youth, I had a motorcycle, when I tightened
the point cover screws, it wouldn't start.

Later realized, points cover gasket worn thin,
back of cover arcing, draining spark energy.

Sprayed insulating varnish on back of cover,
could now tighten without losing spark.

If you go to coil conversion, add a
condenser to the coil Neg. side to absorb
Mag current when points open. Check out
an old Kohler 12, like in a Gravely to see
how it's done. Check Flywheel Key, and armature gap. If you count on motor, a new coil is a smart move, keep old one for spare / match up dud

simplicity sovereign no spark

frdmnn

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Anonymous-0

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Jim k

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El Toro

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Trailer Trash Tractors

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