1981 Power King 1614 Tractor with No Spark - Help

scharpestguy

New User
Hello Everyone,

A neighbor has had a 1981 Power King tractor sitting out side and he stopped me the other day asking if my two boys would like the tractor after my youngest son had asked him a million questions about it. So on Friday we towed it home with the atv from his place to our place and we started working on it. It turns over, compression seems strong but we had no spark. No problem we picked up a new Spark Plug, Coil, Condenser, and Ignition Wire and still we have no spark.

Searching for ideas to go on from here. We have 12 volts to the Coil where should I go next? My two boys 11 and 9 are very eager and quite honestly so am I ;-).

Thank you everyone,

Fraser
Huntsville, TX
 
The most likely cause of no spark would be dirty/burned/corroded/oily breaker points, and you don't mention having changed them.

Try this, with points "open", clean them with electrical contact clear, then turn the crankshaft so the points close on a trip of clean white paper cardstock and draw it back and forth a number of times to "burnish" the points.

Turn crankshaft until the points open, then clean again with electrical contact cleaner and allow to thoroughly air dry before checking again for spark.

If you now have spark you may not need to replace the points unless they are badly pitted.

I would put the old condenser back on, as they seldom fail and the ones for sale now typically have a MUCH higher failure rate than a good older one.

Also, put the old coil back on, if it's OK, as it likely is. Kohler coils are specific to the application and typically are easier on the breaker points over time than a generic replacement from "The Land of Almost Right".

On these engines, spark timing is set by varying breaker point gap while observing the timing mark with a timing light.

The service manual details the procedure. (Got a timing light?)

You can view/download/print the factory engine manual at the link below.
Kohler engine manual
 
Some of the 16hp Kohler K series had an electronic ignition. Since you didn't mention points, maybe yours is one of those. If so the module is probably bad. And, parts are not available. But there is a way to get it running using other parts.

I can find the web site with info if you need it. Do you have points?
 
(quoted from post at 17:34:29 04/05/20) Some of the 16hp Kohler K series had an electronic ignition. Since you didn't mention points, maybe yours is one of those. If so the module is probably bad. And, parts are not available. But there is a way to get it running using other parts.

I can find the web site with info if you need it. Do you have points?

To the O.P., if the ignition coil that you replaced looks like a typical "round can coil" that would have been found on a car before the electronic ignition era you DEFINITELY have breaker points.

The Kohler K-series EI "coils" were odd shaped, are TOUGH to find nowadays and $$$$ if you find them, so I think it's pretty safe to ASSUME you have a conventional ignition system with breaker points.Either way it will be covered in the manual at the link I posted.
 
Bob/All, I traced the wire off the coil that was going into/under the engine to as you thought a point. At which point another neighbor stopped over and we poked and prodded and there was no spark at the point when we turned the key. When he pushed in against the Point it started sparking intermittently but we got the engine to run off starting fluid just briefly. We took apart the carburetor and got it cleaned and blown out but it was varnished pretty badly so another friend let me use his paint can size container of carb cleaner and I have the carb immersed in the cleaner for another nine minutes (6 hours) and I will wash it off good with hot water. Hopefully this will clean any passages that are blocked off.

I will take the point into the parts store tomorrow to get a replacement as the point per a neighbor and my friend doesn't look good. Looking up a carb kit right after posting this message for a Walbro 47-053-97 carb.

Will get some pictures posted of this tractor tomorrow and keep you all posted with the progress. Once we get it running then we need to work on the mower deck which is not currently attached due to some issues I think and figure out the disc and grading blade it came with. Fun times figuring things out with my boys, the neighbors, and you all.

Thank you everyone,

Fraser
 
Hi Fraser if the engine is original it would be a Kohler K321 14ph and the OEM carb is a Carter or Kohler # 30 not a walbro not saying it isn't a Walbro and if the cleaqning doesn't work out then buy a new aftermarket carb off e bay or Amazon about $20.00 they are new and they work
GB in MN
 
(quoted from post at 11:22:49 04/05/20) Hello Everyone,

A neighbor has had a 1981 Power King tractor sitting out side and he stopped me the other day asking if my two boys would like the tractor after my youngest son had asked him a million questions about it. So on Friday we towed it home with the atv from his place to our place and we started working on it. It turns over, compression seems strong but we had no spark. No problem we picked up a new Spark Plug, Coil, Condenser, and Ignition Wire and still we have no spark.

Searching for ideas to go on from here. We have 12 volts to the Coil where should I go next? My two boys 11 and 9 are very eager and quite honestly so am I ;-).

Thank you everyone,

Fraser
Huntsville, TX

Hi before you drive it after getting the engine running you need to drain the transmission(s) the differential and the final drives if its been sitting out in the weather there is almost certainly water in all gearbox's it gets in at the trans shifter will fill the trans there is no seal on the output shaft so water runs down the torque to the next trans if one then into the differential and so on
GB in MN
 
MNGB/All,

No work done today on the tractor much to the chagrin of my nine year old son but other more priority tasks had to be completed. Thank you for the encouragement and recommendation to replace the transmission and differential fluids, will get that done.

Hope to get some work done on it tomorrow and take a few pictures to share with everyone. We still need to head back to the neighbors house and pickup the mower deck, blade, and disc.

Thank you everyone,

Fraser
 
Good afternoon! I noticed this thread, just thought I would mention my experience with my Kohler 12 horsepower on my Deere 212. I had been mentally going in circles regarding a bad running & stalling problem, several folks suggested carburetor. I ended up buying a carb from Amazon, I did not like the idea, but it fixed my problem. I had put in several hours which did not fix my problem, so the $20.00 carb seems cheap enough now when I look back. When I was in school for troubleshooting electronic control systems (many years ago), they described a situation a person can get into: too many facts, too much information from doubtful sources, and so on; the school folks said this can be called "a mess" when troubleshooting. You need to keep careful track of what you find and fix, and be sure you don't put in more problems accidentally.
That is just me putting down a few thoughts....

Dennis M. in W. Tenn.
 
You'll want to get the spark issue solved first. Without a good spark you'll chase your tail. Might as well just install a new breaker points and condenser (like $15 from Kohler on ebay). Use a feeler gauge to set the timing (gap between points when at TDC) and then you can pull the spark plug and ground it out and use your finger to open the points and see/hear your spark. This will ensure your spark is timed right and firing strong. From there you can play with the carb (a replacement is ~$20 on ebay) and probably fuel pump. Your primary resistance on the coil should be ~3.2-5ohms IIRC.
 

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