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300421 Will not Start


MadMike

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I have the 300421 (2012) all back together, the Carb linkage all correct (thanks for the help) and the darn thing will not start. I have converted to a Magnetron Ignition and do have a spark as it's rather uncomfortable to touch the sparkplug connector while turning the engine over. I am getting gas flow, maybe to much as the carb will drip gas out of the vent hole after 30 seconds of cranking. I have adjusted the carb to the manual specs, 1 1/2 turns on the needle valve, 1/2 turn on the idle valve. What can be wrong? I have not yet sprayed starter fluid into the spark plug hole and then cranked it over, plan on trying that tonight. Questions: Is it possible to mount an armature backwards, yet still get a spark? The spark I do feel is uncomfortable, but not painful, should it be? The magnetron I am using is not a coil mounted unit, it is external, is it possible that I'm not getting a full spark due to poor mounting or grounding? Any advice will be greatly appreciated as I'm quite frustrated at this point. Thanks, MadMike
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Is the spark plug getting wet?????? When you converted to magnetron did you send in the flywheel??????
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The spark plug is getting wet, not as wet as I think it should be though. I'm kind of wondering if I may have a stuck valve. Tonight I'm going to pull the plug and see about compression, if that's there I'm going to spray starter fluid in the air cleaner hole. As far as sending in the fly wheel, I was told that it's only necessary if you have a coil mounted magnetron, or a Briggs made magnetron. I have an external aftermarket unit that can be mounted anywhere. It's basically a two wire unit, one ground and one to the armature and key switch. Would I feel a spark if the fly wheel needed to be sent in? Thanks, MadMike
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I was having a similar problem with my K321, got spark, plenty of gas, but she wouldn't kick. It turned out to be a bad spark plug. Put a new one in and she fired right up.
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I would also try a fresh plug, the other one is probably fouling out. You don`t have to send the flywheel in if you are using the electronic trigger that is mounted under the points cover, but you will if you use the magnetron coil or the little unit that Briggs sells that slides over the old coil.
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You threw me off when you said magnetron... I would have to say the plug might be the problem... I have seen a plug fire outside of the Cylinder but when you put in under compression it wouldn't spark
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Mike , Not knowing what the details of "getting the 2012 all back together" are, did you remove the flywheel and inspect/replace the aluminum key? If so, the flywheel nut torque is CRITICAL so-as to prevent shearing it. If loose, just a slight impact against it (the key), say from a backfire , will push the timing off far enough to result in a no-start condition. Also, did you get the polarity right on the solid-state ignition module? Let us know what you find, Tom(PK)
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Ray, Bunky, powerking one, Thanks for all the info: powerking one - I did not remove the flywheel. What I did was seperate the tractor from the BGB forward, sandblast and painted from the BGB forward, and then reassemble. As far as engine work is concerned I installed new: Oil Base Gasket, Head Gasket, Carb Rebuild, Armature, Spark Plug, and of course the Universal Ignition Module. I don't think timing should have been effected but that certainly is good information to know. Bunky - I don't really know what's going on with the plug, my guess is not enough spark. I thought maybe I got a bad plug so I bought another with no change in performance. RayS - It is the universal ignition module so repolarization should not be needed, at least that's what the Simplicity dealer near me says. They seem to be pretty sharp as they have been around for 30 years or more. What I plan to do is this, hopefully tonight but who knows with a 2 and almost 4 year old at home (her birthday is next week): Pull the plug and with my finger over the plug hole crank the engine, I should easily feel compression so this should tell me if I have a stuck valve or not. If I have compression, spray some starting fluid in the Air Cleaner riser and see if it fires, if it does and dies, maybe a Carb Rebuild error, if it doesn't fire, probably a spark problem. Based on this answer, I either take the Carb apart again or get rid of the Ignition Module and go back to the Points and Condensor. After all of this, I may go to the Automotive 12 volt coil described in a few places on here (thanks to Rob for the e-mail). It appears that this, although not even close to original, may possibly give the best spark year around. Thanks again for all of your help and I'll let you know what I find. MadMike
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