mhaubner Posted May 31, 2006 Posted May 31, 2006 Thanks to all that have helped me in the past. My HB112 had gone from very hard to start and tempermental to starting with a quick click of the key and very steady reliable operation thanks to the tips and info received here. Until yesterday. Here is what I have done. all done 3-4 weeks ago. Has run great last month. Replace points and condesor and plug moved belt for mower from small to large pully on PTO Cleaned and adjusted carb per manual instructions. Changed oil The problem that came up yesterday is that the tractor coughs and sputters at all speeds except at idle. At first I thought that this might be a carb problem but it has run perfectly until now. I adjusted the needle valve per the instructions and ended up at same place it was at. I check for leaks around carb and found none. I took the tractor back out mowing and after 20 min of coughing it quit. No spark. Cleaned electrical conections check points all seemed well. Turned key and started immeditly. Problem solved!?:( 5 min later it did it again and is now under a tarp in the yard no spark and will not start. It does this whether hot or cold engine. Is the coughing related to the spark situation? It does sound like it is missing. Oh yeah all this started after the wife mowed for an hour or so. Is there a "owner must operate" switch that can be installed. Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated. I have reach the end of my mechanical rope. please let me know what other info would help. UPDATE 6/2/2006 I put in a new inline filter, spark plug (sorry UCD it was champion but I felt better that it had the B&S bowtie on it), Reset the points to .018 Would not start at .020? but started right up at .018???^^ Also found that the yellow wire that mounts to the outside of the points cover was laying on the exhaust so I replaced and rerouted. Starts and runs 95% of were I was. Thanks for the help. I can't say enough about the value of this resource.
MrSteele Posted May 31, 2006 Posted May 31, 2006 When you cleaned the points, what did you use, and what did you find between them? Oil has a tendency to get between points and the spark is gone when it does. Have you installed an inline gas filter? If so, it may be clogged and need to be replaced. Check for proper gas flow to the carb. If you have a restriction, either in the filter or in the line, that will cause a cough, but will not do anything to the spark. Sputtering at all speeds above an idle suggests a fuel restriction problem. Loss of spark may be related to improper grounding of the primary wire, either in the cover or at the switch. A broken wire could cause it, as well. Wires can be broken under the insulation, and be difficult to detect. Check continuity of the wires.
UCD Posted June 1, 2006 Posted June 1, 2006 Had the same problem with my HB-212. Put a new spark plug in it. Anything but a Champion.
mhaubner Posted June 1, 2006 Author Posted June 1, 2006 I do have an inline filter and will change. At the begining of the season I removed the gas tank and cleaned as much of junk as I could out of tank. I just put in a new plug but it is a champion. I will change to different brand and update thank you for your help. I have spent much time on this site and will stop asking for help on info and stick to help with problem solving. Changing the belt on deck to larger PTO pully has improved grass cutting 300% but it as also put an additional load on engine I was afraid that I pushed the old tractor to far. I am also checking spark by pulling wire off of plug and holding with pliers and turning over. If the plug is acting up would that stop wire from arcing to contact on plug? This is how I am deteriming a "no spark" condition. I also found that the nut that hold the wire from the generator to the what I think is the ignition relay is missing. (Wire on top front of generator) I will get that today. Could this be the problem? I would think that it would not start with out contact here. Thanks again for all your help.
mhaubner Posted June 1, 2006 Author Posted June 1, 2006 Oh forgot about points. I checked the gap and looked at contacts. They are bright and shiny. I have seen the dollar bill method to clean is this the way to go?
2burning Posted June 1, 2006 Posted June 1, 2006 A small thing to try would be to try arcing the spark plug wire to a head bolt or a cooling fin to see what happens instead of the plug. This may point out a bad plug if it actually sparks. Maybe some emory paper and/or brake parts cleaner on the points? I haven't had any trouble that I can remember with normal Champions myself. I did seem to have weird stuff happening with those Quick Start or whatever premium Champion plugs though.
ehertzfeld Posted June 1, 2006 Posted June 1, 2006 quote:Originally posted by mhaubner I have seen the dollar bill method to clean is this the way to go? At gas prices the way they are:(!, any dollar bill I have, is like gold not sand paper!:D Elon
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