Did the Magneto to coil conversion.

[mohrds 5]

Years ago I had purchased the parts needed to convert the 10HP B&S in my 2010 Landlord to a coil following this article [url]http://www.simpletractors.com/do_it/magneto_to_coil.htm[/url] But before I had a chance to do it, I found the 16HP that is wedged in the tractor now. It ran good, but never great for the last few years. This year I removed and cleaned the gas tank and rebuilt the carb. I had a hard time getting it to run smooth and thought I had screwed up the carb rebuild. I had already cleaned and gapped the points, new condenser and a new spark plug. I even measured the travel of the plunger to make sure it wasn't worn. All were good. I figured before I took the carb off, I'd try the coil using the parts I had bought years ago. I cannot believe the difference. The engine fires right up and just purrs along, no stumbling, no surging, no issues at all. Now I wonder if the carb even needed to be rebuilt. The wiring wasn't an issue because I had a bad starter button and kill switch when I bought the tractor so I converted it to a solenoid starter relay (B&S 5409H) and a 4 position, 7 terminal ignition switch (B&S 5412H) so it just required changing a few terminals. I'm a happy boy again :)

[Burntime 1]

Congrats, I love doing victory laps when it all goes right!

[landlord2110 37]

I have two 2110 Landlords & one of them I have to continously clean & regap points. How do you check the travel of the plunger to make sure it wasn't worn?

[joelk 10]

Roy, I would just scrap the points and install a "megafire" points eliminator. I just purchased one off ebay for $12 including shipping. I have had one on my 3112H for about 5 years with no problems ever. I used to get the points wet and it wouldn't start etc.. now it just works. Really not worth messing with points anymore in my opinion.

[mohrds 5]

quote:

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Originally posted by landlord2110
I have two 2110 Landlords & one of them I have to continously clean & regap points. How do you check the travel of the plunger to make sure it wasn't worn?

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I used a dial indicator with a magnetic base. You have to leave the points in place or the points plunger will push against the dial indicator and give a bad reading. I opened the points all the way to avoid any mis-reads. I set the tip of the dial gauge right against the points where the plunger rests. Then rotated the engine by hand and observed the change in measurements. I got the specs somewhere on this site, but my memory recalls it supposed to be something like .020 - .025" pushrod travel. I had the high end, so .025 if my memory is correct. The coil seems to like a point gap of .017" for optimal timing. Doug

[HubbardRA 19]

Congrats on the change to battery-coil ignition. I have one Kohler and one B/S with that setup. I love the ease of starting with this setup.

[landlord2110 37]

Do I need a coil for the mega-fire electronic ignition?

[HubbardRA 19]

You need a fully functional magneto ignition system if you are going to replace the points with the mega-fire unit.

[landlord2110 37]

is this whats in the briggs 243431 engine? what is a magneto ignition system?

[HubbardRA 19]

Yes, B/S used a magneto ignition on the 243431 engine. The B/S engine that I have converted to the battery-coil ignition is also a 243431. I like the external type battery-coil ignitions because I do not like to pull the engine and remove the flywheel if the ignition goes bad. A bad magneto under the flywheel is why I put the battery-coil type ignition on mine over 20 years ago. It is still the best running engine that I own. I would not go back to a magneto on that engine, unless I absolutely had to. I do have the magneto system on other engines but if they ever die, I will go to the battery coil system on them. The primary reason that B/S engines have a magneto is that the engines can be started and will run without the need for an external battery. Since these garden tractors all have an electric starter and a charging system, then I have no problems with running a battery-coil system on them. This is what automobiles used up into the mid 1970s, then the changed to capacitive discharge type ignitions with inductive sensors instead of points. I would like to have one of those systems on each of my tractors, but they are just too expensive to build. Magnetos were never the standard on automobiles.

[Ronald Hribar 70]

i converted many farm tractors from magneto to coil ignition. It was a simple fix as they already had battery for starting tractors

[landlord2110 37]

How can you check if Magneto Ignition is putting out enough juice?

[BLT 708]

quote:

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Originally posted by landlord2110
How can you check if Magneto Ignition is putting out enough juice?

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Briggs has their own spark tester (19051 or 19368) and its gap is about 3/16" of an inch. They have a third electrode that they call a ion gap of.008" . If you jump that, gap you should have plenty of juice to power the plug under compression.