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Kawasaki engine question...sorry it's not orange


rich_kildow

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Hopefully you guys can help, my google skills haven't yielded much for results here and I'd rather not start an account on another forum just for one question.

I picked up a 48" JD commercial walk behind mower last year for $50, the guy just wanted it gone. It has a Kawasaki FC420V-AS11. In my quest to get it going, I've discovered that it has intermittent spark. Sometimes it will spark and start, the next time nothing. I have the factory service manual and have found that the control unit resistances from the terminal to the case are measuring in the megaohms, rather than the 10's or 100's of ohms, depending on which way you test (terminal to case or vice versa.)

The igniter part number is 21119-2161 but that vast majority of them that come up as universal have two terminals whereas this unit only has 1. I have this:

http://www.serviceproparts.com/contents/media/7-01760.jpg

and see this all over:

https://www.rcpw.com/i/products/900/440-465C_1.jpg

I know very little about types of ignitions beyond replacing with OEM parts and checking for faults. It looks like this two terminal is universal and the second terminal is just a ground depending on whether the system you are installing it on is + or - grounded. Will this work to replace my existing control unit/igniter?

Also, I am trying to check the ignition coil and the manual states that you should check from the mounting arms to the plug lead and the core to the arms. There is supposed to be an access window to the core but there is not one on my coil. Are there any tricks to checking a coil with out access to the core? My brother suggested putting a magnet on my drill press and holding it close to see if it sparks. But this is the same guy that refers to electricity as "white man's magic."

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I guess you may already have checked for loose connections and wires broken within the casing and tried a different plug. I don't know if universal part will work, may be worth a try if not too much$$

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I have done all those things, at least for the part of the system I'm working on. The coil was marginally out of spec and I was not getting any spark with the kill wires unhooked and the flywheel magnet cleaned and air gap set, so I ordered a new coil and we'll see. Igniter is next.

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I read the same. I ordered an OEM igniter as well just to be safe and not kick this problem down the road another week.

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If you got the ignitor from Deere, make sure it is the right one. Not everyone knows that Kawasaki and Deere have 2 different ignitors. I don't remember the part numbers, but would recognize them. One is only for push mower engines. The other is for larger engines. It has a different timing curve. Possibly AM132770?? They have superceded the ignitor about 5 times over the years. It is much more likely to be failed than the coil. However, it is not uncommon for a failed coil to knock out the ignitor. Does that machine have the red light on the dash that flickers when you pull it over? Low oil pressure light? If it isn't flickering, check the harness connector to the voltage regulator - they were known to get hot and melt the connectors. It's been a while since I have worked on one, and I don't know exactly which model you have, but I hope this helps.

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I ordered the 21191-2161 igniter, not sure what other nomenclature this cross references to. It is the one spec'd on the parts sites for all of the FC420V's, even though my AS11 apparently doesn't exist in anybodies database.

I ordered ignition coil 21121-2070 as well, both parts Kawasaki OEM.

It does have a red light on the dash that does flicker when pulled over and goes out the time or two I've had it started.

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