Ignition woes

[Dadsy98 0]

Hi Everyone ! A tale of woe... Last weekend was perfect weather, 65' and sunshine. I decided to take my 312 (316 actually) for a ride and do some yard clean up. It started up fine and after a brief warm up I drove out of the shed. I went about 30 feet and the engine died. I tried to restart it but she refused to start. I checked the fuel shut-off since I usually forget that, also checked voltage to the coil. The coil had full battery voltage when at rest. When I cranked it the voltage dropped to about 7 volts. Not good! A close look around revealed a mouse nest between the fuel tank and dashboard. Argh! I could see the wire to the ampmeter was chewed and green inside. Well, that's it for today I muttered. The next day I gathered my wire and connectors and such. Had to remove the fuel tank to get to the bad wire. I decided to just redo the whole wiring of the tractor. A few hours later and proud of the new wiring job I tried to start the engine, no go. The points were really worn, yet I burnished them up anyway. Still no start. I decided to wait untill the next day when I would get a new set of points. While at the service counter I went ahead and bought a new coil and condenser as well. I installed everything, recharged the battery and smiling to myself I turn the key confident that it would start, nope! Now, I pulled the plug again, not too worn looking. I checked for spark with the plug wire a quarter inch from the shroud, no spark ! My suspects now are: 1. Ampmeter bad. 2. Plug wire bad. 3. my rewire job is bad. I'm sure this story is not new to anyone here. I'm open to thoughts or suggestions. Steve

[powermax_paul 1]

Steve, Are you sure the battery is good? You may have charged it to full voltage, but if the water is low, or the battery is bad, the voltage will still drop when you try to start it. Maybe enough for bad ignition? Paul

[Dadsy98 0]

Paul, Thanks. I know I've overlooked something. I'm charging it now so, about half an hour from now I'll check. I recall using a booster battery right at first sign of trouble. If the weather holds out I'm also going to check the ignition switch also. ......... Well, I charged the battery, electroyte level is good. I set my voltmeter on the battery, reads 12.9V . Then I cranked the engine and read 11.4V . Then I moved the positive meter lead to the positive coil terminal, and read 12.5V with ignition on, 11.3V while cranking. The negative side of the coil reads 12.3V with the points open. The high tension wire to the plug shows 0.3 Ohms with no change while flexing. I think I sorta lost now (scratching head) Steve

[Dadsy98 0]

Whew ! I just proved I'm not a Mensa candidate ! I reread my reply to Paul. I said there was 12.3V on the negative side of the coil with the points open. I went back outside and removed the plug and while turning the engine over slowly by hand I watched my meter. As the points closed The meter DIDN'T change! It still read battery voltage. I rechecked the gap, adjusted, then verified I had a good ground with the points closed. I turned the key and worked the choke... Voila ! she runs !!! My last puzzle is how to correctly set the timing on this old Kohler. Does anyone have the routine? Steve