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Need a little help with the spark


KSever

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Picked up a little JD (hate to even say the word but it was REAL cheap) rider today but just has one problem. It has a Vertical Tecumseh 6 HP engine on it and I can't seem to get any spark out of it. I have disconnected all the safety switchs and the on/off ground switch but still no spark. I was looking to see if Tecumseh has a manual on the their website but can't seem to find any. Any body have more ideas what else to look for? Do these engines have electronic or point ignition? This engine is about 15 years old. And I haven't even began to take off the shroud as it was too late in the evening when I got home. Thanks, Kris
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I'll have to take off the shroud/flywheel tomorrow to the points. I would say it does and they are sticking I hope. By what model lawn mower this is it is a little older than I was told. After doing a little more research tonight I find it to be a 1979. Not 15 years old I would say, more like 23.
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Maybe the safety switches have to be connected, not disconnected. I found on an 8 hp. Craftsman rider (vertical shaft) that I went through, of about that vintage, that the "safety switches" had to BE connected, at least in order for it to crank--I don't know about spark--when I got done, it ran. My point being, if you wanted to disable a given safety interlock (and I assure you, I did) you couldn't just unplug it. Rather, you had to jump it, i.e., make it think it was connected, (as it is when the control it "monitors" is in the "safe" position) or else it would not pass juice to the starter. Perhaps it is the same for a safety interlock that you've disconnected, that affects the spark? Just a guess of the uninformed....
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Kris, Sounds like it might be and ol' model 56 or 66 "step through rider". I remember working on many of them in my younger days. They were a well built machine. They biggest problem we/I saw was improper ignition timing causing hard starting. Even though the spec was about .090" BTDC, we sometimes had to tweak the advance higher or lower to get em' to run/start well. The safety switch interlock on manual start V60's went through on of those pesky 3 wire potted modules and grounded out the ignition (starting only). It was breaker point ignition. Coils infrequently went bad, but hey, it's a 25 + year old machine now so the coil might be shot. Visit the website below for more info. http://www.weekendfreedommachines.org/info.html Tom(PK)
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That's it or very close anyway. This is a 65 instead of a 56. I'll post ya picture a little later. But hey it was $26 on ebay. Couldn't let it go for the $10.49 bid that was on it the last minute.
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Figured it out. Cleaned the points, cleaned the rust off the coil and the inside of the flywheel and added a splitfire plug I had laying around and she fired right off. First pull. What a deal
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I must not be liv'in right. First you steal that AC314, now this little gem. What'll be your next '"deal", the Hope Diamond for a few hundred (LOL)? Tom(PK)
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Here is short story about a mower of that type that I still have.. It is a JD model 55 with 5hp rear pull start engine and a 28" deck. I bought it new in 1968 for $312.00. It has handle bars instead of a steering wheel, hard rubber tires on the front. Back in early days of marriage and having kids I mowed mine, grandparents, 2 great grandparents and a great uncles yard with it for about 3 years. I overhauled the engine once. Haven't started it in about 10 yrs. I have kept it for sentimental value and some day I'll restore it. When it was new, the little carburetor was $20.00 new price, now it's about $80.00. The model 55 was the original JD of this type. They are a hardy little mower.
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