Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Chatting => Equipment Shed => Topic started by: lincspoacher on September 13, 2008, 14:30
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Slightly puzzled.....
Got a Merry Tiller with a 5Hp briggs and stratton engine, non working.
Now, ive had car engines to bits many times (i can change the cylinder head of a Ford Pinto engine in the dark), but lawn mower engines..............
Someone has already had this to bits. I figure they realised what i did -that the exhaust valve was stuck open, and gave up.
I've taken the head off, and with a judicious bit of poking and tapping and working, and a good dose of WD40, ive freed the valve and it now compresses nicely.
It had a spark, ive had to remove the magneto coil to remove the head, ive now refitted the magneto back on. Now, I assume the small tag on the magneto coil is earth, which ive temporarily tucked under a rocker cover bolt, but i cant get a spark. It DID spark when we started. Even tucking the HT lead next to the earth tag doesnt now show a spark.....Im aware that theres a low oil cutout, which prolly disconnects the magneto on low oil, bu ive not got that wired in atm. I just want to check we have a spark before we go any further...........
Have i missed something here ? Or am i doing something blindingly stupid ? The coil has conductivity , so its not open circuit, and the coil is as close to the flywheel magnet as you can get. Ive seen just the odd spark now and then since.
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the coil usually has two legs, and is bolted through them onto the engine. there is normally a wire that runs to an on/off switch of some manner, or, as in your case, a low oil cut off switch as well.
I'm trying to visulise the engine that you have, as I'm a little puzzled by you mentioning a rocker cover. unless you have a new overhead valve engine as a replacment, there isn't one.There is on some engines a valve chest, where the valve springs are. Is your engine a side valve model? and can you place a picture of it here or in my private message inbox?
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In another universe your sparking perfectly .... apparently :D
I'll get me coat :roll:
¥
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Aunt Sally .. that was spooky ... which universe were/are we in ? :eek:
... sheesh, that's gonna make no sense to the rest of you :tongue2:
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Aunty is not supposed to laugh at funny comments :lol: :lol: :lol:
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;)
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Back to engines.
As gwiz says a picture always says so much more than words can.
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I'll confess to knowing nothing about this sort o' ting.
But could it be an intermittent fault on the HT lead ?? :?
Rob 8)
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I'll confess to knowing nothing about this sort o' ting.
But could it be an intermittent fault on the HT lead ?? :?
Rob 8)
hmm could be..............think ill cast round for a new coil............
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If it was working, and isn't now, wouldn't that be a little rash?
In more than a few years fixing these engines, I can't remember replacing a coil on a briggs engine. Other makes yes. briggs?, no.
Due to the vintage of some of the merry tillers, a lot of the ones you come accross have points under the flywheel. Is your engine coloured white or black? if white there is a fair chance that you have points that need cleaning/replaceing. Have a look under the flywheel with a torch. if you can see a shiny aluminium cover, thats more than likely where your problem lies, and if that's the case, sing out, and I'll tell you what to do next. :D
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OK, heres the result.
After musing the problem, and poking around further, i realised someone has also had the carb to bits, and theres springs missing as well. So i decided not to spend any more time on that engine.
So i took the engine off, and dropped in its place a Suffolk Colt 25 engine that ive had kicking round under the bench for about 10 years, that USED to drive a mega grind wheel.
Took a bit of bodging, and i had to improvise a fuel tank....
Anyhoo, i took it for a test run. After some fiddling with the carb i got the jet and idle set ok, and had to fiddle with the belt tension, and drove it up and down a test patch. In 40 mins id thoroughly turned over a patch 12 metres by 3 metres.
Now i know your supposed to take the transport wheels off, but i found it lot easier when i left them on..............
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Result LP well done, always satisfying to get something working again. :D
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Cobbled together Rotovator:
(http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa288/poacher99/IM000926.jpg)
Test patch:
(http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa288/poacher99/IM000927.jpg)