Doubletrouble 10 #1 Posted July 24, 2009 GRRRRRRRR. I was workin on the horse today and when finished I went to fire her up and no fire!! I checked for this and that to find that I had no spark. I checked for juice from the charging coil on the stator and it was fine(nice lil jolt to). No spark at the plug still ! So from my previous experiance with the coil I check the resistance across the coil and My meter read 5770 OHMS ! If I'm no mistaken the coil should only read between 2 and 5 thousand ohms. What would make the coil go bad so soon. I just purchased it from Partstree.com about a month ago. Thanks for any help. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gerry w 2 #2 Posted July 24, 2009 I'm no expert but is the ground good, I mean solid. Also, you haven't charged the battery while it was still hooked to the tractor have you? I think I remember reading about some one doing that and burning up a coil. Good luck, and I'm sure much more knowledgeable folks then i will write soon to help you out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Doubletrouble 10 #3 Posted July 24, 2009 No I did not have a charger hooked up. It just wouldn't start for me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
N.C. horserider 5 #4 Posted July 25, 2009 Why Do Some Ignition Coil(s) Keep Going Bad? There are three things that makes a quality ignition coil go bad. They are: Lack of a ballast resistor before the coil. (If the coil requires one.) Bad voltage regulator or rectifier. If the charging system continues to charge with no "falling back" reading on the amp gauge, this will put too much voltage through the coil, eventually burning it up. It could also burn out light bulbs, electrical accessories and burn up a good battery. If a garden tractor is equipped with an automotive battery, it could have a dead cell or all the cells are weak. (Bad or defective battery.) Unlike in an automobile, a weak automotive battery will have more than enough strength (cranking amps) to crank over a single or two cylinder engine with no problems, and the drop in amperage (cranking power) wouldn't be that noticeable. An auto battery with a dead cell or weak cells will cause the charging system to continuously try to recharge it, but instead of the battery taking the charge, it'll put too much voltage through the coil for long periods of time, causing it to burn up. This too could burn out light bulbs and electrical accessories. Test the battery's acid condition with a hydrometer battery tester (glass tube with floating balls [pocket size] or a floating bulb [full size]; which are available at virtually any auto parts store). Don't trust a battery load tester. They only show if a battery has enough strength to crank over an engine. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TT-(Moderator) 1,127 #5 Posted July 25, 2009 We're talking about a Tecumseh here, guys. (see title) DoubleTrouble's tractor is a 1971 WorkHorse 800. (HH80 Tecumseh with solid state ignition) @ DoubleTrouble: Can we see some pictures of how the coil/engine is wired, please? It's tough enough to try to diagnose a problem without being there with the tractor. Not having any pictures of what you're up against pretty much kills all chances of getting you help. A little bit of prior repair attempts and/or what new parts have already been installed history would be good too. :thumbs2: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TJ 171 #6 Posted July 25, 2009 I had the same problem with my H-60 (no spark). I replaced a broken flywheel key, and off we went. I hope yours turns out to be as cheap and easy a repair as mine. Tom Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Doubletrouble 10 #7 Posted July 25, 2009 Well guys, thanks for your help so far. I don't have time to take pics today( have a wedding to go to ) But I'll try to give a good description: The coil and ignition system are all contained in the coil (solid state) the only wire to the coil is from the stator. One small charging coil on the stator supplies a voltage pulse that fires the coil. I am getting voltage from this wire to the coil so it should fire. The voltage does not transfer through the coil to the plug. I tested the ohms of the coil and it showed 5770 ohms from plug wire to ground. From what I've read on Ed Stoller's web site:http: //home.earthlink.net/~edstoller/id5.html It should read between 2 and 5 thousand so the resistance is high indicating a bad coil. I'm trying to get Partstree.com to warranty the part but so far I've got the run around from them. I talked to a Tecumseh tech and he said that Partstree should contact their vender and warranty it through them, so I'm am waiting to hear back from partstree. If they don't warranty the part I won't buy another. They are rather pricey at $152.00. Insted I'll wire up an automotive ignition to run the engine. I need to get something done though because I'll be useing this tractor for snow removal as well as lawn mowing. WISH ME LUCK, Thanks again !! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Doubletrouble 10 #8 Posted July 27, 2009 I just got off the phone with PARTSTREE and they are going to warranty the coil! They had to order another one from their vender. The vender only had one in stock, I guess they are getting pretty rare. Anyway, as long as partstree gets the last one there vender has it'll be on it's way to me as soon as partstree gets it. I'm very releaved that they are working with me. I hope I get it soon. Grass is growin and I have no mower right now !! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Doubletrouble 10 #9 Posted July 30, 2009 My coil will be here monday 8-3 I can't wait to get her runnin again!! Partstree was very helpful and I will definatly do business with them again. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bo dawg 476 #10 Posted July 30, 2009 That sounds good Doubletrouble, good to hear about partstree working with you. Let us know if thats all it was so we'll all know, plus show some pic's anyway :thumbs2: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Doubletrouble 10 #11 Posted July 31, 2009 Yes, when I get the coil I will snap some pics of what's under the tin to show the coil/flywheel. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Doubletrouble 10 #12 Posted August 4, 2009 I got the new coil yesterday and had to put it on right away! In my haste I forgot to take some pics though The tractor fired right up after installing the new one. However before I put the new coil on I checked the ohms on the new one to compare with the bad one and the readings were the same or at least very close. I don't understand why the one would have stopped working. The only other thing I did was clean the plug off a little. It wasn't really that bad it had some black carbon build up on it but I've seen much worse before. Could these coils be THAT sensitive to where a lil carbon would cause it not to fire? I think in the future I will swap the coils again with a new plug and see what happens. When I do that I promise to remember to take some pics. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
