k181s ignition help

[briankd 816]

got this k181 has the mag behind flywheel.last week it had no spark found the condenser shorted out. bought a new condensor ( wow 20 bucks) put it on and wala it started right up made a pass mowing around yard test it out and was great.

shut it off about half hour went to start it sputtered and wouldn't start. found it had no spark again the lead wire from coil to points to ground has .9 ohms resistance so tore the flywheel off for the 5th time lol nothing there touching ground. primary winding in coil has no resistance but the secondary has 7k ohms. i think i need a new coil. right on the coil it says tecumseh. guess they supply parts to kouler. what is the going price for a new coil even thought if i run across a used one complete with stator cheap i would get the whole thing.       

[953 nut 51,464]

  As your topic title reads 181S I presume you have an electric starter and therefore have a battery. With that in mind it would be less expensive and more dependable if you were to go to an automotive coil with an external ignition resister or a coil with an internal resister and ditch the Mag. The ignition switch would need to be changed out too. Take a look at these drawings.

[briankd 816]

yea i thought about that also by the time i buy a automotive coil,  ign. switch and rewire it bout the same boat im in now. this thing lasted 40 years like to keep it original. have an old WH dealer with a shed full of parts try to see if i can make it there this week to see what he has.

always fun to visit him he has a 60 by 80 2 story building cramp packed with WH and every engine parts imaginable. almost get lost in there looking at stuff.

thought someone know what these coils run so i know what to ask him 

[953 nut 51,464]

10 minutes ago, briankd said:

old WH dealer with a shed full of parts

     You could probably get one at NAPA or take a look here;

https://www.jackssmallengines.com/Products/KOHLER/Ignition-Part/IGNITION-COIL

[briankd 816]

46 minutes ago, 953 nut said:

     You could probably get one at NAPA or take a look here;

 them original coils a little pricey gona see what i can find used or if i can get a deal on a new one localy 

this old WH dealer has so much stuff it makes you head spin he in his middle to late 70's if he would have a sale you could get WH stuff buy the semi load. he lost WH dealership in the early 90's now a simplicity dealer but his kids don't have to interest in it so hard to say what will happen when he goes.in this barn only has little paths to walk thru and have to crawl over some stuff but he knows where everything is. alot of the good stuff he won't let it go. last time i was there he had 30 plus WH tractors along with 50 plus old hit -miss engines.all the old WH memorabilia, signs ,ect.

[6bg6ga 271]

I grew up with Muscle cars and learning from my father how to replace plugs and points setting the dwell and timing and yes had some dual point setups also. One thing I learned the hard way was to leave the condenser alone unless the spark was pink or wasn't there or if the points were totally burned/pitted.  A few times I ignored what Dad had said about not replacing the condenser unless it was absolutely necessary. This always resulted in burning up a set of points. Its an easy process to check a condenser with an analog VOM meter. Set the meter to resistance note not connected to a circuit. You will see the meter swing to zero ohms and stay there if the condenser is shorted. If the condenser has high resistance you will see the meter hold a specific resistance and stay there. If the condenser is good you will see the meter swing and then recover. With a VOM meter with a capacitance feature it will directly ready out the value of the cap or not depending on if the cap is good.

 

My personal opinion here on the coil change would be to replace it with an automotive coil unless you absolutely need it to say stock looking. Mags... generally they are trouble free but can act up and go open when warm/hot. One needs to remember the almighty engine God if memory is correct used a lot of mags in the earlier days of tractor and combine engines. Both systems work and work well.  With either system do remember that a lot of voltage is sent to the spark plugs and that can if conditions are right cause serious injury. Do use extreme caution when working on ignition systems.  I learned the hard way on a WC45 with a mag system and hand crank to make sure the timing isn't advanced too far. Had it kick back on me and almost broke my hand/wrist.  

[briankd 816]

well went to visit the old WH dealer he said to switch to automotive coil.but he did sell me a new tecky coil for 30 bucks same as kouler but kouler coils go for 120 bucks got it together and it running.

marked the flywheel while i had it off and used timing light to check point gap and can't seem to get the mark where it supposed to be fiddled with the points and by sound it seems running great .

On 4/9/2017 at 10:23 PM, 6bg6ga said:

Do use extreme caution when working on ignition systems.  I learned the hard way on a WC45 with a mag system and hand crank to make sure the timing isn't advanced too far. Had it kick back on me and almost broke my hand/wrist.  

i had an 1943 farmall h and was crank starting it and it kicked back handle caught me under the chin and picked me off the ground and thru me 10 foot backwards had to get sewed up with 10 stitches under my chin that was the last time i did that