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MarkS

L-165 Spark Problem

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MarkS

Hello everyone,

I have a Lawn Ranger L-165 with a Tecumseh HH-70. The engine is getting absolutely no spark. Im not using a battery, just the recoil pull. I have tried all of the basic stuff that comes to mind, but I haven't been able to get it to work. Im really starting to thing that the whole thing could just be bad. Is it possible for the wires and insulation to just fail? If it isn't possible to repair this unit, are there any other routes to take?

20180628_110450.jpg

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gwest_ca

Do you have access to an ohmmeter?

Garry

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MarkS
32 minutes ago, gwest_ca said:

Do you have access to an ohmmeter?

Garry

 

Yes, I have just a cheap multimeter from Walmart.

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ol550

Flywheel magnets in place or weak.

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MarkS
8 minutes ago, ol550 said:

Flywheel magnets in place or weak.

 

I cleaned up the magnets, and they seemed to have quite a bit of strength still. Is there anyway to rule that out, other than just seeing how strong they are with metal?

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Wild Bill in VA

Hard to tell from the picture angle but is there rust build up on the coil edge and magnet ends and have you checked the points gap ? I think the points set at .017 and is the crank shaft cam for the points worn ?

I've always said ifn's Tecumseh doesn't start it must say B&S on the fan shroud !

Wild Bill in Richmond VA

  • Haha 1

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MarkS

The coil edges had quite a bit of rust on them, and I cleaned that up with some sandpaper. The points actually looked pretty new, and they are at the right gap. On the cover it says to set it at .02.

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pfrederi
5 minutes ago, MarkS said:

 

I cleaned up the magnets, and they seemed to have quite a bit of strength still. Is there anyway to rule that out, other than just seeing how strong they are with metal?

 

techy.JPG

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MarkS

Thanks! That's what I used to test the magnets, and they seemed to pass.

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gwest_ca

If the condenser is connected to the primary wire disconnect it in case it is shorted.

The primary wire is the one going to the points. That wire goes into the coil for about 150 turns and is connected to the ground wire. See if the resistance between those 2 wires is 1 to 3 ohms. Guessing here but it will be real low. It can't be 0 as that would be a shorted wire in the winding. Infinity would be a broken wire.

Now check the resistance between the spark plug wire and the same ground wire. The plug wire goes into the coil with about 10,000 turns and connects to the ground wire. That one should give I will guess 5000 ohms because the wire is so long. 

Now check the resistance between the spark plug wire and the primary wire. That should give you say 5001 to 5003 ohms.= the first two readings added together.

 

I don't know if a cheap meter will give 1-3 ohm readings but worth a try.

If the results look OK the problem could still be the coil insulation. It is old and may not want to contain the 14,000-19,000 volts it should develop. Leaking to ground before it gets to the plug.

The 30560A coil is still available and Napa 7-01612

https://www.partstree.com/parts/tecumseh/parts/30560a/

If it seems to pass try it with the condenser disconnected - just in case it has an internal short. An internal short would be the same as having the key turned off. (Ignition wire grounded)

Let us know what you find.

 

Garry

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MarkS

Thanks for all the information so far! Ill check all of that stuff tomorrow. There is a lot more going on with this than I thought! Just to keep a plan going forward, if I cant get this to work, is there any easy replacement? I haven't seen any for sale that look like mine. I have seen some behind the flywheel ones that look like they might be newer.

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Howie

Since you have removed that from the engine timing will have to be reset. I generally replace both points and condenser and if that doesn't work go to the coil. I have a coil and condenser tester that have had for years.  Always clean the new points first they can be contaminated. Unhook the kill switch wire to take it out of the picture.

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MarkS

Thanks to everyone for all the help! Just an update, I replaced the ignition coil and the condenser. It gets great spark now, and with a few adjustments the engine will be running great!

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