Need help K341s that has been sitting for few years

[953 nut 69,684]

16 hours ago, Charrie said:

Is it normal for the breaker points to stay closed for over 1/2 turn of the crankshaft?    YES, the points remain closed about 88 % of the time if they are properly adjusted to .020" at the widest opening. You will want to clean the contact surfaces using a brown paper bag or a dollar bill to remove any corrosion. I feel that the most accurate method for setting points is "Static Timing. The points gap not only induces a spark when the points first open, but the points gap sets the ignition timing for your engine. I have attached a YouTube about static timing, To find the timing marks on the flywheel I have found it helpful to wrap some sandpaper over the end of a wood dowel placed through the timing hole in the flywheel cover and turn over the engine with the spark plug removed. you may need to do this more than once to find the marks. The marks will be near the point where the crank is at TDC. When the crank is at TDC the keyway on the PTO side of the crank will also be at the top so you don't have to sand off the whole flywheel, just rock it back and forth an eighth of a turn either side of TDC.

PS,   The condenser doesn't produce spark as stated by the previous poster, It protects the points from an arc that occurs when the points open. The ignition coil primary has electrical flow through when the points are closed inducing a magnetic field in the secondary windings of the coil, the moment the points open this magnetic field collapses causing a momentary high voltage discharge to the spark plug.

16 hours ago, Charrie said:

I am thinking that i need to remove the carb and disassemble it to see what shape it is in      Good idea, start out with a total clean up of the fuel system and use non-ethanol gas to keep it that way. The disassembled carb and all its parts should be socked in a carb cleaner for several hours. The small passages that can get plugged all need to be cleaned up. You may want to find someone who already has the cleaner and some experience if you don't intend to do more than just this one carb. 

 

16 hours ago, Charrie said:

The side of the coil wire that goes into the coil was very black. The coil itself looked like new and the PO said that he had replaced it. What can cause that as it fit pretty snug into the socket? I cleaned it. My guess is that some water got into the top of the top post of the old coil and the PO never bothered to clean the wire up like you did.

 

 

Edited 4 hours ago by 953 nut
Wrong YouTube

[Handy Don 17,523]

Just noting here that some early S/G K181s (and possibly other engines?) predate the compression release mechanism to help with starting. Instead, they use a mechanical system to retard the spark past TDC until the engine is running. On these, a static timing check is not definitive but setting the points gap is the same. 

[953 nut 69,684]

1 hour ago, Gasaholic said:

points closed means capacitor recharging so when they pop open (usually open just a few degrees) that sudden collapse of electrical flow is discharged from the capacitor which induces the voltage in the secondary winding to produce spark.  

You may want to rethink that , the IGNITION COIL is doing that, not the condenser (Capacitor) it protects the point from an arc.

 

[953 nut 69,684]

8 hours ago, Handy Don said:

Just noting here that some early S/G K181s (and possibly other engines?) predate the compression release mechanism to help with starting. Instead, they use a mechanical system to retard the spark past TDC until the engine is running. On these, a static timing check is not definitive but setting the points gap is the same. 

Yes they did but never were used on a K-341.

Ignition timing on Kohler engines.

 

Gapping the ignition points at .020 has always been the standard answer to how points should be set. That probably will get you into the ballpark where the engine will run, but with a bit of additional effort you can improve the engine’s power and performance.

The Kohler engine manual in the Red Square files section covers two methods for setting the ignition timing, Static Timing and using a Timing Light. This manual is a relatively new manual and it overlooks the fact that many of our engines were built prior to the ACR (automatic compression release) camshaft.

Earlier engines (mostly 1965 and earlier) had a Spark Advance camshaft that can not be timed using Static timing. At rest (and very low RPMs) the timing is retarded to fire slightly after TDC. The timing mark (SP) on your flywheel is at twenty degrees before top dead center but at rest the points on these engines break about ten degrees after top dead center. The only reliable way to check or set the timing on these engines is with a timing light.

There are a couple ways to determine what camshaft you have. Presuming the camshaft in your engine is the one it was born with the data plate on the engine has a suffix that can tell you what camshaft was used. The table below will tell you the suffix applicable to your engine. The other way to determine what camshaft you have is to remove the cam gear cover and take a look. If you see a mechanism attached to the cam gear it is the ACR cam.

 

 

The following engines have the spark advance camshaft;

K-141, Suffix prior to “C”

K-161, Suffix prior to “J”

K-181, Suffix prior to “D”

K-241, Suffix prior to “D”

 

With the spark advance cam the timing site hole is located in the bearing plate below the Starter / Generator

Edited 3 hours ago by 953 nut
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