Board logo

OT but it is an engine
quinnj3 - 12/5/12 at 02:14 PM

Hi Guys,

Off topic but I got a problem with my mower and thought someone on here might help.
The crank was bent by my dad so I took it out to get it straightened. I've now rebuilt the engine, reground the valves etc but I've got a new problem. I don't have a spark. I've taken the magneto / coil and the spark plug off and put it on another engine which proved the coil and plug are good, but I can't get it to spark on my own engine. The engine is a Honda GCV160 5.5hp. There is definately magnetism in the built in magnets on the flywheel and I've made sure the gap is about the thickness of a business card, the flywheel is close to the magneto but never touches it. Any suggestions?

thanks

Jonny

tasmod - 12/5/12 at 03:38 PM

Shorted kill switch. i.e. always off ?

I had one that had frayed the wire where it entered cooling shroud.

quinnj3 - 12/5/12 at 03:47 PM

It was not the kill switch as I had that disconnected for testing the spark. I have since got the mower running. There was a lot of oil and grease on the flywheel and armature so I used panel wipe to clean them and got a good spark straight away. The mower is very hard to start but when it does run it runs very smoothly for a short while. I now need to strip the carb again as there were gaskets made up very roughly and they seem to be disrupting the supply of fuel as the mower seems to run fast and then slow with a lot of splutter. I also had it overfilled with oil, maybe hydraulic locking is making it run rough? I also need to set up the governer. I thought getting the mower running would be hard but it seems setting it up to run well may be alot harder. I've no idea how to setup the carb or diagnose wether it is over-fueling, under-fueling or bad air supply. Can anybody share some engine knoledge to help me?

thanks

Jonny

stevegough - 12/5/12 at 07:17 PM

Put a bike engine in it - that's all they're good for, anyway......

quinnj3 - 12/5/12 at 11:14 PM

I got the mower running ok now. Starts first pull no problem. The gaskets that were cut out of gasket paper were not cut out right disrupting the flow of air and fuel through the carb. into the intake. All I need to do now is adjust the governer and throttle settings and its good to go.