i have a old tecumseh with points and condenser under the flywheel. it ran a couple years ago then sat. i tried to start it recently and theres no spark. i went to the mower shop in my town and got a condser and points brand new. the guy told me to clean the new points i installed them with the proper gap at the top of the lobe. i took the whole assembly under there with the points and condenser out when i took it to the mower shop. i tried to set that to the proper gap too it wasent easy being under the flywheel i think its rite any easy ways to do this? but anyway i cant get spark if i put a sparkplug on the thing the sparkplug connects too (not the head) but if i take that part without a sparkplug i can get it to spark but not with a sparkplug on it. im thinking that there isa weak spark but i tried alot of things to fix it. if someone could point me in the right direction that would be great!

heres a link to a picture of it if that would help.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/sirdan/1226071338.jpg

Turn the crankshaft by hand with spark plug out untill the points are at their MOST open location then recheck the gap. Most folks set points too loose better to be tight then loose. Take a .018 feller gauge and use that to set for a .020 gap. Set gap of magneto on flywheel with a business .012 card if you moved the magneto at all. You must be at the exact highest spot on the point can lobe to set the max gap at little off makes a no start/no spark engine.

The points/coil mount assembly that you removed has slots at the mount screws, These slots are for adjusting ignition timing.

You can down-load the below PDF service manual and scroll down to page 68 for proper timing adjustment.

Right click on "DOWNLOAD" then "Save Target As"

http://toprake.com/index.php?module=documents&JAS_DocumentManager_op=viewDocument&JAS_Document_id=2

When you removed this points/coil assembly the screws should have left a impression in the aluminum slot area, Your best bet is to try to set this back in these same impressions.

Also, Being out of time will not effect spark but only WHEN it sparks.

Is this a new spark plug you are using to check for spark ?

Also, When you put the spark plug on the end of the plug wire are you holding the hex part of the plug body to a head bolt or the fins on the head and watching for spark to jump the gap on the plug ?

Set gap of magneto on flywheel with a business .012 card if you moved the magneto at all.


This is a Tecumseh with the coil under the flywheel, Therefore this does not apply to this application.

Also, When you put the spark plug on the end of the plug wire are you holding the hex part of the plug body to a head bolt or the fins on the head and watching for spark to jump the gap on the plug ?

yes i held the hex part to a head bolt and i even sanded the head bolt down.

im guna go try and reset the gap (crosses fingers) the one plus side to this is ive become a pro at removing the flywheel!

Make sure that you put the magneto assembly back in the same orientation that it was in before you removed it. Many of these magnetos can be installed 180 degrees out of time and then they will not spark. On some models the cam lobe that operates the points can be removed from the crankshaft and can be installed upside down and will cause the timing to be 180 out as well.

Best of Luck... :thumbsup: