Guy's,

I am working on a customers rototiller, has a Kohler K181 engine on it. when I got it, it had no spark. It has some age to it so I ordered a coil and a condenser for it, the points looked pretty new so I left them go.

I installed the new coil and condenser, everything went right together, no problems.

still no spark, checked with 2 spark checkers known to be good. I adjusted the point gap to .020 and cleaned the contacts, no dice. I rechecked all my connections and checked the high tension lead itself with an ohmmeter, all good.

I sanded the flywheel magnets as well as the legs on the armature , still nothing. there is no kill switch mounted on the throttle plate.

the parts are genuine Kohler, no aftermarket.

I have no Idea what to check next, anyone have any suggestions?

thanks ,

Mark

You should check the points with your OHM meter and make sure they are making a good electrical connection. Points can look good, but sometimes when they close, there is not a good connection. Also check the lead from the coil to the points as well as the condenser and make sure it's not grounded anywhere.

how do I check the small wire from the coil to the contacts with the meter for ground? are you saying make sure it isnt grounded to the motor itself?

how likely is it that the new coil or condenser is faulty? are they usually pretty reliable when they are new from the factory?

Coils are fairly reliable, but they can go bad. Disconnect the wire from the coil to the points and check it for continuity to ground. There should only be a connection when the points are closed and none when they are open.

You can go to www.kohlerplus.com and download a service manual for your engine. Just enter as a guest. You need to use internet explorer at their site.

we'll , after reading 30yeartechs advice, I figured it out. when the points were open, there was still continuity . I had to make an insulator out of a piece of innertube to place between the block and where the points bolt to the engine. this got rid of the continuity when the points are open. now I have spark.

Glad to hear you got it figured out. :thumbsup::thumbsup: