[Lonestar245]

I am working on a somewhat late model Toro Recycler with a 6.5hp Tecumseh. It appears it was under water as the aluminum has a lot of powdery coating to it, and all the other ferrious parts are fairly rusty.

I am able to get the engine running again by replacing the carb- the original one was so badly rusted inside the pin the float rides on was welded to the carb body- however, it only runs for about a minute or two and dies. When it dies, it is like somebody turned off the switch- no sputtering, coughing, wheezing- just dead. It wont restart, or even act like it wants to, even using carb cleaner sprayed into the throat, not until it cools off.

Now I have heard from a long time pro in the business that mower coils are either good or bad, no in between, no failure due to heating up, but it sure seems like when the motor gets warmed up the spark is quitting. I know my old 40 Ford had a bad coil that would start missing when it got good and hot. Could it be that water soaked into the coils windings, or maybe the surfaces where the coil mounts- or some other ground- are corroded and break the circuit when hot?

 

[hd4ou]

don't mean to be argumentative with your pro but that's classic coil failure your describing. just my 2 cents worth. get a inexpensive inline spark tester and see if its getting spark when it dies and then you will know for sure.

 

[philgood0316]

another way to check your spark is to just put a huge gap in your plug (1/8") dont install it, just touch it to a chasis ground or just a metal part of your engine and turn it over if you have a spark your coil is prob good you will however need a new plug after this test. Also if you have a primer bulb it may be dri-rotted go ahead and replace it they are cheap and will eventually need replaced anyway, inspect your fuel line fuel tank make sure they are clean and in good shape hope this helps.

 

[philgood0316]

also check to make sure the magnets are clean on your flywheel and the coil is clean to ensure that they are causing the coil to generate spark. and you can gap your coil with a buisness card, baseball card etc..... and let the magnets pull the coil agianst the card and flywheel.

 

[Lonestar245]

I did clean up the magnets on the flywheel and the ends of the coil- they were horrifically rusty. Gap is good. But I am still thinking it is electrical- maybe corrosion between where the coil mounts to the motor that is breaking the circuit when it gets hot?

I can tell this thing sat under water for some time- maybe even salt water. I also wondered if water worked its way into the coil.

Anyway, I was just being lazy by not checking the spark when it died. I will do that on the next go round, and if it has no spark, just replace it with a known good one from my boneyard.

Truth is, this mower will have problems from now on due to the bath. I just like a challenge. Cant wait to open the transmission!