OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Walk Behind Lawn Mower Frames Victa Lawn Mower Frames Power Torque electric Starter

Hi Bruce
I just bought a second hand engine for an old base I had in my garage. It is a 160cc 2 stroke (plastic carby circa 1993)It is an electric start model though ...and there is no key. Also I have tested it and I cant get a spark at the plug. I tried a new plug...no spark there either.

Could you provide a link to the part of the manual that covers electric starters?
Also.....
Could I just forget about the electric starter and just use the zip starter?
Where do you think the spark has gone? could it be the module on the side of the engine? The e core and magnet look a bit dirty and i havent checked the air gap yet.
Anything else I could be missing ???

Regards
Dave

Dave,
Check the wires from the electric starter first as you will find one of them has a fuse in it. It could give you the spark problem as well as the starter motor not working.

1. Check you carby wires are not touching first just pull out one wire and check spark(make sure that it does not touch the body of the mower).

2.I would be checking that the module is not loose as a bad earth will also cause a no spark.

3.If still no spark check that the coil has good earth by removing it and claening where it bolts onto the motor with some sand or emery paper. Then check for spark again

4. If you still have no spark them I would look at replacing the module.

5. If that does not fix it then you have a coil problem.

Hope that this helps. I am still working on the electrical side for the site as it takes a bit of time to do.

Regards,

Bruce

Thats great Bruce I shall give that a go....
This fuse you talk about....I took the carby off to give it a clean and I noticed bolted to the side of the engine casing is a wire that seems to be earthed there...and on the end of that wire is a glass type 5amp fuse....however I havent got a clue what its for!!! Is this the fuse you mean? the fuse itself was just hanging loose...what does it go into????

kind regards
Dave



[This message has been edited by victamowerman (edited 17 January 2006).]

Good news Bruce I took the carby off cleaned it up, cleaned and re gapped the magneto air gap and cranked it over and got a big fat spark! Thanks for your help!

I think I may just forget about the electric starter...its a bit of a mess anyway..scruffy wires...no key....can i remove the electric starter itself from the side of the engine...or just leave it on there? If I take it off will that let grass etc get in around the flywheel?
Regards
Dave

Dave,

Don't take the electric motor off as you will get a build up of grass unless you put in a plastic insert that they use.

If you have good spark the mower should start easy.