OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Engines Questions on Other Engines Victa Sports 4 stroke not starting

Hi All,
I have a Victa sports 4 stroke lawn mower which wont start. It was working fine last week and it did start for a while (3 sec) but then dies and wouldn't start again.
I have cleaned the spark plug but there is no spark still. When i use the same spark plug in my trimmer ( I know trimmers use diff type of plug but for testing) just for testing and crank the trimmer there is spark. This makes me believe the spark plug is working fine and something else is broken.
I tried it several times later but no good. I dont smell petrol so dont think it is flooded either.

Please let me know what your comments/suggestions. I am happy to try any.

Cheers

I suggest you go through a step-by-step process to find out what is wrong. First, test for a spark directly from the plug lead to ground (no spark plug). Be sure the speed control is set in the start position (maximum speed setting). If there is no spark, you have an ignition system problem. When that happens with a Briggs engine, the first thing to suspect is a problem with the kill wire circuit. Remember that when the speed control is set all the way to minimum, the kill wire is grounded at the governor base. Check the movement of the speed control lever at the governor end, and make sure it is moving away from the stop position. If it is, the next step will be to remove the cooling air cowl and make some checks at the Magnetron ignition unit itself. The first check there would be to look at the gap between the flywheel and the coil's steel yoke. With the flywheel rotatated so that the magnet is against the yoke, a standard visiting card should just fit between them. The coil should be tightly mounted, not loose.

If you get this far with no spark and no reason found, the next step is to isolate the kill wire, either by disconnecting it from the Magnetron, or by disconnecting the other end of it from the governor base and unthreading it so it is kept right away from the mower for its whole length. Try for spark again. If still no spark, you will need to remove the Magnetron (2 mounting screws) and inspect it and its mounting area for rust and bad contact.

At that point, please come back to us with a report, some pictures, and details of your engine (the very long series of numbers stamped on the cooling air cowl).

Is it a briggs or tecumseh engine?

Good point Joe, if it's a Tecumseh that needs a new coil, the outlook is pretty grim from what I hear.

Thanks grumpy and joe. I believe it's a Tecumseh engine since when i asked Victa support for the manuals, they have sent me the one for Tecumseh. Is there a way I can confirm this? I can attach a photo if that helps. Many thanks once again.

Yes, please post a picture or two of the mower's engine.

If it is the chinese Victa OHV engine.
Undo the lid off the air filter and try and start it then.


If its a Tecumseh i can help out with a used coil if that is the problem.

More than likely it will be an issue with the carburettor. It will have water in it and needs cleaning out.

If in doubt buy a new plug or two, they are less than $5 each. Id preffer NGK ove Champion any day of the week.

Thanks all for the immediate response. I have some good news. As Grumpy suggested I tried grounding the plug lead and it did have a spark. Then I tried another spare spark plug and even it had a spark. So now I put back the original spark plug and damn even it had a spark. Not sure why it didnt spark earlier. I did not even clean the spark plug this time. This time I went a step forward and cleaned the the filter with vaccuum cleaner. Its definitely a tecumseh as seen on the filter cap. Put back the cleaned filter(though it seems a bit dirty still) and gave it a start. On priming for first time i could see some smoke coming out of the muffler. I was happy to see this since earlier there was no sign of it starting. I gave it couple of tries, priming and tilting 90 degrees (as stated on the mower) and viola it did start.
Not sure what could have been wrong. Any suggestions so that I could the same next time.
I stopped and tried starting again, though it did start it is taking couple of tries. Can this be improved? I am thinking of changing the dirty filter and blades since they seem to be worn out a bit. But not able to get the nut bolt ..just too tight. I am attaching some pics of the mower. Please let me know the basic step by step guide to service the mower.

Many thanks again. This is the best forum I have across.
Cheers

serial number :

That number is cast into the intake pipe, it is a part number not a serial number.

Remember, you only prime the engine when it is cold. When it is warm, if you prime it you will make it hard to start.

If it was dead cold and you primed it, or warm and you didn't prime it, the engine being a bit hard to start is likely to be due to one of three things: weak spark, poor compression or incorrect air/fuel ratio.

You have concluded that the spark is OK. It might be an idea to check it again occasionally to be sure it always gives an evenly-spaced series of blue sparks when you pull the starter. Erratic ignition indicates a problem, and so does a weedy little red spark rather than a consistent blue one.

You can make a simple compression check by seeing how difficult it is to pull the starter cord, or by using the technique recommended by Briggs and Stratton. When you pull the starter you should feel a considerable resistance every second full turn of the engine - to tell whether it is "normal" you'd have to compare it with another 4 stroke mower (2 strokes feel quite different). The alternative is to do the Briggs trick, which gives clearer results. First and most important, disconnect the spark plug lead, and make sure the lead cannot flop back onto the end of the spark plug while you are not looking. Then rotate the blade plate (put the mower up on blocks, don't tilt it) backwards (opposite to the way it moves when you pull the starter). After you turn it some distance you should feel resistance, and the resistance should be a bit rubbery. It is the pressure of the air in the cylinder, being compressed by the piston as it moves upward in the cylinder. When you have found that point, move the blade plate forward a bit, and then flip the plate in the backward direction with your fingers, so it is moving briskly when it hits the resistance. It should bounce off the compression, and move forward at least a couple of inches on the outside of the blade plate. If it does that, the compression is probably not too awful.

To check whether the mixture is a problem is more difficult, and you do it by the way the engine runs rather than the way it starts.

How old is your fuel also? tipping it over might have richened up a stale fuel mix enough to get it fired up, I had a honda with similar issues in a while ago. I will hazard a guess and say the engine is a TVS90.

That is a Tecumseh engine.
Thats just the inlet manifold part number.
The Tecumseh motor just has a sticker on the metal cover. Yeah stupid i know, dumber than the stamped on a briggs cover which is a bit silly as well. How hard is it to put it on the engine block.
With the Tecumseh at a glance you cant tell a TSV90 from a TSV120 if its not all dressed up.



Step by step.
I dont mind offering advice if you would like to tackle it yourself, however if you have no mechanical aptitude i would suggest you do not even try. If you hurt yourself it is not my fault.



Get some degreaser and wash the mower. Leave it in the sun to dry..
Go and buy a new air filter (take yours as a sample), blades, spark plug and oil.
Use degreaser on that foam (well its more like plastic) pad in the air filter housing. Wash it up all clean and let it dry. Not 100% sure but i think its meant to be oiled when it goes back in. A little bit of engine oil, squish the foam, blot it off with a clean rag. Needs to be moist with oil, not dripping.


Do you have a socket that will fit the nut on the blade plate??? On that it should be 3/4".
Clean rope in the spark plug hole and gently apply pressure to undo the Bolt, undo it. Doing it up you need to go through 360deg to bring the piston back the other way so it will lock against the rope. A bit of care not to feed the rope up under an open valve.
Not sure how you will get the bolt tension right. Dont over tighten it, the bolt will stretch and break.

From bunnings you can buy a Victa brand oil suction bottle, its in the mower isle. For $20 its a handy bit of kit, sucks the oil out through the fill hole. But with the disc off you can just use the drain bung.

To get the blade bolt nuts off. Try standing on the disc foot either side of the nut, with the head of the bolt on the concrete, you want to hold the head of the bolt hard up to the disc. Undo the nut. Undoing it with a rattle gun is easiest.
If the bolt head spins, cut the nut in half, cut it from the top, along the length of the bolt the full depth of the nut. Dont try and cut across the bolt.

Clean the blade plate, check for damage around the bolt holes. Put the new blade in the vice, clamp the cutting edge up tight. Put the bolt through with the plastic spacer, put the disc on then the washer and the new nut. Holding the bolt into the disc do the nut up with a spanner. Its only meant to be 15nm or so and that is not very tight, easily achievable with a spanner. Do the same for the other blade/blades.


I would remove the carb and manifold.
Pull the carb off and clean it out. Before you do, crack the head of the main jet that holds the fuel bowl on. Or you can tip the carb upside down and hold it in the vice using soft jaws.
Looking at the pic i think someone has messed with the fuel bowl, the gasket does not look right.
aerosol of carb clean is handy. So is compressed air.
Pay attention to where the linkages etc go, take photos.


While you are doing this its a good time to check the valve clearances.
If they are tight you will need to remove the head to be able to reset them. Remove the valves and grind the end and refit.