OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Engines Questions On Victa Two Stroke Engines Don't seem to be getting spark

Hi all

I am having trouble getting spark on my Victa Power Torque. I've pulled the engine off and gotten down to the ignition coil. Fixed it all up so that I know there is continuity all the way to the spark plug.

So two things:

First of all the spark plug cover does not have any metal inside it for the plug to click into like it does on my other mower. When I got the mower the cover was ruined and all it had was the screw that goes into the end of the coil wiring. I've replaced the cover, inserted a new spark plug, tested continuity, all fine in that regard.

So, the photo below shows how I have it set up to test the spark. Am I doing something wrong here? Maybe that's not steel I have the plug against.

The resistance on the coil is reading around 4k, is this good?

Thanks.

Hi allanquartz,
Have you pulled out the kill wires from the carby, as sometimes the little rubber grommet wears out and the two wires touch thus meaning you won't get any spark. It can act erratically when this is worn.

Have taken the kill wires out, still no spark.

Well in that case, I think i will leave it up to one of our Victa gurus to help with the diagnosis...Pleas be patient, some are at work at present and will be on the forum later this evening.

Hey there ,
These engines rarely give any ignition problems , the most common being the kill switch pins.
the screw in the spark plug lead is how they are from new , stupid question are you attempting to test the coil unbolted ? when refitting the best way to gap the coil to the flywheel is a business card between the two.
another thing may be that the screw is no longer in contact with the copper in the plug lead.
it is possible that the ignition module is to blame make sure that the rivet holding it to the block isn't loose it earths through that connection.
the cylinder head you have the spark plug resting on is fine for checking spark.
cheers ,tomo

As the old saying has it, 'a picture is worth a thousand words', as it does in this case.

You haven't realised that, in a magneto ignition system, the coil is not just a transformer [as is the case in a 12V fed Kettering type car ignition, for example].
It's also the generator, that supplies the electrical power for the spark.

Basically, the flywheel has permanent magnets mounted in its periphery, and as these pass by the coil and the laminated iron armature that forms its mount, the changing magnetic field induces an electrical pulse in the coil's primary winding. This is then transformed in the secondary winding to a high voltage pulse, that is capable of creating a spark across the spark plug's electrodes.

So for this setup to work at all, the coil has to be mounted up next to the flywheel, with the correct air gap between the armature poles and the flywheel magnets. Bolt it back up, and see what you get!

As others have said, the cutout switch is the major source of ignition problems here.

Thanks everyone, I have spark! Took a bit of fiddling to get the gap right but two pieces of photocopy paper seemed to do the trick.



Now to try and get the kill switch fixed. There didn't seem to be any of the small rubber left. Not sure where it ended up. In the carby probably

Hi allanquartz,
Isn't it great when you get a good result for your efforts.
Seeing that you now have spark, I will now close it.
If any member has anything to add please send a Mod a PM and it can be re-opened.
Many thanks to all that contributed.