OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Engines Questions On Victa Two Stroke Engines Commando wont start - doing my head in

Hi,

So glad I found this forum - so much information here..
I inherited a Commando from my parents. It was sitting unused for over 5 years when I got it. It's had very little use overall. When I got it I quickly cleaned the carbie, replaced fuel and it ran 2nd pull. It was fine for at least 2 years of very small lawn use, though its idle speed was always low. Max speed felt low also but I lived with it..

Just recently I couldnt get it to start. Occasionally I was able to get a single kick. I have;

- cleaned and confirmed spark plug is good with spark.
- cleaned carbie and replaced diaphragm, manifold o-ring, needle, primer cover & o-ring. Most stuff seemed fine but I replaced them anyway being part of the kit.
- fuel lines good
- cleaned jet and confirmed good.
- confirmed fuel is filling the bowl.
- removed carbie and the manifold felt moist, so that tells me fuel is getting at least that far
- I have tried pouring some fuel into the cylinder but did not get any kicks.
- compression feels fine when I put my finger in the spark plug hole though I dont have a compression guage anymore.

This has got me banging my head.

Any ideas on what further troubleshooting I should do ?

any thoughts appreciated.

cheers

G'day mate, have you had the exhaust off and had a look at the piston/rings?? that would be my starting point. pete

Remove stop switch wire from carb, the one not at right angle to the body of the carb, the one going through the body of the rubber boot sideways. Remove spark plug, fit a brand new plug. Remove decompressor,replace with old spark plug. My objective is to ensure good, dry spark plug with maximum compression. Remove the fuel line from primer cap with fuel tap on to ensure fuel flow. Tap carb body gently to make sure float free. Pump primer button 5/6 times. Pull start briskly twice on "start" position, if no success, move throttle control all the way forward. If still no joy, you may have a leaking o-ring on the starter or even a damaged flywheel key. (Rare but I've had 2 in 4 months) good luck

Amen to exhaust removal, should always be first port of call!

Thanks for the comments.

I will follow the suggestions and report back - hopefully my results will prove useful to someone else.

cheers

ive had a commando for about 20 years and the only thing that ever went wrong with it was a loose electronic ignition module. i replaced the pop rivet and its been good for at least 15 years

Thanks all for your assistance.

Even though the spark plug was clean, I replaced it as well as cleaning the fuel filter and adding more fuel - the existing fuel in there was only days old but only a small amount.

Success. Is running the best since I have had it. Only have to reconnect the ignition wire that I disconnected which meant that I had to rip the plug lead off to stop it !!

Not sure what the original problem was but very happy that its all sorted now.

Thanks again for your help

cheers !

davemal, there was a reason you were advised to disconnect the ignition kill wire, and in fact it burst into song when you did so. You may well find that when you reconnect it, there is no more song. If so, it will mean that you have a problem in the kill switch, and the Victa 2 stroke guys will explain the slightly fiddly process for fixing it. If it goes that way, you'll know for sure what was wrong, and how to fix it if it happens again, in another ten years or so.

i have a victa sliver streak deluxe that had a 6 year holiday but is now in use .starts great runs great if a bit fast .however , on a slope , especially when the fuel cap is on the upper side it wants to stop . otherwise its a ripper mower. thank you for any help you can give . cheers troppo2

This might sound a little obvious but is the fuel tank full when you are mowing on a slope? You might not have enough fuel causing the engine to starve when you are on a slope? You actually need to keep the 2 strokes reasonably full from my experience when mowing on slops otherwise they will stop form a lack of fuel.

thanks Jaffa , yes tank was between half and 3/4 full . mind you i got all new hoses on and the fuel tap to carby hose is that long it touches the mower body . it never did this untill the hoses were changed by a mechanic . i try anything but as she is now is annoying . thanks all

Those kill switch wires are a nuisance. Unless you're restoring the mower you may find it easier to just put in a toggle switch to replace them but I can hear the purists groaning already.