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Qualcast Suffolk Punch - Ignition Spark Problem
Hi
My first post. Hope this is the correct section to post this question. I've recently gotten hold of a old suffolk punch petrol lawnmower. Was running ok and was looking forward to using in on my lawn. Pulled it out of the shed at the weekend and thought i'd give it a good clean for the season. I decided the best thing to do would be to spray the engine, in fact the entire mower, in enginer degreaser, leave it running for a while then pressure wash it. On reflection probably not the best idea. The old saying goes "if it's not broken, dont mend it!" Not long after i'd started pressure washing, the mower cut out and now has about as much life in it as a dodo!! There is just no spark at the plug. I had assumed that water must have gotten into the ignition system and hoped that if i left it for a few days it would dry out and everything would be fine and dandy. But no! Three days later and still nothing. Can anyone help? Do you think i have broken anything or do you think it is still simply damp and needs more time to dry out? Is there anything i can do to try and solve the problem or help dry it out? I have read about megneto coil but not sure what this is? Any help much appreciated!! |
#2
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Qualcast Suffolk Punch - Ignition Spark Problem
"paulbed4d" wrote My first post. Hope this is the correct section to post this question. I've recently gotten hold of a old suffolk punch petrol lawnmower. Was running ok and was looking forward to using in on my lawn. Pulled it out of the shed at the weekend and thought i'd give it a good clean for the season. I decided the best thing to do would be to spray the engine, in fact the entire mower, in enginer degreaser, leave it running for a while then pressure wash it. On reflection probably not the best idea. The old saying goes "if it's not broken, dont mend it!" Not long after i'd started pressure washing, the mower cut out and now has about as much life in it as a dodo!! There is just no spark at the plug. I had assumed that water must have gotten into the ignition system and hoped that if i left it for a few days it would dry out and everything would be fine and dandy. But no! Three days later and still nothing. Can anyone help? Do you think i have broken anything or do you think it is still simply damp and needs more time to dry out? Is there anything i can do to try and solve the problem or help dry it out? I have read about megneto coil but not sure what this is? Any help much appreciated!! Probably still a water problem, if the ignition lead is as old as the machine it's probably cracked and porous so if you can replace it you may solve the problem. A spray with WD40 over the old lead may cure it (until the next time). -- Regards Bob Hobden |
#3
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Qualcast Suffolk Punch - Ignition Spark Problem
In message , Bob Hobden
writes "paulbed4d" wrote My first post. Hope this is the correct section to post this question. I've recently gotten hold of a old suffolk punch petrol lawnmower. Was running ok and was looking forward to using in on my lawn. Pulled it out of the shed at the weekend and thought i'd give it a good clean for the season. I decided the best thing to do would be to spray the engine, in fact the entire mower, in enginer degreaser, leave it running for a while then pressure wash it. On reflection probably not the best idea. The old saying goes "if it's not broken, dont mend it!" Not long after i'd started pressure washing, the mower cut out and now has about as much life in it as a dodo!! There is just no spark at the plug. I had assumed that water must have gotten into the ignition system and hoped that if i left it for a few days it would dry out and everything would be fine and dandy. But no! Three days later and still nothing. Can anyone help? Do you think i have broken anything or do you think it is still simply damp and needs more time to dry out? Is there anything i can do to try and solve the problem or help dry it out? I have read about megneto coil but not sure what this is? Any help much appreciated!! Probably still a water problem, if the ignition lead is as old as the machine it's probably cracked and porous so if you can replace it you may solve the problem. A spray with WD40 over the old lead may cure it (until the next time). It *does* sound like it's still a water problem .... or the lead may have become disconnected inside the machine as happened to me with my 15 y.o. ATCO. I took it to the local specialist who fixed it in no time at very little cost.... a bit of a nuisance but worth the hassle. -- Gopher .... I know my place! |
#4
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It *does* sound like it's still a water problem .... or the lead may
have become disconnected inside the machine as happened to me with my 15 y.o. ATCO. I took it to the local specialist who fixed it in no time at very little cost.... a bit of a nuisance but worth the hassle. -- Gopher .... I know my place![/quote] Cheers guys that is what i thought. im going to remove the electronic ignition until this weekend and give it a good dry out. Prob is that it is located behind the flywheel. Anyone have any ideas how to removw the flywheel? Ta |
#5
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Qualcast Suffolk Punch - Ignition Spark Problem
"paulbed4d" wrote It *does* sound like it's still a water problem .... or the lead may have become disconnected inside the machine as happened to me with my 15 y.o. ATCO. I took it to the local specialist who fixed it in no time at very little cost.... a bit of a nuisance but worth the hassle. Cheers guys that is what i thought. im going to remove the electronic ignition until this weekend and give it a good dry out. Prob is that it is located behind the flywheel. Anyone have any ideas how to removw the flywheel? The flywheel is normally on a tapered shaft with a key so tapping it gently around the edge with a wooden or leather mallet should loosen it once you have loosened the nut (don't take it off or you could damage/break the flywheel as it hits the ground!) and don't lose the key. Something else whilst behind the flywheel, the ignition is usually activated by a pushrod working on a cam and sometimes this pushrod gets stuck (rusted) in the up position, so make sure it's free and working OK. -- Regards Bob Hobden |
#6
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Qualcast Suffolk Punch - Ignition Spark Problem
In article , Bob Hobden
writes The flywheel is normally on a tapered shaft with a key so tapping it gently around the edge with a wooden or leather mallet should loosen it once you have loosened the nut (don't take it off or you could damage/break the flywheel as it hits the ground!) and don't lose the key. Something else whilst behind the flywheel, the ignition is usually activated by a pushrod working on a cam and sometimes this pushrod gets stuck (rusted) in the up position, so make sure it's free and working OK. And if you've gone that far it would be a good idea to clean the points and check the gap. Roy. -- Roy Bailey West Berkshire. |
#7
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Qualcast Suffolk Punch - Ignition Spark Problem
"paulbed4d" wrote in message news It *does* sound like it's still a water problem .... or the lead may have become disconnected inside the machine as happened to me with my 15 y.o. ATCO. I took it to the local specialist who fixed it in no time at very little cost.... a bit of a nuisance but worth the hassle. -- Gopher .... I know my place! Cheers guys that is what i thought. im going to remove the electronic ignition until this weekend and give it a good dry out. Prob is that it is located behind the flywheel. Anyone have any ideas how to removw the flywheel? The flywheel needs a puller to remove it, and in any case you won't dry anything by removing it that wouldn't have been dried by now. Have you taken the plug out yet? turning over the engine with the plug out may disgorge water from the plug hole. I think you've power washed it into the air intake. I know you said there's no spark at the plug, but are you sure? It's not a big spark and easily missed in daylight. Steve |
#8
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Hi Steve, thanks for the response.
I didn't power wash top of the engine, carb, air filter, only around the base of the engine block. There is deffo no spark. I'd heard that the magneto coil etc benefits from a good dry out. Is that not your experience? The mower has been in the shed. Its dry in there but its been pretty cold. I suppose is possible it still could be damp? I could be coincidence and just need a new spark plug. I'll get one first before i start dismantling! Flywheel puller? I'll google it see what one of those is. Thanks again Paul |
#9
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Dont suppose anyone could tell if this is the flywheel puller i need?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Briggs-and-Str...2%7C240%3A1318 |
#10
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#11
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Qualcast Suffolk Punch - Ignition Spark Problem
"paulbed4d" wrote in message news Hi Steve, thanks for the response. I didn't power wash top of the engine, carb, air filter, only around the base of the engine block. There is deffo no spark. I'd heard that the magneto coil etc benefits from a good dry out. Is that not your experience? The mower has been in the shed. Its dry in there but its been pretty cold. I suppose is possible it still could be damp? I could be coincidence and just need a new spark plug. I'll get one first before i start dismantling! Flywheel puller? I'll google it see what one of those is. Thanks again Paul You can make your own puller fairly easily, it's just a flat strip of steel with three holes in it. One is for the end of the crankshaft, two for bolts to go into threaded holes in the flywheel. Note that the nut on the end of the crankshaft is left hand threaded (3/8" UNF IIRC), and the holes in the flywheel are likely to be UNC. This may have changed on later models, but was the case surprisingly recently. As for the sparks, the best way to test is by holding the plug lead near the head whilst pulling the starter cord. It gives you a bit of a surprise, but nothing dangerous. Of course, if there's a small child nearby who'd like to yelp, sorry, I mean help....... Steve |
#12
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Update
Right folks. Here is what i did. New spark plug. New HT lead cap. Recoil starter off. Flywheel off. Used a wooden spoon of all things to prize it off. Removed magnito. Half an hour on it with wife's hair dryer. Dried out inside of flywheel. Reassembled and hey presto!! Started first time!! Thanks for the help guys |
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