Home Page link

lawnboy mower question

Home Repair - - If it ain't broken, don't fix it. Otherwise look here. 

Bookmark this page:  YahooMyWeb Yahoo!  Google Google  Windows Live Favorites Windows Live  del.icio.us del.icio.us  digg digg  Add to Netscape Netscape
Subject Author Date
lawnboy mower question nick 03-20-2007
If you were  Registered and logged in, you could reply and use other advanced thread options
Posted by nick on March 20, 2007, 11:05 am


about 4 years ago the throttle cable on my 87 model lawn boy broke.
It would still run fine but no throttle. So this year I put on a new
trottle cable. Now I am getting no spark. I gained access to the
magneto, to it out and buffed the rust off the contacts. There is a
wire that runs from the magneto to something in from that seems
inaccessable, but conceveably could be a part of the magneto. I still
get no spark, if I disconnect the wired I still get no spark. I
assume it was part of the kill system as that is where the kill cable
goes to. This is a 20 year old mower with little use. But after
purchase of the cable I have almost 30 more dollars in it and am
relectant to spend more with out know what is wrong. Is there a
proper gapping on the magneto? Is there a way to bypass the kill
system?


AppliancePartsPros.com, Inc.
Posted by on March 20, 2007, 11:54 am


There are two wires that come out of that coil. One is thick and
goes to the spark plug. The other is a 14 or 16 guage wire (thin)
that goes to a switch somewhere. That is what kills the motor when
you want it off. The gap between the magnet and the coil should
only be a business card thickness. Maybe two of them.
Just make sure that after its tight that it doesnt come in contact
with the flywheel or the magnet on it.

Its not uncommon for a coil to go bad. It happens. I presume you
DID change the sparkplug, ground it to the motor and give it a few
pulls to make sure that there no spark. You can borrow a plug from
another piece of equipment just to test for spark just make sure to do
this in a somewhat shaded area or you'll never see the spark.

Otherwise you can EASILY get a coil from ebay for next to nothing.


> about 4 years ago the throttle cable on my 87 model lawn boy broke.
> It would still run fine but no throttle. So this year I put on a new
> trottle cable. Now I am getting no spark. I gained access to the
> magneto, to it out and buffed the rust off the contacts. There is a
> wire that runs from the magneto to something in from that seems
> inaccessable, but conceveably could be a part of the magneto. I still
> get no spark, if I disconnect the wired I still get no spark. I
> assume it was part of the kill system as that is where the kill cable
> goes to. This is a 20 year old mower with little use. But after
> purchase of the cable I have almost 30 more dollars in it and am
> relectant to spend more with out know what is wrong. Is there a
> proper gapping on the magneto? Is there a way to bypass the kill
> system?



Posted by Ulysses on March 20, 2007, 8:36 pm



> about 4 years ago the throttle cable on my 87 model lawn boy broke.
> It would still run fine but no throttle. So this year I put on a new
> trottle cable. Now I am getting no spark. I gained access to the
> magneto, to it out and buffed the rust off the contacts. There is a
> wire that runs from the magneto to something in from that seems
> inaccessable, but conceveably could be a part of the magneto. I still
> get no spark, if I disconnect the wired I still get no spark. I
> assume it was part of the kill system as that is where the kill cable
> goes to. This is a 20 year old mower with little use. But after
> purchase of the cable I have almost 30 more dollars in it and am
> relectant to spend more with out know what is wrong. Is there a
> proper gapping on the magneto? Is there a way to bypass the kill
> system?
>

I agree with what tksirius said. I generally use a folded sheet of copy
paper to set the air gap. The thinner wire, if disconnected, will disable
the kill switch. Check for spark. It is probably a bad ignition
coil/module. Sometimes the spark will be intermittant on the electronic
ignition coils if they are bad. If you have good spark it's time to check
the carburator. Do you leave old gas in it for long periods of time? When
you say you took out the magneto does that mean you removed the flywheel?
Did you use a puller or a hammer? Banging on those things can cause a loss
of magnetism and hence no spark. $30 seems like an awful lot for a throttle
cable.



Similar ThreadsPosted
Looking for LawnBoy Mower Parts November 26, 2005, 8:57 pm
Lawnboy Mower Vibration May 29, 2006, 9:02 pm
lawnboy compression question September 19, 2005, 5:57 am
Lawnboy 8237 gearbox repair question November 13, 2005, 4:59 pm
Mower Question May 9, 2006, 4:45 pm
Need help with my beloved Lawnboy. August 12, 2005, 1:07 pm
Lawnboy piston help November 19, 2005, 7:06 pm
Lawnboy won't start May 15, 2006, 10:08 am
What's so special about Lawnboy May 28, 2006, 1:53 am
Lawn Mower Residual Gas Question April 24, 2005, 12:18 pm

Contact Us | Privacy Policy

XML SitemapXML Sitemap