I will be impressed if you can tell from a few crappy photos and a description what I need to do!
I have cleaned out the fuel filter and changed the spark plug, but it appears that I'm getting no spark. The mower was left outside all of last fall, and it rained quite a bit. The fuel could be contaminated, but the lack of spark is--I think--the primary issue. I'm a bit wary to take it apart myself, although I have found some nice online instruction on DIY mower maintenance.
What's your verdict, Mister Fixit? :D
4 comments:
Sorry I won't be of much assistance. We always had an electric.
However, if the mower sat out in the rain, logic would suggest that some part of the electrical system is corroded.
Good luck.
Funny, I fixed a problem of that very sort last month. The mower had sat inside for a year, and it wouldn't start. Tried cleaning and testing the spark plug. No change.
The problem? Jammed throttle.
Disconnected the throttle cable, forced the throttle governor all the way forward, gave the cord a pull and the motor started right up. The cable or the throttle lever had malfunctioned, and the governor didn't have its normal range of movement. Plastic bits wear out.
In your case I think it's either not generating a spark or not getting a rich fuel mixture.
You've replaced the spark plug, so it's clean. You should try to test the dynamo by grounding the plug and looking for a spark. This is easier with two people, one pulling the cord and the other grounding the plug against the motor. If there's a spark, then you've eliminated that as a fault. If there's no spark it's probably a bad connection, but could be a more serious fault further back up the line.
Other things to think about: does the cord pull smoothly? If the rotor seems to be turning smoothly, and if you can hear the the piston working that's good.
Flooding the firing chamber with fuel can also be a problem, but not likely in this case.
If there's a problem with water in the fuel, and it's sat for a while, the idea is to replace the fuel, and to drive the water out the line by repeatedly cranking the motor and/or by putting fuel additive in there to drive out the water.
But I doubt you have a water problem. That usually comes with freeezing weather and condensation. Seems unlikely.
What's the model? Got an online PDF user guide anywhere?
Additional bits:
You say it seems like there's no spark. There's only one way of finding out
How to test for spark.
http://www.kitchengarden.co.uk/forum/archiveview.asp?ID=12491
For a car, but same ideas apply:
http://www.audifans.com/twiki/bin/view/Audi/TestingForSpark
and here, more than you could possibly want to know: scroll down to "Testing for spark - (p. 243 - figures 14-13, 12, 13)."
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/plymouth/aee/smallengines.html
Novidavid ROCKS! I'm impressed and hope that something he has suggested works...
I, know NOTHING about mowers. We have an electric one too, like my parents (although they now have someone else do their lawn for them...sigh)
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