1872 with no spark

[mdandrews]

I have an 1872 that randomly died while running. I originally thought the carburetor was plugged and recently cleaned and rebuilt it. This was not the problem. After the carb rebuild the tractor ran great but then would not start back up. I tested the spark plugs and there is clearly no spark. I'm wondering if the ignition coil is bad. Has anyone had similar problems? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[mdandrews]

Also, what can i do to test the ignition coil or voltage regulator? Thanks

 

[agitch]

Does your 1872 have a magnumin it? If there is no spark to both plugs then it is most likely the coil which would require you to pull the engine.

 

[mdandrews]

The tractor does have the 18HP Magnum. I realized there was no access to the coil and pulled the motor last night. Thanks

 

[agitch]

Mike,

If it's not too late I would take all the engine ducting off of it and do a real good cleaning of the fins and stuff since it's a perfect opportunity.

 

[mdandrews]

I took all covers off the motor and noticed a ton of oily grass buildup. Since I've got the motor out of the machine, is there a way to confirm that the ingnition coil was the definitive problem? I'd hate to find out that it was the volatage regulator after putting it all }back together.

Thanks Again

 

[agitch]

I do believe there is a way to take a voltage reading but I'm not any good at that.

 

[mgonitzke]

Get the Kohler service manual for the engine, it has a section that explains how to test the coil.

 

[mdandrews]

I'm in the process of getting the kohler manual. Unfortunately the cub cadet manuals that came with the tractor do not cover the specifics of the engine. In the meantime, does anybody know the clearance between the ignition module and the magnets that rotate on the flywheel?

 

[agitch]

Mike go to the kohlerengines website and click on classic engines and you can download both the owner's manual and service manual.

 

[mdandrews]

Adrian, thanks for letting me know about the manuals on the kohler website. That was really helpful.

 

[aaytay]

Mike-
I had an 1872 that did the exact same thing.

It was getting spark............when the engine was cold, but once it heated up the spark would get weak enough that the engine wouldn't run.

In my opinion, replacement of the coil pack on an engine of this vintage is probably nothing more than good long-term maintainence, because they seem to have a "finite" life-span to them. I guess what I'm saying is that if this is the original coil you're probably smart to replace it anyway.

That said, if you get it back together and find that it still does the same thing, the mechanical fuel pumps on these motors can do the same thing when they heat up, and hence will not give good fuel flow. I ended up putting a cheap electric fuel pump in my tractor to solve that problem.

Good luck, keep us posted with your progess, and remember.......

 

[dcurran]

A bad cap/condenser does that too. Works cold, then as it heats up it shorts itself out. I see that one a lot.

 

[mgonitzke]

David C.-

Electronic ignition = no condenser.

 

[dcurran]

lol, sorry. Way too many parts floating through my head.