**Always follow the instructions in your repair manual when doing repair or maintenance work on Outdoor Power Equipment. Manuals can be found at the manufacturers website.** Most people check for proper engine spark by removing the spark plug, attaching the plug wire and grounding the plug to the engine while spinning the engine over and looking for a spark to jump across the spark plug gap. This method is not always reliable. The amount of voltage needed to jump the spark gap set at .030″ with the plug removed from the engine is about 2000 volts. The amount of voltage required to jump the same plug gap with the plug installed in the engine and operating under operating conditions is about 8000 volts, so it is possible to see a spark with the plug removed, but not have a spark with the plug installed. A more reliable method is to remove the spark plug wire cap, and hold the spark plug wire approximately 3/16″ away from the spark plug and spin the engine over. A good ignition system will produce a orange/blue spark from the end of the spark plug wire to the spark plug. The problem with this method is it is easy to get shocked and hard to turn the engine over while trying to hold the end of the plug wire 3/16″ away from the plug. The benefit of this method is it is more reliable then the first method and doesn’t require purchasing any special tools. Another method for checking the ignition for proper spark is to purchase the Briggs & Stratton Spark Tester, part #19368. This …
Posts Tagged ‘Engine’
Small Engine Repair: How to Check for Spark on a Tecumseh, Honda, Briggs & Stratton Lawn Mower
Written by Tools on Friday, March 16th, 2012 in Power Equipment.
Tags: Briggs, Check, Engine, Honda, Lawn, mower, Repair, Small, SPARK, Stratton, Tecumseh
Small Engine Repair: Carburetor Float Height on a 6.5 HP Harbor Freight Predator Engine
Written by Tools on Friday, March 16th, 2012 in Power Equipment.
Tags: carburetor, Engine, Float, freight, Harbor, Height, Predator, Repair, Small
**Always follow the instructions in your repair manual when doing repair or maintenance work on Outdoor Power Equipment. Manuals can be found at the manufacturers website.** In this video I disassemble the carburetor on a 6.5 HP Harbor Freight Predator engine to check the float height. The engine is brand new and has never been run, so the carburetor float height should be exactly how it was set at the factory. It is very hard to find engine specifications for this engine, so I thought it would be a good video to show the float height of a new carburetor. The problem I encountered is the plastic float in this carburetor is not adjustable. The fuel inlet need is spring loaded and always keeps the plastic float set at the same height, so adjustment is never needed. Thank you for watching!
Small Engine Top End Repair: Removing the Piston on a Echo 2 Stroke Engine
Written by Tools on Saturday, March 10th, 2012 in Power Equipment.
Tags: Echo, Engine, Piston, Removing, Repair, Small, Stroke
**Always follow the instructions in your repair manual when doing repair or maintenance work on Outdoor Power Equipment. Manuals can be found at the manufacturers website.** In this video I show how to remove the piston on a Echo SRM-230 Trimmer. The piston is connected to the connecting rod by a wrist pin or piston pin. The piston pin is held in place by two snap rings on each side of the piston pin. The piston pin is free floating meaning it is free to move inside the piston and connecting rod. To remove the piston pin, remove one snap ring, and push the pin out of the piston from the other end. Thank you for watching!
Small Engine Repair: Echo and Ryobi 2 Stroke Engine Crankshaft Comparison
Written by Tools on Saturday, March 10th, 2012 in Power Equipment.
Tags: Comparison, Crankshaft, Echo, Engine, Repair, RYOBI, Small, Stroke
**Always follow the instructions in your repair manual when doing repair or maintenance work on Outdoor Power Equipment. Manuals can be found at the manufacturers website.** In this video I show the two different types of crankshafts I have see on small 2 stroke trimmer engines. Thank You for Watching!
Small Engine Repair: Preparing a Cyclone Rake for the Fall Leaf Pickup Season
Written by Tools on Friday, March 9th, 2012 in Power Equipment.
Tags: Cyclone, Engine, Fall, leaf, Pickup, Preparing, Rake, Repair, Season, Small
**Always follow the instructions in your repair manual when doing repair or maintenance work on Outdoor Power Equipment. Manuals can be found at the manufacturers website.** In this video I show how I prepared a Cyclone Rake for the Fall leaf pickup season. The Cyclone Rake is only used for about 1 month out of the year, and the rest of the time is sits. This can cause problems with the fuel system, which can cause starting problems if the equipment isn’t properly prepared for storage. I was lucky because the Rake was stored with fuel stabilizer in the fuel, so it was relatively easy to start. After I started and warmed up the engine I replaced the engine oil and air filter. I also filled the tires to the correct psi air pressure. Thank you for Watching!
Small Engine Repair: How to Check a Solenoid Fuel Shut Off Valve on a Kohler V-twin Engine
Written by Tools on Friday, March 9th, 2012 in Power Equipment.
Tags: Check, Engine, Fuel, KOHLER, Repair, shut, Small, Solenoid, Valve, VTwin
**Always follow the instructions in your repair manual when doing repair or maintenance work on Outdoor Power Equipment. Manuals can be found at the manufacturers website.** Solenoid fuel shut off valves are used to close the main jet or main fuel circuit in the carburetor when the key is turned off. The solenoid valve works by using a spring loaded plunger to press against the main fuel circuit passage and prevent fuel from entering the passage. When the key is turned on a magnetic field is generated in the solenoid and the plunger is pulled into the body of the solenoid, thus opening the main fuel circuit. By closing the main fuel circuit when the key is turned off, the fuel in the carburetor is prevented from entering the engine, and this prevents unburned fuel from entering the engine while it is shutting down, and this helps prevent engine back fires. When the engine is stored with fuel in the carburetor for long periods, there is a risk of the old fuel causing contamination and corrosion to develop on the solenoid plunger causing it to freeze and no long move freely. When this happens the plunger is stuck in the fully extended position, and this closes off the main fuel circuit not allowing fuel to enter the engine when the key is turned on, and this prevents the engine from starting.
Small Engine Repair: Compression Test on a 2 Stroke Craftsman Chainsaw
Written by Tools on Thursday, March 8th, 2012 in Power Equipment.
Tags: Chainsaw, Compression, Craftsman, Engine, Repair, Small, Stroke, Test
**Always follow the instructions in your repair manual when doing repair or maintenance work on Outdoor Power Equipment. Manuals can be found at the manufacturers website.** When you check cylinder compression on a gas engine you should have the throttle wide open, Choke open, and ignition kill switch off. In this video I check the compression on a Craftsman Chainsaw. Thank you for watching!
Small Engine Repair: Failed attempt at Repairing a Briggs & Stratton Vanguard Muffler
Written by Tools on Thursday, March 8th, 2012 in Power Equipment.
Tags: attempt, Briggs, Engine, Failed, Muffler, Repair, Repairing, Small, Stratton, Vanguard
**Always follow the instructions in your repair manual when doing repair or maintenance work on Outdoor Power Equipment. Manuals can be found at the manufacturers website.** In this video I try to repair a broken muffler on a Briggs & Stratton Vanguard engine, but fail miserably. Thank you for Watching!
Did You Ever Wonder: What does it mean to “choke” an engine?
Written by Tools on Wednesday, March 7th, 2012 in Power Equipment.
Tags: Choke, Engine, ever, Mean, Wonder
“Did You Ever Wonder?” is a short video series brought to you by Champion Power Equipment that answers those lingering questions you have about your power equipment.
Small Engine Repair: How to Measure and Use Voltage Drops to Diagnose Electical Circuit Problems
Written by Tools on Tuesday, March 6th, 2012 in Power Equipment.
Tags: Circuit, Diagnose, Drops, Electical, Engine, Measure, Problems, Repair, Small, Voltage
**Always follow the instructions in your repair manual when doing repair or maintenance work on Outdoor Power Equipment. Manuals can be found at the manufacturers website.** When current flows through a wire and comes under the influence of resistance, there will be a voltage drop across the resistance. All connectors and wires in a circuit have resistance. The resistance found in good connectors and wires is very small and is usually insignificant when working with electrical circuits found in small engine repair. However, when a connection becomes lose, damaged or corroded, or when a wire becomes corroded or damaged, the connection or wire will produce a resistance that is higher than normal and will develop a voltage drop that will be high enough to cause problems in the circuit. The development of this high resistance makes it possible to use voltage drops to diagnose problems in a circuit. In this video I try to explain how to use voltage drops to diagnose problems found in electrical circuits. Thanks for Watching!
