Kitchen Garden Forum

Hello everyone.

Hopefully someone will be able to help me.

I recently became the owner of a Suffolk Punch mower manufactured in 1990 (so not too vintage). However, I have been unable to get a spark from the plug. I have replaced the plug twice, fuel tap, fuel line, petrol and oil, and have stripped, cleaned and reassembled the carb, hoping to be mowing sooner than later. Still getting no spark, I removed and replaced the ignition coil, hoping this would solve the problem. Testing the plug against the block, even after rechecking that all connections with the casting and the plug were sound and conducting, there is still no spark.

I am at a loss for a possible solution, and so hope someone will be able to help.

Morning Auldjo, have you checked the spark plug cap where it joins the H.T Lead?

I recon your machine will have a contact-less magneto ignition so there are few things that can go wrong. Either the cutout button or wire is eathing out when it shouldn’t, or the HT lead or cap need replacing, or you have a dead magneto.
Disconnect the wire that goes from the coil to the cutout button and make sure it is not touching the engine anywhere, then see if you are getting a spark. If not, remove the plug cap and check if you get a spark from the HT lead end. If not, replace the HT lead if this is possible, it was on earlier Wico magnetos with points, but coil and lead are shown as a unit in the A114 engine parts book. If either the lead can’t be removed or you still get no spark with a new one, then the magneto is faulty and must be replaced.

Thanks for the replies. The magneto unit has already been replaced, but with no success. I find it unlikely i could have ended up with both the original and replacement magneto being faulty, but maybe that is what it is. Will phone the supplier and ask what they think. Thanks again.

Hia
I have had a similar problem (ie no spark) and it was finally resolved by getting the wife's hair dryer (or as in my case a paint stripper) and thoroughly drying out the coil.
I had to get rid of all dampness and condensation as any minute sign resulted in no spark.
In my case the problem was the mower was left under a shelter and not in the shed so any dampness in the atmosphere affected the coil. Once the mower had dried out I always secrete the mower in the back of the shed and have had no further spark problems.
Hope this helps.
Regards
Stan

Yesss, I have experienced this too. Make sure it's the right plug and the gap is correct. Simple I know but it's amazing how many spark plugs there are and some work with your engine and some don't.