1. Did the ignition module work on your brother's whipper snipper?
2. Is it properly grounded now you have put it on the Bolens whipper?
The clearance between flywheel and ignition module magnetic yoke is conventionally the thickness of a standard business card, which is about 0.010-0.012". It is seldom critical - Honda allows anything up to 0.025", for instance.
The most common reason for ignition not to work on whipper snippers is damage to, or deterioration of, the kill switch or its wiring, so that the kill wire is weakly grounded all the time. You might care to re-test the ignition module with the kill wire disconnected at the module end. If the spark is OK with the kill wire disconnected, you will need to replace the kill switch or find a place where the wire to it is leaking to earth (usually due to insulation worn through). If that is the fault, chances are you can put the original ignition module back on.
