I'm just seeking some help on my Victa special not wanting to spark even after some troubleshooting. It's a Champion N21. I plugged the spark plug into a different mower and it went no problems. There is current going through the spark wire (you can get a zap) but it doesn't want to spark. I've gapped it at 0.028" and given it a clean with a wire brush. I also got another N21 from my spare engine and it didn't go either. It did spark on the spare engine when I turned the flywheel. Any ideas? All i can think of is the Magento needing more spin than I can provide while viewing the spark plug to create enough voltage to spark. My next idea is to replace the batteries on my Multimeter and see if there's any disparities.
Well it is not your spark plug, could be the points or condenser If you had a module from a you can use that instead of the points and condenser because they are pretty hard to come by these days
Thanks NormK, I realised it was the magneto and got to work. What do the points and condenser do? Just trying to understand the system better. Cheers, Xav
Xav, points and condenser are what creates the spark to fire at top dead center. These are situated under the fanwheel. You need a puller to get it off and I wouldn't bother with the points/condenser, I would remove them and just use an ignition module, much simpler and readily available
The other thing that could be giving you problems is the coil and they are a bit hard to find as well but as your other motor has spark you can take the coil, points and condenser from that motor, just means you have to remove both fan wheels . Only problem with doing that is unless the fan wheels have been pulled off before you are going to have to tap a 1/4 inch whit thread into the 3 blind holes for the puller to bolt to. This is going to be a steep learning curve for a 16 year old to get your head around but anything you learn from working on this mower will stay with you for life
Hi Norm, I removed the recoil starter then the fan wheel and I'm down to the magneto I just need to adjust it now. I've been learning about them and how they work just need to keep learning then adjust.
Thanks, Norm. I had a bit of trouble but I ended up using two flathead screwdrivers to pry it off. On my donor engine, which I used it's working magneto to replace, It was a bit seized so I had a mate hold the screwdrivers while I used a brass hammer to impulse it off. I finished swapping them out and got it running ok and I'm just working on the carb after school now.
Hi Xav, Well done, and you were lucky to get the wheels off like that without breaking the plate . Good luck with it good to see a young bloke with an interest in this old stuff
Thanks Norm, Just working on getting everything working in order (fuel, then carb, then spark and muffler etc.) so I can get it running by itself. I’m not sure if anyone else has ever encountered a blocked muffler or something like that as when I was running it off some Innox mx3 it would spit air back out the carb and not run but run when the muffler was removed. Anyways long story short just troubleshooting and then I’ll give a go at sourcing paint and polishing and rebuilding everything. Do you have any tips for cleaning the cylinder and head?
