OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Engines Questions On Victa Two Stroke Engines Victa 2 Stroke - Points and Condenser Ignition

Hi Guys,

I couldnt help myself when away on the weekend and picked up a damm good Victa 2 Stroke that I knew would go because someone had been fiddling with the carby. I got it going with a few adjustements to the carby and it now goes really well. It even has a really good low idle.

I have only really been working on the electronic ingnition models and havent had much to do with the points and condenser type ignition. I have read the Victa 2 Stroke manual however I you guys always seem to have the simple explanation about servicing this type of system.



The mower has a strong blue spark and runs really well however before I move it onto a new home I want to make sure it is spot on.

I couldnt believe how good a condition the mower was in. All it needed was a new needle and some fuel hose and away it went.

Thanks

good mower you got there. i was given one of those for free. had the g3 carbie on it. these bases are a solid piece of gear and the mower itself feels solid and strong.some of the victa ignition plates have an elongated slot for fine adjustment of the timing. looks like yours doesnt ,so i wouldnt touch it other than maybe remove the plate and clean everything up.even your points seem to be in good order ( only going by your small pic)you could have a look to see if there is any pitting on them.personally i would just wipe it over and get off the dust . (if it aint broke dont fix it) a mechanic mate of mine used to say..
Oh and its pretty easy to convert to electronic ignition if you really need it that way. bazz

When you talk about the elongated slot is that a small matchstick type piece that sits against the drive shaft? It's on the other side of the photo!
Thanks for the advice just venturing a little out ofmmy comfort zone and wanted to learn more about points ignition rather than the new simpler version.

the match stick piece is the keyway that keeps the magneto housing head in correct alignment on the axle shaft so your head sits in correct position.i was talkin about the very bottom(of yur pic) slotted screw that holds the plate down .(below the condensor) there is another screw on the top position same screw.sometimes they are screwed down but the hole they go through is an elongated slot ,this was so you could rotate the whole coil housing plate in a forward or backward direction. basically when the engine is almost at top dead centre . the points should start to open and fire. i think from memory its approx 3mm before tdc. combining this with the correct points gap gives you perfect timing.if the plate is in a fixed position (as yours is)then the points gap has to be exactly correct also.the plates with elongated slots just meant you can play around a little with the timing......points gap is .685mm the condensor stops the points arcing too much.otherwise they would burn up quickly.

Well after cleaning down the mower and repairing the broken carby and pull cord, I have no spark.

The points are opening when the engine is close of TDC however I havent worked on this type of system before. Only the electronic ignition models.

I am thinking perhaps some oil got on the points and they might need cleaning. Perhaps some fine sandpaper would work?. I dont see any need to reset the gap or anything from my book specs as the mower started when I repaired the carby before cleaning it all down.

Would appreciate some pointers.

well seems to me that after a carbie clean you have managed to earth out the cut out wiring stop switch.those plastic carbies have the cutout switch built into them.its a real bugger of a thing too.
you definately had spark ,and looking at your pic it all looks ok to me.

try removing the earth wire from the carbie. the wire earths the points to the chassis of the mower causing the mower to stop sparking.if you disconnect it from earthing out it may just be your problem.
thats the very 1st thing i would try.

Already pulled the earth wire off and still no spark!
That was the first thought I had!
Any other suggestions gizmo?
Thanks

ok 1 down. lets see.
1: sometimes the high tension lead from the coil gets a bad connection at the point where it connects to the coil .its twisted into a small screw inside of the coil.
2:you could loosen all the screws holding the points ,the plate ,the condensor.then retighten them again.
3:when you test for spark the sparkplugs thread must be touching metal(i assumed you know this anyway.)
4:get a flat bladed screwdriver and start to prize off the coil from the plate.Move it out a little . then tap it back into position and bend back the copper tab flush again. sometimes this has worked for me.
5:another overlooked thing is to make sure the keyway is pushed all the down into slot to engage the cam . you can put the whole thing back together and sometimes this key sits up proud of the cam without being aware of it. so the cam just spins freely underneath.
6:get some fine wet n dry fold it,and slot between points to buff them slightly. (not the best method ,but works ok)
7:remove points and file them properly.
8:remove coil and test with an ohm meter.
9:check condensor. highly unlikely
10:convert it to electronic.
after restoring approx 50 points plates i only have ever came across 2 that had a bad coil.??
so good luck. wish i could be there to help .
PS: please let us all know if and when you find the fault as it will help us all.
if you want to know how to do any of the above i can go into a lot more detail. cheers bazz and good luck

Gizmo thanks very much for the detailed explanation. I worked my my through your list and number 5 was the problem! The cam was spinning freely which I should have noticed. Gave it a test run tonight and the old girl started first go. She idles beautifully and high speed is smooth. Tomorrow I'll mow the lawn with it to make double sure its all good but i can't see a problem!
All up this mower has cost me $25 with new blades, plug, air filter etc and the actual cost of the mower so m pretty happy.

It's going to one of the girls I work with so I think she will be happy plus I'll get a slab out of it!

Thanks again gizmo.

your very welcome Pete.

Well tried to mow the lawn and didn't have a lot of success. When the mower is under load it splutters and doesn't run really well. I'm mowing on small slants and it doesn't seem to like it. When the mower is on flat ground its ok. Turn it around while mowing and it starts to splutter again when you get going.

Plus the bloody catcher keeps falling off. The catcher isn't damaged at all from what I can see.


Hmmmmm

Any suggestions on this one guys?
I have a new set of points but havent installed them before.

you have the primer cap on correctly ? fuel level line at the top allgood ? sounds like fuel problem somewhere

Yep double checked it and all good. I gave it a go again and the problems only seem to arise when the mower is warm? When its cold it's not so bad. The points seem quite pitted. I have a new set however haven't installed them before. Would appreciate some guidance as this mower is driving me a little mad!

Sounds like fuel problems to me as well or an air leak o-Rings or crank seals....look under the mower and see if there is a heap of oil on top of the cutting disc from the bottom crank seal....

Also an easy way to see if the bottom crank seal is leaking on 2 and 4 stroke mowers, Is to tip the mower on its left side open the back flap and look in with a torch, what your looking for is a oil and crap on top of the cutting disc.

Is it only having issues under load on a slant or lean. Or even if you are in one spot
??

Ok just took the engine off and checked the bottom seal. It wasn't leaking any noticeable amount when I put some fuel on it to check however I replaced it anyway.

I took off the ignition plate and this engine doesn't appear to be like the other full cranks iv worked on ( the ones with electronic ignition.) as I could see the top seal? Must be doing something wrong.

The mower is ok at idle but as soon as you hit full throttle it coughs and splutter. It does the same thing when under load. It doesn't stall. It's just sounds real sick.

Iv done the manifold o ring as well as the primer cover ring.

It starts usually within 1 to 2 pulls so I'm a little confused!

Have you tried another plug?

I havent tried another plug yet. Its got a brand new one in it already. CJ8. I'll put another in tonight after I put the engine back on the base. It now has the bottom seal replaced. Top seal wasnt accessable unless I was doing something wrong?

The mower was having issues standing still late yesterday. It has progressively got worse the more it has been run. It sounds to me like its missfiring for some reason hence why I considered the points might be the issue. I havent played with these before so hence me not being sure.