Ariens issues

From what I gather here, I think you have a carb problem and ignition problem. Is the choke opening and closing all the way? AFAIK the only timing adjustment on this kohler is the point opening which won't amount to much. IMO you need to quit going off on tangents and just start doing what's been explained to you. You mentioned it had continuity thru the spark plug. Is it possible the piston is hitting the plug and closing the gap? One question: Has it run at all since being overhauled?
Mike
 
ol' stonebreaker said:
From what I gather here, I think you have a carb problem and ignition problem. Is the choke opening and closing all the way? AFAIK the only timing adjustment on this kohler is the point opening which won't amount to much. IMO you need to quit going off on tangents and just start doing what's been explained to you. You mentioned it had continuity thru the spark plug. Is it possible the piston is hitting the plug and closing the gap? One question: Has it run at all since being overhauled?
Mike
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Choke opens and closes properly and it has run since the overhaul. It actually started right up once the overhaul was complete but has gotten continually worse and harder to start. It has about 1/2 hour of run time total which isn’t a lot. The gap on the plug doesn’t look like it is being closed up.
I did start working thru the suggestions tonight. Nothing conclusive so far. Will finish up tomorrow and report back. Thanks to everyone so far
 
Weird. I use champion plugs in everything and rarely have any issues. It's possible to get a bad batch of anything.
What was said about the 1st letter of the plug used, the H10 is right for that engine.
Never seen a plug short out like you say unless fouled/carbon bridging the Gap, or the side electrode touching the center one.
Just for fun convert that H10 to the right plug in another brand (don't waste your money on gimmick plugs like E3's, etc) alot of people like autolite.
 
Did you test a new champion plug of that number before being run in that engine? Sounds like the porcelain part may be cracked within, only other way for a plug to short out like that
 
dodge trucker said:
Did you test a new champion plug of that number before being run in that engine? Sounds like the porcelain part may be cracked within, only other way for a plug to short out like that
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It is wierd. I went to get plugs last night and only found Champion - so I bought a couple for testing. Going to stop tonight on way home for another brand. In the past, the new plugs work right away and the tractor will fire - sometime it will start/run for a while, sometimes only moments. Will test it out tonight and report back.
 
The Kohler engine in the ariens S 16H I have has points and a condenser. When the condenser is getting ready to totaly puke it will get warm from engine heat and not work till it cools. Replace the points and condenser together.

:D Al
 
The kt17 series 2 in the bolens would run like a beast. Get warm then shut down. Cool off and ran fine. It was the coil.
 
Ok. Is this the right time for humble pie?

Took the engine out last night and started looking at the issues at hand. Didn't get real far as had other obligations, but found I needed to do some maintenance from it sitting so long.

So tonight I took off the flywheel cover and vacuumed out all the mouse nests. It's amazing all the places they can find to fill up with leaves, paper, and anything else they can find.

Next, pursuing BOTH the thoughts of the points and the detonation issues, I tested the points settings. I found a really nice YouTube that described how to set up the points and how to test they are set up correctly. I messed with it and messed with it, but it seemed every time I gapped the points and moved flywheel, either the points didn't move or they did move but didn't come back to the closed position at the same point in the flywheel rotation. So I took them off and CLEANED them so they moved freely.

I also made up a new wire between the points and the coil when I found a crack in the insulation.

Needless to say, when I put it all back together, it started right up and ran like a top. I'm going to take it back apart and put in a new set of points and condenser. I'm also going to make up a new wire harness as many of the wires are brittle from age.

So what I think was everyone was on the right track. The points definitely were the issue but by not opening and closing freely, they may have been igniting at the wrong time causing the detonation condition that was destroying the spark plugs. That's my theory, anyhow. And the main lesson learned? Maintenance is everything!

THANKS to everyone for your thoughts and assistance. And for your patience. It will be fun to run it again!
 
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