I sold 3 of my cars recently. So I have a manageable number of cars now but the mower broke. I don't want to elevate anyone's blood pressure but here's what the John Deere manual had to say about their ignitor module, bad grammar and all. "There is no way to test the ignitor module, if it is suspect, replace it with a know good ignitor module." I guess it isn't like a car where they actually charge money for the parts and critical thinking skills are needed.
"I'll never know it all but I'm willing to settle for knowing where to find the answer!"
Assuming the fuel and carb are good
Lawn mowers usually use a flywheel magneto, not worked on Johnn Deere bit with Briggs & Stratton mowers I usually check the spark by just pulling a spark plug and checking the spark will jump at close to 1/2' (13mm) to ground.
If working singlehanded it isn't so easy but on Briggs & Stratton I remove the recoil rope starter and spin the engine using an impact wrench or impact driver on the crankshaft nut
Flywheel magneto modules do tend to breakdown, if the plug wire isn't shorting to ground check the gap between the flywheel and the magneto module this should be roughly the thickness of a business card.
" We're trying to plug a hole in the universe, what are you doing ?. "
(Walter Bishop Fringe TV show)
The manual actually has the resistance values for the magneto and decent troubleshooting advice for most things. I just thought their description of the ignitor was amusing. "It cain't be tested!!!"
"I'll never know it all but I'm willing to settle for knowing where to find the answer!"
First thing I do on a small engine no spark is disconnect the engine wiring from the machine and retest. It's a quick way to tell whether the problem is on the engine or in the machines ignition kill circuit.
I've attached ignition section from a Kawasaki manual that might help. If you want the entire manual send me a PM with your email address and I'll send it to you.
