Help!! HONDA HRZ216TDA No Spark

shwing2345 · Jul 19, 2017

I have a Honda HRZ216TDA Lawn Mower. Engine stalled one day and would not start ever since. Did not hit any objects. I removed the spark plug, plugged it into the ignition coil, touched the spark plug against the engine body and spinned the flywheel, but did not see any spark. I removed the ground/kill wire and still did not see any spark. I replaced the spark plug and ignition coil and still could not produce any spark. Thinking that it is a defective ignition coil, I asked for a replacement. The OEM replacement part still would not produce any spark. I checked the fly wheel, and there are 2 strips that have magnetic properties. It seems like the flywheel is still good. I am just baffled at what could be wrong. Could i have 2 defective ignition coils? The ignition coil part # is 30500-Z8B-901 and the engine serial number is GJAEA 1986652. If anyone know what else I can check, please let me know.

BlazNT · Jul 19, 2017

I do not work on the Hondas but I can tell you you can not normally spin the engine by hand fast enough to get a spark. Have to pull rope.

bertsmobile1 · Jul 19, 2017

shwing2345 said:
I have a Honda HRZ216TDA Lawn Mower. Engine stalled one day and would not start ever since. Did not hit any objects. I removed the spark plug, plugged it into the ignition coil, touched the spark plug against the engine body and spinned the flywheel, but did not see any spark. I removed the ground/kill wire and still did not see any spark. I replaced the spark plug and ignition coil and still could not produce any spark. Thinking that it is a defective ignition coil, I asked for a replacement. The OEM replacement part still would not produce any spark. I checked the fly wheel, and there are 2 strips that have magnetic properties. It seems like the flywheel is still good. I am just baffled at what could be wrong. Could i have 2 defective ignition coils? The ignition coil part # is 30500-Z8B-901 and the engine serial number is GJAEA 1986652. If anyone know what else I can check, please let me know.

I use a red neon spark tested for push mowers because as you have already been told, the Honda coil will not produce a spark unless it is passing the magnets very quickly.
It is near impossible to use variable gap spark testers on handhelds or push mowers so check for a spark with the plug in then again with the plug laying on the head.
Both should produce a flash and out of the cylinder should be brighter.
The question is why did it stall in the first place ?
It would be worthwhile to take the bolt out of the fly wheel and check that the key is still intact.
A flywheel magnet should pull in a screwdriver held lightly between your finger from around 2" away.
The distance between the coil& the flywheel magnets is critical.
A tiny difference makes a massive difference and if the magnets & the coil touch there will be no spark.

shwing2345 · Jul 21, 2017

bertsmobile1 said:
I use a red neon spark tested for push mowers because as you have already been told, the Honda coil will not produce a spark unless it is passing the magnets very quickly.
It is near impossible to use variable gap spark testers on handhelds or push mowers so check for a spark with the plug in then again with the plug laying on the head.
Both should produce a flash and out of the cylinder should be brighter.
The question is why did it stall in the first place ?
It would be worthwhile to take the bolt out of the fly wheel and check that the key is still intact.
A flywheel magnet should pull in a screwdriver held lightly between your finger from around 2" away.
The distance between the coil& the flywheel magnets is critical.
A tiny difference makes a massive difference and if the magnets & the coil touch there will be no spark.

I used a power drill with a socket to spin the flywheel at fast speed. I used a business card to space the coil and the flywheel magnet. I did test the magnet and it seems to be strong. There are only 2 strips of magnet side by side that I can tell. On the opposite end, looks like there is just balancing weight. How critical is it to gap the spark plug? I will try that next.

I've never taken the fly wheel off. Do I need to be careful to put it back in the same spot to ensure right timing? Do you have any pictures of how the key should look like?

shwing2345 · Jul 21, 2017

BlazNT said:
I do not work on the Hondas but I can tell you you can not normally spin the engine by hand fast enough to get a spark. Have to pull rope.

I used a power drill to spin the flywheel at high speed. Talking to Honda parts dept, they told me that the coil rarely goes out. Not sure if this is accurate or not. They said they don't even have much coils on hand.

BlazNT · Jul 21, 2017

Honda is correct they rarely go out. That does not mean they do not go out. Remove the kill wire from the coil and spin it again. If you get spark then one of the safety switches is not working. If not then it is most likely the coil. But like I said before I do not work on Hondas. Every time I try to help with a Honda I am always wrong, If the flywheel is removed the key should be a perfect square. It must be put back so it makes a perfect square.

bertsmobile1 · Jul 21, 2017

You really have to use a spark tester, or do the testing at night in a dark workshop.
The sparks on these machines is very hard to see with the naked eye.
If the plug is bad the spark will track down the side of the plug and you won't see it at all.

shwing2345 · Aug 29, 2017

Got a spark tester, and indeed, it does have spark. The only other thing that I can think of then would be no gas getting to the spark plug? I sprayed starter fluid into the carburetor but it still doesn't start. What do you all think? is it the carburetor?

shwing2345 · Aug 29, 2017

bertsmobile1 said:
You really have to use a spark tester, or do the testing at night in a dark workshop.
The sparks on these machines is very hard to see with the naked eye.
If the plug is bad the spark will track down the side of the plug and you won't see it at all.

Got a spark tester, and indeed, it does have spark. The only other thing that I can think of then would be no gas getting to the spark plug? I sprayed starter fluid into the carburetor but it still doesn't start. What do you all think? is it the carburetor?

jp1961 · Aug 30, 2017

Hmmm, try spraying starter fluid right in the spark plug hole.

Regards

Jeff

Help!! HONDA HRZ216TDA No Spark

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