Got my first snowblower

[Rivets]

Is the coil a CDI, or do you still have points? If it is CDI disconnect the small wire on the coil and see if you have spark. If no spark replace the coil, yes it is not uncommon for them to go bad.

 

[natenkiki2004]

I haven't actually been able to get the flywheel off yet. I can't find my darn socket extender or good ratchet. They probably ran off together. I did doublecheck the spark plug and it's J8C.

I think this engine has a CDI coil, I don't think it has points on it. I came across a website saying they made this model in 83 and 84 and the parts diagram on parts tree shows this part number:
IGNITION COIL CDI FIT Tecumseh 30560A, LAV series, Stens 460-063, Oregon 33-363 | eBay

 

[Rivets]

Let's check the coil before you pull the flywheel. Take the small lead off the coil. Attach the spark plug and spin the flywheel by hand. Careful that you don't pinch your hangers. With the plug touching a good ground you should see a spark if the coil is good. You can do this without the head on.

 

[natenkiki2004]

Too late I just took the flywheel off and found out that it's a points system. I didn't realize how it came apart so I just started unbolting and had it in my hand when I realized I didn't have to unbolt it to check the gap

I'm wondering if the coil is still bad, the flat pieces of metal that make up the... pickups(?) are rusted and can easily be separated with a fingernail. The points look super clean with no rust inside at all, the spring mechanism is... springy. I'm going to look up a tutorial on how to gap these things.

 

[Rivets]

If I had the points in my hand I would just replace them and the condenser now and take that out of the equation. Coil could be bad, but let's do one thing at a time. There is one other way to go at this now that you are this far. That would be to eliminate the points and install a CDI magneto. With this you would be eliminating the points system and replacing the coil at the same time. That is the way I would go.

 

[natenkiki2004]

I took your idea and did some research. Apparently I'm out of luck though as these older 80's engines with the coil inside the flywheel (3-legged coils) can't be converted I tried adjusting the points to .020" a few times and spun the flywheel and still got no spark, even with the kill switch removed. Maybe I should just order new points, condenser and coil to eliminate all possibility. The coil and consenser are both highly rusted, it's a miracle that the points are clean. I'm glad though, it seems easy to adjust the points with the head off, there's a little arrow on the cam lobe that tells you where it's supposed to be.

 

[natenkiki2004]

Well I tinkered with it a bit longer. This is my first time messing with points so I just kind of had to stare at it and figure out the mechanics of it. Once I had a rough idea, I realized I was adjusting the wrong things. I removed the kill wire entirely then centered the whole assembly which is for timing (which I'll have to sort that out later) then I moved onto the actual points adjustment. I read that someone said to put a piece of paper between the points and let them fully close then pull the paper out a few times. A lot of crud came off when I did that. I adjusted them to .020" and put the flywheel back on and gave it a spin... I got a bright blue spark!

So, it looks like I'll move onto the carb once I sort out wiring. I already have the carb pulled and set aside. There's a putrid smell it has. I took the bowl off and some nasty green/brown gas came out. It seemed to varnish and leave a sticky coating on everything. Of course the float bowl gasket had solidified and started cracking. Also, the piece that the governor connects to to change speed is extremely sticky. So much so that moving the idle/fast lever doesn't swivel the valve on the carb. I might try to soak the carb in something.

 

[natenkiki2004]

I think the ignition is all sorted out now. Got it set so the points open at .034" BTDC and the full gap of the points is .020". Got the kill switches hooked up and now the key works. I've got a carb kit on the way and I've been cleaning the body of the carb, nothing is sticky anymore! Simple Green really gets the varnished gas gone.

I will be posting updates soon

 

[natenkiki2004]

Well, I got everything back together after "adjusting" the points, cleaning the carb and whatnot. I went to start it today and it fired but it runs very rough. With it on full throttle and no choke it ran like it was on idle or just slightly above. I played with the needles, the choke and the plug gap but couldn't get it to run any better. I'm afraid I might have screwed up the timing.

So... in an effort to get things straightened out and narrowed down by someone that knows more than I do, here's what I've done:
I got the snowblower, it hadn't been run in 5 years. Varnished gas all over inside the carb and tank and it had no spark. After a day or two searching for manuals and coming up empty, I found enough forum information to move ahead and try to diagnose the ignition. After I got the flywheel off, I saw it was a points system. Not having ever messed with a Tecumseh engine, I went straight for that whole bracket that holds the points, condenser and coil onto the engine. After I took that off, I realized that whole bracket rotates to adjust timing.

I read some more online and here's what I did to try and get the bracket aligned:
I turned the crankshaft so the piston was at just before TDC on the compression cycle, grabbed my feeler gauges and combined 2 of them to make .031" gap between the top of the piston and the top of the head where the gasket goes. It's supposed to be .035" as per the tech manual. Then I rotated that bracket so that the points had just started to open and I tightened those 7/16" nuts down. Then at TDC I checked the point gap and it's at .020". At this point I rotated the crank so the points were closed and ran some paper in-between them to clean them. After that I got a nice bright blue spark just rotating the flywheel by hand.

I also got a carb kit and cleaned the carb completely, then adjusted the needles to varying between 1 turn out and 1.5 turns out, some settings made the engine run a little better but still not as good as it should.

So, I'm kinda lost and a bit frustrated. I really hope I don't have to take everything apart and get into the points again. Any suggestions I should try?

 

[natenkiki2004]

Forget the last post! I went down to the barn again and tinkered with it. I don't know why but I tried 3/4 turn out on the main jet and it went VROOOOOOOM, took off like it should. So I tried 1/2 turn and that was even better. It seems to bog down and recover a little with the auger running, it might be a pinch too lean now. But, it idles great, I think I have the idle jet at 1 1/2 or 1 1/4 turns out. I still want to flush the oil again, lube up the auger blades and see about replacing the lube in the gearbox. Plus a few minor cosmetic things.

I have $117.28 invested and it runs and functions pretty good :thumbsup: I'll post a video here tomorrow with a cold start and whatnot.