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Hello. Have 96 toro workhorse and can’t any spark. Replaced starter, battery, ignition switch, starter solenoid, plug and still nothing. Any ideas.

:welcome:

Bet you bought them all on line to save money because if you went to a mower shop they would have told you that none of those parts are in the ignition circuit apart from the ignition switch.
The only parts in the ignition circuit is the magneto, the ignition switch and the PTO safety switch and the brake switch.
Remove the blower housing and remove the small wire from the coil
If the mower starts then you have a bad safety switch.
If it does not start then the magneto module is bad.

bertsmobile1 said:

:welcome:

Bet you bought them all on line to save money because if you went to a mower shop they would have told you that none of those parts are in the ignition circuit apart from the ignition switch.
The only parts in the ignition circuit is the magneto, the ignition switch and the PTO safety switch and the brake switch.
Remove the blower housing and remove the small wire from the coil
If the mower starts then you have a bad safety switch.
If it does not start then the magneto module is bad.

Click to expand...

Thanks, I will try that.

Forgot to ask, you said maybe bad safety switch. Where is that located? I also changed out the seat switch.

Update pulled the wire and still nothing. Guess maybe magneto.

Before you put the new one in there, check the wire you pulled off.
It should be open circuit with the ignition turned on and ground with the ignition turned off.
If it shows voltage at any time then there is a big problem in the wiring .
Do not connect the new module till you have sorted that out because applying battery voltage to the magnet will kill it dead flat.

Changed out the magneto and still nothing. Just a clicking noise from the starter relay. Any ideas how to isolate the problem would be appreciated.

guins,
Please be a bit more specific with your posts.
Still nothing is not much to go on.
From the start, was the engine rotating ?
If the flywheel does not turn the engine can not generate an spark.
If the flywheel is turning too slow it will not generate any spark.

If the engine is not turning and the new solenoid is just clicking then generally that is caused by a flat battery or corrosion on one of the main power wires.
starting with a freshly charged battery try the following
Simple to check.
Run a jumper from your battery - to the engine block.
Mower starts fine = bad ground

Run a jumper from your battery + to the hot side of the solenoid
Starts fine = bad power supply wire

Do the same as above to the starter side of the solenoid
Starts fine = duff solenoid
Dosn't start properly = duff starter

Before you do any of these check the valve lash.
I get a dozen "unfixable" mowers in every season where the owners have replaced some or all of the following for a cost of around $ 400 when all the mower needed was a valve adjustment.
Starter motor , solenoid, battery, ignition switch , PTO switch, Ground lead, Power lead.

Thanks I will try your latest suggestions. Hopefully I didn’t fry the magneto as you said before. What I mean by nothing is that it doesn’t try to start at all. I checked the seat switch and it’s working. Checked the voltage on pto switch and it’s good same with neutral safety. Battery is new and has a full charge. I have power to the lead that goes to alternator so assuming it has power since I can’t check because I put everything back together. Checked the ground it’s clean and tight.


UOTE=bertsmobile1;280440]guins,
Please be a bit more specific with your posts.
Still nothing is not much to go on.
From the start, was the engine rotating ?
If the flywheel does not turn the engine can not generate an spark.
If the flywheel is turning too slow it will not generate any spark.

If the engine is not turning and the new solenoid is just clicking then generally that is caused by a flat battery or corrosion on one of the main power wires.
starting with a freshly charged battery try the following
Simple to check.
Run a jumper from your battery - to the engine block.
Mower starts fine = bad ground

Run a jumper from your battery + to the hot side of the solenoid
Starts fine = bad power supply wire

Do the same as above to the starter side of the solenoid
Starts fine = duff solenoid
Dosn't start properly = duff starter

Before you do any of these check the valve lash.
I get a dozen "unfixable" mowers in every season where the owners have replaced some or all of the following for a cost of around $ 400 when all the mower needed was a valve adjustment.
Starter motor , solenoid, battery, ignition switch , PTO switch, Ground lead, Power lead.[/QUOTE]

Think I replied to the wrong thread. New at this forum thing. I was able to get the engine to rotate by touching the negative on the starter solenoid and the other lead the engine. Does that tell you anything? Sorry, but electrical is not my strong area.

I would say it tells me you need to get someone who understands electricity or take it to a shop. Things you are telling us and what you are doing aren't making a lot of sense and I'm surprised you have not blown up your meter or ruined any parts to this point. On top of that your replies are very hard to figure out.

Rivets said:

I would say it tells me you need to get someone who understands electricity or take it to a shop. Things you are telling us and what you are doing aren't making a lot of sense and I'm surprised you have not blown up your meter or ruined any parts to this point. On top of that your replies are very hard to figure out.

Click to expand...

Guess we all have our strong suited areas. Yours must be a smart ***.

Guess I hit a vein, just being truthful. I've been around small engine repair for 50+ years and I've seen this problem before. You don't know the names of electrical parts or small engine electrical systems. That being the case you could easily ruin components and hurt yourself which would cost you more than needed. Bert has tried to be of help, but I don't see you following his instructions. There are many members who are here trying to help, but I didn't want you to spend money on parts you don't need. I'll get out of the way and hopefully Bert can lead you through this. Good Luck Bert, white wine will help you.

guins66 said:

Think I replied to the wrong thread. New at this forum thing. I was able to get the engine to rotate by touching the negative on the starter solenoid and the other lead the engine. Does that tell you anything? Sorry, but electrical is not my strong area.

Click to expand...

No it means nothing to me.
What is meaningful is you doing what your were asked to do in the order they were presented and telling us EXACTLY what happened, eg nothing, engine rotated etc etc etc.
The seat switch has nothing, nadda , nill, nein to do with starting the engine.
It is not in the starting circuit
Having voltage at a switch is no help if it stops at the switch
The safety circuit is all GROUND wires which interconnect in various ways.
IF you really want help stop trolling around the sheep on EWE TUBE and do what you have been asked.
All of the people who know how to fix mowers will be able to follow what I have asked you to do and understand your problem.
OTOH if you would rather watch footage from shaved monkeys who almost know how to work a video camera and nothing about mowers keep trolling around.
About 0.05 % of what you will see is worth looking at and the parts man appreciates you spending lots & lots of money for stuff you don't need..
Ball is in your court.
There is no quick fix.
It is a slow and methodical process of elimination

guins66 said:

Changed out the magneto and still nothing. Just a clicking noise from the starter relay. Any ideas how to isolate the problem would be appreciated.

Click to expand...

sometimes I come across these threads and I see some good advice given and then a few posts later a grateful OP proudly expresses his success with the repair. The biggest problem I see with your request for help is your thinking that all will be repaired by magic through some small effort of just reading the posts given to you, I don't believe you even read or even attempted any of the advice given to you by bertsmobile1, might as well sell it on craigslist or junk it, game over.

willys55 said:

sometimes I come across these threads and I see some good advice given and then a few posts later a grateful OP proudly expresses his success with the repair. The biggest problem I see with your request for help is your thinking that all will be repaired by magic through some small effort of just reading the posts given to you, I don't believe you even read or even attempted any of the advice given to you by bertsmobile1, might as well sell it on craigslist or junk it, game over.

Click to expand...

To all of you lifelong mower guys get a Fu&*&*n life. Someone asks for help does the best they can do and all I read is a bunch of condescending asses. If you are tired of giving advice then stop. Not all of us are married to an 8 hp motor. Have a nice day and please kick me off this site.

HMMmmmmm .... strangest form of GRATITUDE I've seen all week !! ..:laughing:..:laughing: