Worn out coil?

[Papa Larry]

Tecumseh 3.8 hp in Sears edger only starts with carb cleaner squirted into cylinder. It will then run to complete edging job. Can a coil not produce a spark, which I tested and it does produce a spark, that is not strong enough to start engine? I had already put on a new carb, but it only had one Welch plug, which I put over the hole that looked like it needed to be sealed. The other hole had gaps that Welch plug did not cover, so l assumed it did not need to be plugged. Was that a wrong assumption?

 

[Rivets]

How about providing us with the engine numbers so we have some idea which of the hundreds of Tecumseh engines you are dealing with.