Kohler SV-600 Air Gap

C

cmayo

Active Member
Since new, the Kohler Courage 20 SV600 in my Troy Bilt XP has had a thing where I turn the key, the starter engages, then freezes. A tech once showed me that if I can hand-rotate the flywheel backwards off TDC, it'll get a running start and make it through whatever's putting the squeeze on the engine's cranking. Lately, a YouTube showed me that if I just keep the key in start position and don't let up, the flywheel will eventually scrape past the block and begin turning over normally. And when I say "scrape," that's exactly what it sounds like. Heavy, labored, slow, metal-on-metal scraping.

So... there's supposed to be a gap between the ignition module and the flywheel magnet, and this is exactly where the cranking gets stuck, with the flywheel magnet right opposite the ignition module, but with the magnet in this position, I can't get a business card/feeler gague between the two. It seems like an obvious question, but is this what's causing my frequent starting-freeze situation? Should I back the ignition module far enough from the flywheel magnet to create a small gap so that the magnet can pass unimpeded across the ignition module? If so, how much gap is too much?



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Rivets said:
Air gap should be set at .020”
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First of all, Kohler Courage single cylinder engines, especially, are known to have starter issues, among other problems. So your starter may be borderline on working properly. Second (actually first), charge and load test your battery, and clean all terminals and make sure they are tight. Then, address the air gap on ignition coil. If you cannot insert a business card in between the coil and magnet on the flywheel, and tighten the two bolts holding the coil tight, something is wrong. The coil should NEVER touch the magnet on flywheel when starting or running. If you are hearing a scraping when starting, does it go away when running? Try starting the engine with the engine shroud off, and watch the operation of the starter, etc.
 
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If the coil is hitting the magnet on the FW there should be scuff marks on the magnet, if there are no scuff marks on the magnet. It could it be loose magnets under the fly wheel scrubbing against the against the stator.
 
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Thanks for all the great context, and apologies for my delayed response.
Tiger Small Engine said:
First of all, Kohler Courage single cylinder engines, especially, are known to have starter issues, among other problems. So your starter may be borderline on working properly. Second (actually first), charge and load test your battery, and clean all terminals and make sure they are tight. Then, address the air gap on ignition coil. If you cannot insert a business card in between the coil and magnet on the flywheel, and tighten the two bolts holding the coil tight, something is wrong. The coil should NEVER touch the magnet on flywheel when starting or running. If you are hearing a scraping when starting, does it go away when running? Try starting the engine with the engine shroud off, and watch the operation of the starter, etc.
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I've never heard the scraping noise except in this exact situation; starter engages then immediately stops, key held down and within a few seconds, I hear the metal-on-metal scraping past the obstruction. Battery charge does seem to have an effect on the issue... new and fully charged batteries will usually start normally. When brand new, I had to shop it for another reason and mentioned the starter problem. The shop said I needed a more powerful battery, but that's never sat right with me. A new mower right out of the box should be expected to contain an adequate battery but on the other hand, if the air gap was the problem, why didn't they just perform the easy fix under warranty? This was the local shop that handled all of Lowes home & garden stuff, so my first impulse wouldn't be to assume they were just lazy or unknowledgeable.
 
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