John Deere JS38 push mower

dannac said:
Have a John Deere JS38 push mower.
Purchased in 2012 and has worked great.

Sometimes bag grass, and stop engine to empty clippings.
Never had problems with it re-starting until end of last season.

When I stop it to empty clippings, it will not start unless I leave it sit for approx 15 minutes ... as if it's flooded.

Oil was changed every year, and occasional changing of spark plug with most recent last year.

Appreciate some advice or something to check.
Click to expand...
You have a bad coil. When it heats up there is no fire. When it sits for a while and cools......it will work again until it gets hot.
 
Well cutting season about over ... and the JD died about 2 weeks ago. Will not start ... period.

When this post started .... it would run .... but if I stopped it, it would not start until it cooled down.
I'm ready to try and fix, if I can.

It was mentioned my valves needed adjusting or maybe a bad coil.

I'm willing to take it a part now, so that's why I'm back.

Is there a way to check the coil ?
 
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Was not sure how to check coil for spark but read article on checking resistance with meter.
 

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With today’s coils you can forget about resistance tests, as they contain a Hall effect trigger which can be only checked with a very $$$$ piece of equipment. Most techs and many DIY guys use an inline tester. If you don’t have one available I set the plug on the engine and check to see if I’ve got spark. Low light conditions make it easier to see a spark.
 
got good spark ....

so in the last image i posted .... or the valves near the front ( spark plug side )
or
do i need to get to valves from top
 
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Doesn't matter as it's not going to start. Remove the plug and reinsert it into the plug wire. Touch the body of the plug to somewhere to a metal part of the engine and turn the key. You should see the spark jump on the tip of the plug. If it doesn't try another location to touch it to. If it does spark, it indicates the coil and plug are good. Reconnect the kill wire on the coil. Try it again. If no spark, you have a safety, or something, giving a ground to the kill wire. Happy hunting.
 
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