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I have a Simplicity Regent with a Kohler 16HP engine. The engine turns over just fine but I'm not getting a spark from the plug. I believe the possible causes could be the coil or the safety switches, however, I'm not exactly sure how to go about isolating the problem, and I don't want to simply go out and buy a coil if that's not the problem. I look forward to your advice / recommendations.

You should have three wires coming out of the engine. Do all three go to a common connector, or do two go to a connector and one is connected by itself? Hopefully you have one by itself. If so that will be your kill wire. By disconnecting that wire the coil can no longer be shut off. You can now isolate the coil and check for spark. If no spark, I would assume bad coil. If your engine has more than three wires or the three wires are in one connector, post back and will figure out how to test your system.

So there's a "box" on the outside of the shroud, and when I lift the shroud up there are five wires coming from this box. There's one yellow and one red, both of which go to the coil, there's a black which goes to the right side of the coil (I think this may the be the one you're referring to) and then there's another red and a white which head off to the far side of the engine.

Does this help?

Thanks!

By what you are telling me you have a round externally mounted coil. This makes a big difference. On this type of system, you are using a battery ignition circuit, which means (if I am assuming correctly) that you will still have points and condenser. Does one of the wires go to a small black box mounted on the side of the engine? If it does, the points are located inside. You can open this box and inspect the points to see if they are full of carbon or pitted. Clean them and check the gap. These points should be set at .020". If I am assuming wrong, please tell me where the red, yellow and black wires go to.

I've attached a few pictures so that you can see what I see. The first picture is the outside of the shroud. The second picture is a look from inside the shroud. In this pic, you can see the wires coming from the "box" located on the outside of the shroud, and can also see the coil (center of pic). The third pic is of the two wires that extend from the "box" and attach to a connector on the side of the engine (outside the shroud).

** One note, the pictures may be reversed as you see them. I looked at the "preview post" and the 1st pic I saw was the one I refer to as the 3rd above. Also, for some reason all the pics look like they've been turned 1/4 to the left (on their side).

I will be away from my computer all day tomorrow, but I look forward to your response. Thank you again for your help.

Thank you, this helps. The first pic (with two blacks and one white) shows the voltage regulator. The second pic shows the coil with the kill terminal, that is the spade connector. As usual, I assumed wrong again, pics really help. Disconnect the kill wire and see if you now have spark.

the cv15 and cv16 are the same motor.
the cv15 has a normal magneto coil system.
the cv16 has electronic ignition with a brain box ( i think that is what is in the 3rd picture)
i looked into buying a cv16 that had a bad ignition system, the brain box is very pricey, and there is a chance when you plug in a new one the problem that killed the first one could kill the second one.
i was going to change the coil and flywheel to a cv15 so i could get rid of the brain box, but i lost interest and did not buy it, there might be more that you would need to do to change it, but used parts should be cheaper and more reliable.

I do have a cv16, so that could be part of the problem. I discovered a new problem, which ultimately could be related to the first problem. I did pull the kill wire off the coil and got a spark, so it appears that the coil is in good condition. So for the heck of it I plugged the spark plug back in and re-connected it, then sprayed some quick start into the carburetor and cranked the engine. It started but then died. Upon closer examination I discovered that the carburetor isn't getting any fuel. There's fuel in the line, clean gas filter, etc., so now I'm wondering.....if I have a short in one of the safety's, could that also make it so that the carburetor won't get gas?

sounds more like a carb problem. i dont think the starter will engage if it is a safety switch, (unless it is the low oil pressure safety switch, low oil pressure or a bad oil pressure switch i think will shut off the ignition).

does your carb have the fuel shut off, ( a wire going to the solenoid the bottom of the carb),if it does see if it has voltage , you may have to check when you are trying to start it.
if it doesn't have a wire you may need to clean the carb, use brake cleaner or compressed air, dont use carb cleaner unless you plan on rebuilding the carb it is hard on gaskets and seals,

OK, so here's what we have so far:

1. When kill wire is attached to coil = no spark.
2. When kill wire is removed from coil - spark.
3. Voltage is making it's way to the solenoid below the carburetor.
4. I can see gas shooting into the carburetor when I remove the air filter.
5. When I spray "quick start" into the carb, I do get the engine to turn a little, then a backfire, then it stops.

Kind of at a loss right now on how to get this thing going.

garyjalbert said:

OK, so here's what we have so far:

1. When kill wire is attached to coil = no spark.
2. When kill wire is removed from coil - spark.
3. Voltage is making it's way to the solenoid below the carburetor.
4. I can see gas shooting into the carburetor when I remove the air filter.
5. When I spray "quick start" into the carb, I do get the engine to turn a little, then a backfire, then it stops.

Kind of at a loss right now on how to get this thing going.

Click to expand...

"I do get the engine to turn a little"..... do you mean it runs and runs normally until it is out of starting fluid?
the Spark Advance Module controls the timing of the coil, if that is bad it wont spark at the correct time. i dont know how to test it.

kohler cv16s won't start - Lawn Mowers Forum - GardenWeb

same as your problem?

there is a service tool to test the SAM module. Any Kohler tech should have 1 to test it but i don't think he has a SAM