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Umm, I'm no electrical engineer and maybe I'm misreading this but won't directly grounding a power wire do nothing but create a short circuit and blow the fuse? Hopefully? And if they've messed with wiring and for some silly reason bypassed the fuse this could be a good recipe for a fire.

Green on Kohler goes to the oil pressure switch.

Although not directly mentioned, doing the voltage tests I recommended would check both the solenoid and the key switch or at least could lead toward the key switch or possibly a lack of voltage getting to the key switch.

I would check for voltage drop and or a ground issue to start. It only takes a couple of minutes once you have your voltmeter in hand. MTD uses fairly small gauge battery and ground cables and they have been know to cause issues especially when coupled with this engine. I posted the procedure I...

Asked and answered but I'm bored so 177th day of 2012 FWIW

This may be like starting over but take a few minutes and do a couple of simple voltage checks. With the key in the off position start by taking a voltage reading I call “Across The Battery”. Black lead on the negative battery terminal and red lead on positive terminal. Duh, right? This will...

You can if the ignition coil is outside the flywheel. If the ignition coil is under the flywheel then no.

Maybe a bit late to this party on this one but, try cranking the engine with the spark plugs in and the spark plug wires off. You'll still be cranking under full compression but it will take the ignition out of the equation. If it cranks fine with the plug wires removed, your starter and the...

The reason I asked is, if the lifter was out of the lifter galley when you removed it, it probably caused a burr that will need to be removed before you can get it back in. If you took it right out of it's galley there shouldn't be a burr. They normally aren't too difficult to install. Are you...

Can you give a little history on why the lifter is out? Humor me for a minute. It's a legit question.

I too am curious what the dealer finds. And something that just hit me. It was already at the dealer so it wouldn't have really mattered, but out of all of our responses none of us mentioned checking the fuse unless someone did and I missed it. Not sure why it would be blown but unless it gets...

When you jumped the solenoid what exactly did you jump and did you have the key turned to on? If not, that wouldn't explain why it won't turn over using the key but it could be why you don't smell fuel or have spark when you jumped the solenoid.

You may have to look close. Sometimes it's very subtle and other times it's quite noticeable if you're looking for it. It doesn't take much of a bend to cause the starter gear to bind somewhat against the flywheel ring gear and slow things down.

Yep it is but like you say, if you can get the rocker cover off. And you probably already know but if you do adjust them make sure to loosen the center set screw first while holding the adjusting nut before trying to turn the adjusting nut. If not the nut will likely break in half. Seen it...

Don't snap it off yet. Valve clearance is NOT your issue. I'm going to guess you're working on a Courage twin or 7000 series? Improper valve clearance will not cause hard cranking on a Kohler twin. There is no compression release so the engine is always cranking under full compression. Nothing...

To see for sure if you solenoid is faulty try disconnecting what I will call the small excite wire from the solenoid. Then with the key in the off position reconnect the extra ground and see if the engine still turns over. If so without seeing all the wiring at the solenoid I would have to say...

Up to you of course but it's looks like you're almost there. If you don't give up, let us know. I have a thing or two that would be very easy to check.

I'm trying to visualize as well but having a little trouble. When the voltage dropped to 7-8 volts were you checking it right at the battery and was the engine actually turning over or was the solenoid rattling the only thing happening at that time? That is actually a huge voltage drop either...

Did this issue just start right out of the blue? Was there any maintenance or repair done right before this issue started? Is your 45 minute time frame based on starting with a full fuel tank every time? If by chance a fuel filter was recently replaced and a filter designed for a system with a...

Try going right to the negative terminal of the battery if possible. Every place you used still would run through the negative battery cable. Going straight to the negative terminal would eliminate the negative battery cable.

When you did your voltage tests where did you put the black lead of your voltmeter?

Got a voltmeter? Set it to DC. Put the red lead on the starter post and the black lead to a good ground. Engage the starter and read the voltage. What does it read? Do the same thing on both sides of the starter solenoid and the small excite terminal at the solenoid. Are all the voltages similar...

I know it's been weeks since you first posted but if you're still working on it, how does it run at full throttle?

Anything above 150 psi is good. If taken correctly and the engine is in good shape it could easily be 180. And .004 to .006 on clearance is correct.

If you've got good spark and are getting fuel to the spark plugs I'd probably be thinking a timing issue. Either ignition or valve. If the ignition timing if off that would mean the flywheel key is probably sheared or partially sheared. To know for sure the flywheel will need to be removed. I...

When did it last run correctly? Did you notice anything unusual the last time it was shut down? What is compression?

Even Kohler wasn't thrilled with the technology but pressure from the mower manufacturers forced the issue. These engines are primarily on home owner mowers and the mower manufacturers want to offer home owners a mower you just get on and turn the key. For the most part it's worked pretty well...

It's a shame that your dealers didn't have a good Kohler distributor or maybe didn't even contact them. Kohler came out with a kit to do away with the smart choke under warranty for those with repeat failures that for whatever reason couldn't be fixed. The cost to you would have been a choke...

Kohler must agree with you because they have a kit to do just that.

You're simply looking for anything loose or out of place such as a push rod or rocker arm. If everything looks to be intact turn the engine over and see if the rocker arms are moving. I did mention keep it simple and then I didn't. I should have first mentioned checking for piston movement as...

Shutting down a Courage single like that shouldn't have caused a problem. I'd probably start simple by pulling the rocker cover and turn the engine over and see if both rocker arms are moving. There were some compression release issues on the early engines but I believe that issue was solved...

Bent starter shaft was very common on the Courage twin cylinder engines. Kohler had the starter vendor increase the diameter of the shaft and changed the number of teeth on the gear so today that issue should be gone.

Exactly. That's why I was asking OP if they ever figured it out. That engine doesn't have a compression release so valve clearance doesn't matter. That engine is always going to be under full compression. If the valve clearance was too tight that could affect compression but that would lower it...

Ever figure it out?

Do you have it figured out yet? There could be other issues going on that are making things not working correctly but Kohler wires are Kohler wires. The white, green, red and purple on your original engine will do the same thing on the replacement engine. The white is ground to kill. The green...

Yeah that's because it doesn't need a regulator/rectifier. It's actually serving no useful purpose. If you can get your hands on an actual correct 12 584 04-S I'd try that.

Where you now have the regulator/rectifier mounted was there anything mounted there before? Normally on a 3 amp system there is a blank plate there. The 15 amp systems use that regulator/rectifier and have two white wires coming off the stator. The center spade on the regulator goes to the B+...

Of course that's exactly what I did. I looked at photo and recognized it as a Kohler. No question about it. It's a Kohler Command vertical shaft single cylinder. That blower housing and air filter and the upside down oil filter scream Kohler. 100% without a doubt.

It's definitely a Kohler.

There should never be any direct battery voltage going to any magneto type ignition coil so I don't quite follow what you have going on there. I actually taught Kohler technicians for 27 years and you definitely have something cobbled together there. And from you pictures you do for sure have a...

1.The Speed Advance Module has 5 wires. Red was key switched battery voltage. Black was ground. White was the kill lead. The other two wires, probably yellow and brown, went to the ignition coil. One spade terminal was slightly smaller than the other so you couldn't hook it up wrong. 2. The...

That is the correct part number. How does it run if you run it on just one cylinder at a time?

The 12 584 12-S isn't a voltage regulator but is called a Speed Advance Module, sometimes a Spark Advance Module which says you have a CV16. This still doesn't explain why your replacement coils won't mount other than they aren't the correct replacement for a 12 584 04-S. If your engine still...

Doesn't matter. CV15 or CV16 the blocks are the same so the 12 584 04-S will mount regardless. It might not run right but the coil will still mount, it would just be out of time. It would probably seem to run fine until you got it under a load. It would then be low on power. The CV16 was just a...

The 12 584 04-S is the correct module for CV11 thru CV15 and there is no other. Kohler has used that module for 20 plus years. Are your incorrect replacements genuine Kohler parts? It is possible to mount the module wrong side out but it still fits the same and you can set the proper gap but it...

What's the part number of the coil you used as the replacement? Did the small wire connection or connections look different from the coil you took off?

Yep. I would agree. A restriction in the muffler could definitely cause your scenario.

Did you also turn the governor shaft counterclockwise as far as it would go before re-tightening? The way I always explained a mechanical governor adjustment was to loosen the governor arm on the governor shaft. Move the governor arm which ever direction needed to open the throttle on the carb...

According to your spec # you have a governed idle and you may not have an idle screw on the carb. That screw if there wouldn't be used with a governed idle. Look at #27 in the diagram. That is the governed idle spring which again, according to your spec # your engine should have. One end of it...

Yep. Have to troubleshoot first.