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I recently purchased a 69 or 70 John Deere 110 with the K181s motor. I have converted this one over to external coil and have a new 12v coil, condensor, clean points, and a ballast resistor mounted to use when I get this thing running good. It seems to start decent the first time and will idle and run fine at full throttle. The problem is when I idle down to fast it will die out or just die off on its own and will not start again. If it sets for even 5 mins it will fire back up. I have checked the gas cap vent, its getting a hot blue spark, timing is very very close, and fuel seems to be getting there. I am lost..... can a weak stator cause this to die out and not start? Please help!!

Do you have a good blue spark when it shuts down. Could be caused by a heat short or open.

So you switched it over to a battery ignition? Did you get the right condenser?

Also, you should check your valve clearances cold, your problem could be there.

Rivets said:

Do you have a good blue spark when it shuts down. Could be caused by a heat short or open.

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Yes I have a good blue spark,
when it dies it was orange when I first did the conversion and that was because I had forgot to change out the condenser. The coil is mounted out front on a bracket I made. I have it positioned so that it will cool with the flywheel. It is a good 4" from the motor and seems to be staying cool enough.

Fish said:

So you switched it over to a battery ignition? Did you get the right condenser?

Also, you should check your valve clearances cold, your problem could be there.

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Yes I did switch to external coil and I have replaced the condenser with an automotive 12v condenser. That's what gave me my good blue spark. I also noticed yesterday that there is a constant flame in the muffler, sometimes it shoots outta the pipe. I mounted a bracket in the front of the motor by the flywheel and I have the coil, condenser, and resistor mounted to it. I have it placed so that it will stay as cool as possible. Haven't had to use the resistor yet but I have a 1.6ohm that will cut the supply to around 9v.

From what you are saying seems to be heat related, check valve clearances (already mentioned) try a spark plug with a higher heat rating and also check the timing, is it retarded this would make it run hot.

EngineMan said:

From what you are saying seems to be heat related, check valve clearances (already mentioned) try a spark plug with a higher heat rating and also check the timing, is it retarded this would make it run hot.

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Engine Man, the whole thing is retarded to me..LOL!!! I have set the timing with a volts tester. As soon as the protruding mark on the bearing plate aligns with the "S" on the flywheel the volts break. I had read from a brian miller thread that this is the most accurate way to set the timing for a backyard mechanic. I am not sure if I should be on the s or the t though. He was unclear about that. What do u mean by retarded? Can you tell me how to troubleshoot that? Trying to find specs for valve clearance tonight. I just want to run it this winter and then I am doing a rebuild and restore starting in spring.

Intake .006-.008
Exhaust .017-.019

Sounds like your exhaust is open all the time

Fish said:

Intake .006-.008
Exhaust .017-.019

Sounds like your exhaust is open all the time

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Thanks for the specs, I will write these down for future reference. As for the flames.... I have gotten them to stop. I removed the shut off valve from the gas tank, put a straight through 90 on it, blew out the gas lines, replaced the fuel filter, and reset the gaps on the points to .018 instead of .020. Not sure what fixed that but it has stopped. I still have a very hard time getting a restart when its warm and am starting a new thread in regard to the situation. Thanks for the help guys.

Cork said:

Engine Man, the whole thing is retarded to me..LOL!!! I have set the timing with a volts tester. As soon as the protruding mark on the bearing plate aligns with the "S" on the flywheel the volts break. I had read from a brian miller thread that this is the most accurate way to set the timing for a backyard mechanic. I am not sure if I should be on the s or the t though. He was unclear about that. What do u mean by retarded? Can you tell me how to troubleshoot that? Trying to find specs for valve clearance tonight. I just want to run it this winter and then I am doing a rebuild and restore starting in spring.

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Retarded what it means is that the timing is too late, most engines are timed to degrees BTDC. only you (or the person who did it) will know what has been done to the kohler181s because it has been modified by you so we here can only give you limited help, so do one thing at a time and do the valves first.

You said it was shooting a flame out the muffler at all times. Well to me that would indicate it running too lean. I had an old B&S 11 HP that was doing that and you could see a flame esp at night! It would get so hot you could see the valves going up and down through the muffler as it glowed! Might want to check your float level. I've had some trouble out of those old 60's and 70's side shaft cast iron Kohler's and found them to be either excellent, trouble-free workhorses, or temperamental troublemakers needing too much adjusting etc. Check the float level. Some of those old Kohlers have those odd looking brass inserts that sits right below the float and attach to where the fuel pickup tube joins the bowl. The bolt that holds the bowl on goes through it and holds it in place. Sometimes they get warped or twisted and will interfere with the float not letting it work properly. I've only seen these on the old Kohler cast iron side shaft engines. Even if you don't have that type engine, still sounds like it's running too lean. Hope this helps.

EngineMan said:

Retarded what it means is that the timing is too late, most engines are timed to degrees BTDC. only you (or the person who did it) will know what has been done to the kohler181s because it has been modified by you so we here can only give you limited help, so do one thing at a time and do the valves first.

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Thanks for the help Engine Man, I have gotten past the flames issue now and am dealing with the "hard to start when warm" issue. I will be starting a new thread about it soon if I dont get it resolved.

Cork said:

Thanks for the help Engine Man, I have gotten past the flames issue now and am dealing with the "hard to start when warm" issue. I will be starting a new thread about it soon if I dont get it resolved.

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I can't see what you are going to gain by starting a new thread on this, you be better to work with the boys that are already helping you here.

You say that you are past the flames issue, well what was it, was it running too lean..? (look at post back) we need to know what you are doing to the engine, that way we know not to waste time telling you to do things that you have already done...! running a engine too lean will make it run hot, have you check the valves..?