Murray 30" MER no spark

[L0n3s0m3_M0w3r]

I am not familiar with that particular mower but usually the kill wire is a ground wire as it grounds the coil so no spark is generated
As such it should be either open circuit to both sides of the battery with engine on and closed circuit to the negative side of the battery in the off position.
There should never be voltage on the wire.
And unless you have a funny battery you should never see voltages higher than 14V
Are you sure you are reading the meter correctly ?
Auto ranging meters could be reading kV , V or mV

New meter, wrong setting. 12.5V to positive battery terminal, open to ground. The kill wire connects to the coil from the harness at the same junction as the stator. It's black in but yellow out the other side.

 

[Scrubcadet10]

i can't remember if i asked you or not, did you try flipping the coil over?

 

[slomo]

Is there no printing on the coil that states this side out and such?

 

[Scrubcadet10]

Is there no printing on the coil that states this side out and such?

some just say Cyl. Side

 

[L0n3s0m3_M0w3r]

Sorry for the delay, I've not been feeling well for a few days. I put the coil on the same as the old one came off and the one before it with the kill wire terminal on top. I should be feeling up to checking on it in a day or two. Until then, is there a way I can check the coil? Theoretically if I replaced the coil again and left the kill wire disconnected it would start and the problem would be stopping it? Considering what I've been through with this it seems like a better problem to have.
Thanks very much

 

[Scrubcadet10]

Contrary to popular belief you really can't test a coil (Ohms) with a meter, the timing chip throws off all those readings..
A coil either,
1. Works
2. works with kill wire unplugged
3. works, but fails when hot (bad coil)
4. does not work with the kill wire plugged, but works with the kill wire unplugged. (kill circuit shorted to ground)

 

[L0n3s0m3_M0w3r]

Contrary to popular belief you really can't test a coil (Ohms) with a meter, the timing chip throws off all those readings..
A coil either,
1. Works
2. works with kill wire unplugged
3. works, but fails when hot (bad coil)
4. does not work with the kill wire plugged, but works with the kill wire unplugged. (kill circuit shorted to ground)

So I guess I'll be buying a new coil. Looking back there have been several issues with this mower over the years. Failing to shut off with the key, failing to start, and others. Once I was charged for wire harness replacement only to discover later that they had merely defeated the seat safety switch.

 

[L0n3s0m3_M0w3r]

Solved. After weeks of trying virtually everything, except of course, the right thing. At a whim I decided to look at some pics of coils online. Then I dug out the old one I had recently replaced. It was marked cylinder side and outside (or similar). I removed the recently installed coil to have a look. No visible markings other than the brand name. I reinstalled it using the marked orientation of the old coil, which was the reverse of how I removed it. It started right up.
The lesson here is never go by memory. Always check for indication of orientation and/or read the instructions. Measure twice, cut once. This has been one of my dumber moves and I'm embarrassed to admit it but if it saves someone else it will be worth it. I'll be 70 this fall. Maybe it's time for Prevagen.
Thanks to everyone who lent a hand on this. Time to go cut the grass.

 

[L0n3s0m3_M0w3r]

Well it seems I celebrated too early. I got the front yard mowed. Started on the back and noticed grass was no longer coming from the discharge chute. So I stopped, turned off the key to clear the clog. Following that when I turned the key I got nothing. I pushed it back up into the shed and put the battery charger on it despite being relatively certain that was not the problem. After an hour it's still dead, not a peep when the key is turned. Being thorough I checked all the switches with the meter and all checked good. I swapped the key switch with the one I recently removed. Still nothing. With the key turned crossing the solenoid with a screwdriver turns the starter but no spark. I removed the blower housing, disconnected the kill wire, replaced the cover, turned the key and still nothing. But with the key in the on position and crossing the solenoid with a screwdriver it started. I didn't think to see if it would start with the key in the off position. Of course I had to kill it with a screwdriver shorting the sparkplug to ground. Fortunately it began to rain because I was just about to set it on fire.

 

[hdsport]

Well it seems I celebrated too early. I got the front yard mowed. Started on the back and noticed grass was no longer coming from the discharge chute. So I stopped, turned off the key to clear the clog. Following that when I turned the key I got nothing. I pushed it back up into the shed and put the battery charger on it despite being relatively certain that was not the problem. After an hour it's still dead, not a peep when the key is turned. Being thorough I checked all the switches with the meter and all checked good. I swapped the key switch with the one I recently removed. Still nothing. With the key turned crossing the solenoid with a screwdriver turns the starter but no spark. I removed the blower housing, disconnected the kill wire, replaced the cover, turned the key and still nothing. But with the key in the on position and crossing the solenoid with a screwdriver it started. I didn't think to see if it would start with the key in the off position. Of course I had to kill it with a screwdriver shorting the sparkplug to ground. Fortunately it began to rain because I was just about to set it on fire.

I guess we're all wondering where you ended up with this effort.
Please advise.
Thanks.