That happened to my uncle. It was the “Key” that breaks off to protect the motor should your daughter hit a rock. If I remember correctly it was on the shaft to the flywheel. I do remember it was a really easy, quick and cheap fix. It’s a tiny sacrificial piece of soft metal found at any hardware store.I recently came to visit my daughter and she said her lawn mower will not run first I replaced the spark plug still no spark then I pulled the pull rope cover off and inspected the coil found that it was Rusty apparently been leaving it outside so I've replaced the coil clean the flywheel and still no spark any help would be appreciated
My mower has that same trouble. The linkage under the shroud gets sticky, and I have intermittent stalls. What a pain, but a little sleuthing found the issue.I assume that this is a newer lawnmower the type that you have to hold the handle down in order to start it. At the point where the handle meets the connection on the mower pull that lever back with your finger. The zone control cable may not be working properly and not fully releasing the cutoff switch. That would cause the problem that you are facing.
All good recommendations but didn’t see a comment about the safety cut out switch feature. This switch is designed to prevent a spark if not assembled properly or maybe you have a faulty switch. When I reassembled my 5.5Hp Snapper mower I hand the same problem, no spark. I remembered a mower tech warn me about this feature and sure enough the blower housing tube was not contacting the safety cutout switch during re-installation because the plastic mounting flange had cracked. I re-aligned it and it started right up. See attached photos.I recently came to visit my daughter and she said her lawn mower will not run first I replaced the spark plug still no spark then I pulled the pull rope cover off and inspected the coil found that it was Rusty apparently been leaving it outside so I've replaced the coil clean the flywheel and still no spark any help would be appreciated
You will have spark, just not at the correct timeHave you checked the shear pin in the flywheel? If it is even partially sheared you will get no spark.
We see that all the time people put them on upside down and bring them back that is the first thing we ask them. They are marked cylinder side or this side up. Hard to see but is there.Did you install the coil upside down?
Buy one if these & test for spark in dim light. That way you know for certain that it is or isn’t a spark problem.I recently came to visit my daughter and she said her lawn mower will not run first I replaced the spark plug still no spark then I pulled the pull rope cover off and inspected the coil found that it was Rusty apparently been leaving it outside so I've replaced the coil clean the flywheel and still no spark any help would be appreciated
Maybe OP did use a spark tester. I always use mine to check for spark before buying a new coil, but I also check to see if the coil is being inadvertently grounded. If the kill switch is not being opened when you pull back the bale, the spark will be grounded and your tester will show a no spark condition. The OP said that the mower was rusty from sitting outside under a tarp. I Not much to go on but is consistent with a rusted/corroded kill switch that is grounding out the spark. You can pull the ground wire off the coil and if that gets you spark, then you know you have a good coil but bad kill switch or other inadvertent ground. Another option if you suspect the kill switch is to insert a nonconductive material between the two connectors on the kill switch and see if the mower starts. I use a 3 inch by 1/2 inch strip of plastic I cut from a milk jug so when the engine starts I can easily pull the plastic strip out and shut down the engine, which is easier than fooling with the connection on the coil. If OP has tested and excluded bad ground then I’d suggest he ask daughter if she ran over a stump or rock just before motor stopped. If so, pull the flywheel off and check for sheared key. That would result in defective ignition timing, ie: he’d have spark, but not when he needed it, so again not a condition where a spark tester tells the whole story.Buy one if these & test for spark in dim light. That way you know for certain that it is or isn’t a spark problem.