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I have a 20 year old 5 hp B&S engine on my Kemp Wood Chipper. Kemp is out of business. This chipper was my Dad's and it has sat unused for 5 years. It has an electric start, but that seems to be not working.

I can pul the cord and get the engine to turn over pretty easily. But, there is no effort to crank. I replaced the plug and gapped to 0.035. The tip of the plug does seem to be a bit longer (towards the cylinder head) than the last plug. I was told this was the correct plug. I have removed the electric start, but left wires connected. In other words the electric start is not engaged into the engine but laying to the side.

When I pull the connector off the top of the plug I do not see a spark jumping across.

What should be my next steps in troubleshooting?

Thanks, John

Pull the spark plug and lay it on top of the cylinder head, turn over engine to see if you have a good spark, if you don't have a spark, look at the kill wire or switch, gap should be .030". also do a compression test, if you have spark and good compression, all you need now is fuel, make sure you have fuel going to the carb and the into the cylinder, if not clean or rebuild the carb. from what I can make out, you don't seem to have compression, so do that test first. if you need more help from us, post up the model and type numbers. good luck.

coasttal said:

...
I can pul the cord and get the engine to turn over pretty easily. But, there is no effort to crank.
I have removed the electric start, but left wires connected. In other words the electric start is not engaged into the engine but laying to the side.

When I pull the connector off the top of the plug I do not see a spark jumping across.

What should be my next steps in troubleshooting?

Thanks, John

Click to expand...

Hello John... & WELCOME to these Forums....
I'm not fully following what you are doing...
Are you saying that when you try to "pull" start the engine there is no resistance (can Not feel compression)?
You have unbolted the starter from the engine but left the hot wire from the solenoid to it connected?

To begin I would reattach the starter, then see why it is failing to function... It is MUCH easier to troubleshoot an engine that will crank over with a starter rather than using a pull rope to crank it...

Is the battery full charged?
What is the voltage available At the starter when you attempt to crank engine using the starter?
Get the starter working and it May be much easier to get the rest... :smile:KennyV

For a little clarification:

My brother-in-law had this unit that he got when my Dad passed away 5 years ago. My wife and I had bought this for my Dad. My BinL said it ran well several years ago. The model for the B&S engine is 130207-2925-01 and engine code is 87070107. Yep it is 26 years old. Looks about 5 years old though. My dad had taken great care of it. It is a 5 hp engine with horizontal shaft and is on a Kemp Chipper. Kemp is out of business.

When I got the unit it would not crank form the key. I replaced the fuse as part of the circuit and also the battery. I checked and was getting voltage, depending on key positon to the starter and through the fuse. Still I could not get the engine to turn over. I removed the starter, but none of the wires. I wanted to see if the starter would spin over when it was on battery power, but I got nothing. I found the chipper was bound up and cleared that. At that point I could pull the rope just as on any other engine to crank. Good resistance similar to my other small engines so I conclude I have compression.

The existing plug was rusted as well as the ignition wire. I sanded both to shiny metal. I still got no spark. I replaced the plug and I do get a spark across the tip of the new plug when I have it laying on the engine head.

Tomorrow, I will pour gas in the carburetor and see if I can get something to fire off. Any other suggestions? Many thanks for this help.

Check all wiring connections, and also see if there is any rust on the flywheel where the magnets are giving you a not so good spark.

Sooner or later you'll have to remove the flywheel and clean and gap the points, or replace them entirely which would be the better option. That engine may not have points as I have not checked the model # in which case it's all built in the coil itself. But I've done both, depending on the quality of the points at the time on the engine. I've seen many a good set of points and condenser thrown out because some mechanic didn't want to file and set them, or either the shop wanted to sell new parts. But as a general rule it's standard procedure these days to replace the points set, or put on the electronic module and eliminate the points all together. May have to use PB Blaster or some other penetrating oil to get down in those threads if and when you pull the flywheel later. Glad to see the old gal still chugging along! As far as that setup goes, those with carburetors above the tank will stand more water in the tank, sediments, and so forth than the float bowl / needle types. Wouldn't hurt to take the diaphragm and gasket out and clean it good, or either replace it. If she's been sitting that long, I'd say she's way over-due for a carburetor kit! But the old engine might just fire up and run. I'd clean the carb and clean the pickup tube screen down in the tank, which is attached to the carburetor just to make sure it's not stopped up as well. Also clean out the gas tank as well. It's a sure bet when they've sat that long, the carb will need attention before it'll run right. Good Luck!

From the code number of the engine, it shouldn't have points, it should be the magnetron ignition module. Remove the wire from the module and then crank the engine with the spark plug against a good engine ground, and see if you have spark, If not then replace the module. If you have spark then the problem is between the module and the kill switch.

If the starter is not bolted to the engine it will not crank, because bolting it to the engine provides the ground to allow the starter motor to work. Plug for that engine should be a Champion J19LM, or Autolite 458.

Plug for that engine is 1-1/2" Champion CJ-8

Some progress.

Considering that the unit has an electric start, 12V, I decide to reinstall the starter and battery, plus new fuse, even though old fuse looked OK (will test later). Being very careful, I poured a little gas in the top of the carburetor. I installed a new plug and gapped to 0.030. On the second pull, the unit fired off and ran until the gas in the carburetor was consumed. I repeated this a second time.

I am obviously getting spark to fire, so I am assuming that my problem may lie in a fuel feed situation.

On another older engine, that had a problem firing off and running, I poured a good bit of gas into the carburetor and just let it sit for a couple days. Apparently the gas cleared the gunk through the fuel system and that unit, Merry Tiller, runs like a top and cranks on 1st pull. That unit is as old as them one.

What is everyone's thoughts for my next steps?

Thanks, John

Got it running.

Put gas in the carb from above without air filter. Unit ran a bit. Repeated and it ran a bit more. Poured more gas in the carb and just let it sit to see if it would self clean and let it sit for several hours and watched the Talladega race. At the rain delay, went back and the unit cranked an ran for an extended period with a little smoke and carbon smell.. I shut unit off and recranked again with the pull cord. For some reason the electric 12V start would not do anything. However, while running I turned the key and could here it engage. After shutting the unit down, I could then start it with the electric start. This repeated several times as well as to shut it down.

I think I need to just use this unit a good bit more, but soon change the oil.

How much oil should this motor require?

Many thanks to everyone's help. John