If your tiller wouldn't start

PrettyPaisley · #1 04/08/08, 06:56 PM

what would you check first?

I have acquired an old tiller that will not start. There is gas in it...but it wouldn't start when I got it. I guess I thought the tiller fairy would work her magic when it was in the shed all winter, but she did not.

What is most likely the issue? It's really not that old...it just hasn't been taken care of very well.

wrongwayrick · #2 04/08/08, 07:11 PM

Always start with the basics. Spark, fuel and compression

PrettyPaisley · #3 04/08/08, 07:19 PM

The first two make sense, but what is "compression"?

Faithful One · #4 04/08/08, 08:05 PM

you need these three for combustion to happen:

Air/Fuel>compression>Spark and then "BOOM" in the combustion chamber!!!

Compression is achived by the piston rapid movement and good rings and head gasket, usually you don't have to worry about compression unless the motor goes *BANG* when your running the engine and suddenly locks up.

Usually compression needs checked if the engine is worn or somone didn't check the oil, but then it would throw a rod first most likely.

harley · #5 04/08/08, 08:20 PM

Compression is what happens in the cylinder area where the fuel and air mix when the piston travels up and down inside and the spark plug ignites the mixture....if its too low, it will not burn.
Easiest way to get an idea at least if its good enough is to remove spark plug and while holding thumb over the spark plug hole tightly, get somebody to pull the cord like they were trying to start the engine. If it has good compression it SHOULD be hard to hold your thumb on the hole...
Its by far not a guarantee, but on most small single cylinder engines, it its hard to hold your thumb, its got more than enough to run.

wdchuck · #6 04/08/08, 08:41 PM

Fresh gas

Check for spark by removing the sparkplug, put it back in the boot and let it sit on the engine somewhere stable, then pull the starter cord, if you are in the shed or in the shade, you should be able to see the bright blue spark and hear some crackle, if you do, then the remaining issue is fuel getting to the combustion chamber. Put the sparkplug back in, leave the choke lever on full, and pull the starter cord a few times, remove the sparkplug, if its dry, then no fuel getting through. If no fuel, you may just have some debris in the way inside the carb or there could be some old fuel buildup in the fuel jet, in which case, some spray carb cleaner may be just enough to solve the problem.

Another thing you can try, is to remove the sparkplug, add a couple drops of fuel in the hole, quickly put the sparkplug back in, put the boot on and pull the handle a few times, if there is spark it should sputter to life for a second or two.

Clean or replace the air filter if need be.

Their is another item that needs checking once in a while, the coil, makes spark in conjunction with the flywheel, if the contact surface of the flywheel is rusted over, then the engine won't start or will start very hard. If the magnetic portion ( a small rectangular surface) flywheel is rusted, you can clean it with a scotchbrite pad and some elbow grease, then a light coating of oil with a q-tip and check it in the fall and spring to keep the magnetic portion nice an shiny clean.

Look in a small engine book at the library or look up your tiller/engine online for a breakdown and how to identify the parts.

foxtrapper · #7 04/09/08, 05:56 AM

Gasoline not getting through the carburetor is quite common. Especially today with the ethanol blended fuels. Easily fixed with some simple cleaning of the carburetor.

Spark loss can be checked easily by just removing the spark plug from the engine, plugging it into the wire on the top, laying it down and pulling the string. You should see sparks.

If this tiller quit working in the field on the previous owner, especially if they hit a stump or such and it quit, is likely a sheered flywheel key. The flywheel has to be in a certain position to make the spark work at the right moment. It actually doesn't take much to cause the flywheel to be out of position and sparking at the wrong time to start or run.

mnn2501 · #8 04/09/08, 09:27 AM

If gas was left in it over the winter, you will probably need to have fuel line and carburator cleaned - been there, done that. You might try draining all the old gas out and putting a little bit of brand new gas into it, you may get lucky. If gas sits a long time it pretty much turns into varnish. You should always drain gas from tillers, lawnmowers, etc if your not going to use them for a while or use one of the gas stabilizers they sell.

PrettyPaisley · #9 04/09/08, 06:24 PM

It worked!

I started with replacing the spark plug and changed the gas. It wasn't working at first, so I put a few drops of gas in the hole where the spark plug goes and it ran for a few seconds then quit. I have NO idea where the carburator is-but as I was headed inside to Google it the neighbor's son came over to collect some money I owed him for taking some stuff to the dump. He showed me the carburator and a little switch he said can sometimes get stuck-and with that it was off and running. (I gave him a dozen eggs as a thanks!)

Now I have to get used to using a tiller. That was hard work!

Thanks for the help!