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Briggs and Stratton Cast Iron 14hp Won't Start. Nothing I've seen before!

1582 Views 23 Replies 14 Participants Last post by  extech
Hello I have a Briggs and Stratton 14hp 32000 in a Simplicity 7014. Freshly rebuilt. The engine ran PERFECTLY until one day it did not want to start. I eventually got it started and it ran perfect. Once it was ran and drove for a while I parked it to see if it would start back up. It fired immediately and so I shut it off and tried it again. Same result. I parked it confidently thinking it was just a little dirt in the carb or an other problem that was pretty much fixed. I let is sit for a while and during this period it rained. I did not think much of it till I went back out there to start it and it would not start. It would fire once and a while, but would not start. Even spraying carb cleaner down the carb did not make it start. I figured it was water in the carb and tank from the rain and pulled it in the shop to fix. I drained the tank and replaced the carb ( Yes I do know I could of cleaned it out, but it needed one anyway) and the exact same problem occurred if not worse. It would pop a little with fuel in the carb, but would not start. I checked spark at the plug, it has good compression, the air filter is off so no restriction there. When I pulled off the fuel line fuel immediately started pouring out as it is gravity fed. I even checked the points and they were at 20 thousands. The only thing I can think of is the flywheel key sheared and the timing is just slightly off. Although it started just fine when I went to park it and it restarted well immediately after. I am fresh out of tricks and ideas. Any idea of what it could be before I take the engine out and check the flywheel key? Thanks and have a great day!
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What spark tester are you using? Most of the light up ones will still light up if you have weak spark. You either have to check the spark on a plug (it should be bright bluish white) (if it is a yellowish color spark it will pop off occasionally but it will not start, I would suspect a bad condenser)

Or buy yourself a 1/2 decent spark Gap tester. I have one of the Oregon in line spark testers. Used to be able to get them off of amazon for $8-$15 but I can't seem to find them on there. You can order 1 off of Walmarts site for $12.27 + shipping if you want to pick 1 up. Robot or human?


Rained out and now it won't start? Moisture in the points cover will do that. Spray the points and condensor and the cover out with brake parts cleaner and run a piece of emery cloth or fine grit wet/dry sand paper over the points.

A magneto and condenser usually goes bad when you shut the machine off. You are basically shorting both the condenser and Mag out to shut the engine off.


Put the original carb back on if it worked. Alot of the aftermarket carbs are hard to tune and some just run like crap no matter how much you adjust them.


Speaking of Walmart I have been buying quite a few parts off of there online store recently. They have all sorts of stuff on there now including pistons, rings, connecting rods, starters, carbs, tires, tubes you name it. My eyeballs about popped out of my head when I found a decent aftermarket piston and cylinder and clutch drum for my old Husqvarna 55 chainsaw on there. Shipping is alot cheaper than Amazon shipping if you do not have a Prime subscription. I did buy the more expencive Hyway brand parts but they are alot better quality than most other aftermarket parts and they are still around 1/2 the price of OEM parts.
Or just touch the lead and touch a grounding rod. If you yell after cranking it over, that's a good sign it has good spark. If only a small profanity leaves your lips, you might have a weak spark. And finally, if you don't make a sound except for a puzzled grumble, you don't have any spark. ;)
(EDIT): In all seriousness I would just zap myself instead of paying for a tester to find out if that's even your problem.
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Mostly correct, but there is a 4th thing needed: Correct TIMING ! ....Spark, Fuel, and compression must occur at the proper time, or the engine may not run.
Unless it's a 2 stroke, and if it's a diesel there is no spark. It's one of the reasons that 2 stroke Detroit Diesels don't die.
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Aren't diesel injectors timed? ....I have no diesel experience.
Well, yes but it's nearly impossible for them to get out of time because the cam inside the pump is usually shaft driven. If your injectors are out of time... light the engine on fire and walk away.
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