Atco Commodore B14 Non-starting.
Hello everyone, thanks for adding me. I have been repairing mowers for several years now especially Atco / Qualcast and Briggs, so happy to help others when I can.
Unfortunately in this case I need help myself! I currently have a Commodore B14 which I was told had problems starting. I've thoroughly cleaned the carb, 3-pole ignition AND points and it has a good spark with petrol coming through to the spark plug (spark tested old-fashioned way using my thumb!) After using a replacement carb, many plugs, changing the points etc, it still will not fire. I've read on your forum that it could still be the sealed ignition unit ie; maybe giving a weak spark - not enough to ignite the petrol, so guess I should really invest in a volt meter to make sure? By the way, I replaced the 3-pole with another identical (Wipac) and this also sparked, however, this did not have the fitting on the plate to take a set of points.
Thanks for your know-how!
Kevin
PS I have posted a pic of the Zenith (Type 13 - TCA 2) carb type plus the ignition set-up.
Forums
Are you sure it is a
Are you sure it is a Commodore ?
Everything Wristpin says is valid, except, from the picture of the carb, I think you can discount the A98, the carb on this was integrated with the inlet manifold, if I remember correctly.
Can you post pictures of the engine and machine.
........ or maybe a Qualcast
........ or maybe a Qualcast Commodore ? !!
Hi everyone, thanks for the
Hi everyone, thanks for the great replies. Sorry, this is my fault - I forgot - the chap who I bought it from, had a replacement engine put on it. It's definitely a Commodore as it was apparently bought new by his father.
Please post a few pictures of
Please post a few pictures of the engine so we can identify what it is.
Ok, I'll add some tomorrow
Ok, I'll add some tomorrow
Everything Wristpin says is
Everything Wristpin says is valid, except, from the picture of the carb, I think you can discount the A98, the carb on this was integrated with the inlet manifold, if I remember correctly.
Yes, you do remember correctly. Took a bit of finding but here it is.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/n60c4doyag59s7a/Zenith%20carb%20for%20A98.Int…
Pics of the engine as
Pics of the engine as requested.
E8103 on block?
Okay, it looks like a 75cc
Okay, it looks like a 75cc Cast iron Suffolk, I say looks like, because the second picture is chopped off just where it would prove it one way or the other ;-)
If you look at the two nuts, near the sparkplug, that retain the main cover, if there is a headbolt between them, then it is 98cc, if there isn't, it is a 75cc. Or to put it another way, 8 headbolts = 98cc, 6 = 75cc
It should have contact breakers, so you will need to use the ignition plate shown in your picture, you will probably need to clean the points and then reset to 18thou
You should then get a good spark when you spin the flywheel by hand, but watch out for the governor airvane, it is very easy to catch your thumb on it.
@Hortimech, thanks for that.
@Hortimech, thanks for that. Yes, already cleaned the breakers and re-assembled and getting a spark. Still no sign of firing I'm afraid.
8103 on the block makes it a
8103 on the block makes it a Model 75G 14 75cc lump. and as Hortimech says, with points ignition. Very true what he says about minding your thumb when spinning the flywheel - nice clean cut that takes ages to heal! That's why I habitually nip the corner off the vane then round it off.
The stator that you showed has no condenser which means that the coil should be the later pattern with an embedded condenser which may have been a production improvement from the assembly point of view but has the disadvantage that in the event of the condenser failing the coil is written off.
If the flywheel has a number on it there's a possibility that it will be E9300
@Wristpin - thankyou for that
@Wristpin - thankyou for that. I'm going to take it apart again later so will check the flywheel
Quick update - can now
Quick update - can now confirm it's 75cc. had a new set of points come today so put them in at the recommended gap, but still a weak, intermittent spark. Am now guessing the sealed ignition is on it's way out?
The first problem is that to
The first problem is that to the best of my knowledge the Commodore never had that engine. It should have the A114 with breakerless electronic ignition - usually painted gold , I think. Also, the A114 had a Dellorto carburettor and not the Zenith in your image.
So, it may be that yours has been fitted with either a Suffolk cast iron 75 or 98 cc engine which would have had a points ignition system or Suffolk A98 aluminium block engine, the early versions of which had points and an air vane governor before switching to a mechanical governor and electronic ignition.
Once we have worked out what you have we can start to tackle the ignition issue. The worst case scenario is that the ignition components have been mixed but not matched! The flywheels are not interchangeable between electronic and points systems and to further confuse matters there were two electronic systems , capacitive and inductive each with their own specific flywheel.