Snowblowers???

magneto no mo?

they're pretty simple, if theres a weak spark, its usually the magneto. might also check the points gap. if there was no spark at all, you might check to see if the key had sheared off (flywheel won't spin with the crank)

i read somewhere the thickness of a peice of paper, so i'd guess a spec of business card to plain paper will work

Yes, one business card is about right. Points rust on snowblowers because they sit there and frequently were put away packed with snow.

Don't discount the slipped flywheel. Not so common on snowblowers. Your clue is a slightly tweaked flywheel key. It doesn't take much!

also clean and set the points!

I also think you need to check your magneto. I don't know how to do this though. I would just check for voltage coming off the leads on it. The last time I knew of a magneto going bad was on a buddy's XR-100 dirt bike. We just kinda knew it was the magneto. We replaced it and she ran fine.

Best way to test a magneto is to hold the spark plug wire with your bare hand and crank the engine over... If your pacemaker stops the magneto works.

Im the shop foreman at a tool repair shop.

Weak spark sounds like your magneto for sure.

Make sure your points are set around 0.020 and use the business card to set the distance from the magneto to the flywheel magnet.

What brand of engine is on your Simplicity snowblower?

Your local lawnmower shop should be able to set you up with the parts you need.

Good luck.

Shawn

I am having a different problem with my snowblower. It runs,but is surging like crazy. I have yet to put a load on it other than just engaging the thrower part because we have not had enough snow to use the blower,but I am not sure the surging will clear up with a load of snow on it. I guess I will find out soon enough. If I mess with a small linkage on the carb it smooths out,but with out monkeying with it the engine surges like crazy. The snowblower is a three to four year old Husqvarna with a 12 horse Techumsa(spelling?) snow king engine if that helps.

Chris

Surging often happens until the engine warms up. You can adjust the main jet from under the carb bowl.

Tecumseh Snow King engine? Those things surge like mad without a load. Heck, they still surge with a load on them.

My snow king surges pretty bad. Adjusting the main jet and idle jet, and cleaning the carb got it better but its not perfect. Under load its fine so I run it as is.

Surging can be an air leak at the carb, mixtures screws out of whack or even bad gas.

Most of the newer carbs only have an idle mix screw and it has a tamper-proof cap on it so adjustments can be a bugger without some work.

Tecumseh engines seem to be more prone to running like crap than anything else.

Newer engines are far more sensetive to fuel quality and state-of-tune than older engines thanks to EPA regulations. I've had older engines run on gas that was orange but newer ones seem to hate fuel that is more than 6 months old.

Shawn

What's a snow blower?

I just figured out a really cheap way to turn my dishwasher into a snow thrower... I bought her a shovel!!!

Sounds like my snowblower. It is a Sears/Craftsman design, apparently WWII Vintage. Bought it at an estate sale, and it hadn't run in 30 years or so. Fresh oil and gas, and she fired right up. Amazing!

I just finished using mine, It never breaks down but it runs on a price alcohol based fuel.

I usd mine last night,and again this morning,and all was well. I filled it up with some fresh gas,and some sta-bil,and it seemed to run great,with no more surging. Maybe it was just a fluke.

My 13 year old blower with the 8hp Tecumseth(sp) starts on the first pull, usually and doesn't surge. I don't remember ever changing the spark plug. Now other parts of the blower are beginning to fail.

for clarificaton:

Could be a broken plug wire as we Spray some water around the plug wire area and crank it over in a dark garage. If it looks like a thunder storm in there you have some voltage gettin out.