I'm trying to get my Craftsman DYS-4500 (917276905) working again.
- New battery, charged and working.
- New spark plugs.
- New ignition coils / spark plug wires (x2).
A week or two back, I did get the engine running. It was hit or miss, and I had to spray carburetor cleaner in the air inlet to initiate the start. Once it was running clunky for a minute, it smoothed out and ran okay. I never drove it (didn't put it under load) because I couldn't get it started the next time I went to try to move it.
There was evidence of mouse activity and the white kill switch wire (running to the ignition coils), which runs right alongside the red wire which runs to the fuel shutoff solenoid (I think) both had missing insulation and surely could have shorted to each other. This is now fixed.
My current issue is that the engine will crank when the key is turned, but the spark plugs do not fire. I am using an inline spark plug tester to verify this. The light only illuminates briefly after releasing the key from the start position.
- Fuel is flowing (I can smell it).
- Air filter is clean (also tested without it attached).
- Spark plugs do not fire ever until I release the key.
- I checked the flywheel key and I believe it is intact (did not remove the entire flywheel, but enough to see the key in the slot).
Any ideas on what to try next?
Resources:
Thank you.
Update ... it may be sparking more regularly than I thought, after testing it at night, see video: https://photos.app.goo.gl/nNsdQaUxibbsGxkZ8
