QuestionQUESTION: Victa Commando V35/Electronic Ignition-2 stroke(circa 1980)
Australian.Initially had to replace the starter rope.Cleaned and reassembled the G4 Carby.Replaced the starter pulley unit and now the pulley wont work freely.It does pull freely with the sparkplug removed or if the decompressor unit is removed. I think the reason the pulley does not pull freely is due to the build up of compression in the crankcase and the gases are not migrating freely into the combustion chamber.The starter rope comes out equivalent to the up or down stroke.Have checked over everything again and again but cannot resolve the problem. I would dearly like some help. Thank You.
ANSWER: Hello Ralph:
The Problem you Described is Usually Caused by One of Two Things. 1- Damaged or Sheared Flywheel Key. This Causes the Plug to Fire Prematurely and Creates Kick Back. 2- Clogged Exhaust Port, Spark Arrestor Screen or Muffler. Gasses Cant Exhaust Properly and a Back Pressure Occurs Causing Kick Back. The Following is a File I have Made Up for this Problem. **Remove the Cover that Houses the Starter Assembly. Use a Bolt the Same Diameter and Threads as the Spark Plug and About 3" Long. Thread the Bolt into the Spark Plug Hole Until it Engages the Piston. Slowly Tighten the Bolt Until you have Locked the Piston and it Does Not Move. **BE CAREFULL A LOT OF TORQUE IS NOT REQUIRED PISTON DAMAGE CAN OCCUR ID TO MUCH TORQUE IS USED ON THE STOP BOLT** Now Remove the Flwheel Nut. Use a 3 Jaw Puller and Attach the Puller to the Flywheel. Look for a Puller with Flat Jaws. These Slide Under the Flywheel and Allow for Easier Removal. Tighten the Puller and then Hit the Puller with a Hammer. Tighten and Hit Again Until the Flywheel is Loose and Can be Removed from the Crankshaft. Note the Key that Aligns the Flywheel to the Crankshaft. This Key is Most Likely Sheared or Bent and Causing the Plug to Fire Slightly Out of Time and Causing a Compression Lock. There is Not Enough Compression to Kick Back But Enough to Cause the Engine to Seem to Have High Compression.** If you Hit a Snag or this Does Not Correct the Problem, I am Here if You Require More Assistance. Hope this Helps. Let me Know What Happens, Please. May the All Mighty Bless You and Yours. Thanks.
Good Luck
Respectfully
John
PS: I am Allowed to Answer 10 Questions a Day. If you See I am Maxxed Out, then Try Submitting your Question at or Just After 8pm EST (US). My New Day Starts then. Thanks.
Respectfully
John
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Hi! John. Thanks for your response. I am not too sure about the damaged/sheared Flywheel key but I will investigate it for sure. The clogged exhaust port is ruled out for I have taken the exhaust off and It still occurs.
To put you into the Picture:::: It all started with a broken starter cord. I removed the starter assembly and gave it to the shop to fix as I did not want to get involved in something that I haven't done before. Then I started to clean the unit up and found holes in the body arch at rear behind the carby and on the side near the wheel whose axle stub was slightly bent having been dropped on that side at some time making the wheel toe inwards. Left front wheel axle had lost its securing spring causing the shaft to flop up and down and move back and forth wearing the arch into distortion and the shaft to wear at the junction, the insulating plactic sleeve had disappeared and the other side was not too far off. What started out as a favour for an old age pensioner now became a large job. As I hold a welding certificate and a qualified panel beaters certificate I felt the job was not out of my depth. Also I did own a Victa 160 Autodrive (1975) and did my own service. So I cleaned the unit up. Rebuilt the gouged out section in one wheel arch and rebuilt both wheel arches. Filled in the worn away section of the front axle by brazing and ground finished it. Fitted new insulating plastic sleeving and new mounting springs. Hammered out the dented front skirt to shape. Now to the holes at the rear. I wrapped a piece of Ceramic Fibre paper around the rear of the engine as I did not want to burn the wiring or the carby manifold. This is high heat insulating material. Then I fashioned two pieces of steel into a shape to cover the holed area. This started from the rear of the carby and sloped up the body and also down the left flank, an area of 3"x4" sq.with a twist. The plan was to place the two shaped pieces side by side and braze them in to place. This was achieved with a lot of difficulty as I had no means of setting the body into a position to allow the braze to flow easily. This entailed a prolonged focus of heat in the area. Even though I had wrapped insulating material in this area of the engine to protect the wiring, the electronic ignition module is also mounted on the flywheel casing. I fear the module may have been affected by the heat in the area. The shops tell me that there is no way of testing the unit. However I used a volt meter positive to the coil wire and the other earthed and on ohm setting there is a slight response.On volt setting there is a low response. Possibly the unit is Kaput. Which means I will have to remove the engine, take off the base, drill out the poprivet and install a new E.I.module. I did attach the spark plug to the core wire and earthed the body and did note a spark but this happened only a few times but not consistently. As the core wire to the plug was shortened at some time to make a new connection the wire does not appear the best and would need to be lengthened to make a secure connection, but I don't know how and perhaps joining a length would cause a resistance thereby reducing the strength of the spark ???
Inspected the decompressor and found it rather clogged up and oily. This could have been from the excess of oil build-up in the sump. Replaced the element with a similar piece of foam but not a great result so I decided to fit a replacement kit - there was an improvement but the starter rope still comes out a short distance and then another length more. Perhaps with the first pull and the spark causing a partial or full combustion would cause the flow of gas to exhaust and the gas from the sump to migrate to the combustion chamber and there would be a roll-on effect - I Don't Know ???? Remembering there is no ignition. At first I thought I had not reassembled the LN Carby correctly so took it apart a few times & followed the manual to confirm correct assembly.
I am now going to disconnect the lugs on the E.I.Module give it a cleanup and try again. If no spark I will remove the engine. As I have already removed the base plate and figure out how to remove the boss holding the base. Then I will inspect the flywheel key to see if it is OK and next I will have to drill out the rivet securing the E.I.Module and install a new one and trust the installation will bring about the desired result. I can only hope the core is alrightand also the wire.
I am beginning to get frustrated as the E.I.Module has put another spoke in the wheel prolonging what should have been a straight forward repair.. I have a Massport mower which is straight forward without fancy gadgets for ignition. My apologies if I have bored you with this long saga of mine and I look forward to any advice you have to offer
I thank you Sir,
Sir Ralph the Rover ( not of the lawnmower !!!!)
ANSWER: Hello Ralph:
No Worries. I Appreciate All the Information I can Get to Help me in Assisting my Questioners. One Quick Question. Do you have a Blade Attached to the Engine? Some Engines Use the Blade for a Balancer. If No Blade is Attached to the Crankshaft or the Blade is Loose, you will have the Problem you Described. Even with the Extended Heat in the Area you Described, the Only Cause for this Kick Back would be the Flywheel Key and Since the Exhaust has been Eliminated; the Only Other Reason for the Kick Back is a Bent Conn Rod. I Do Not Believe the Conn Rod is Bent and that is Why I Did Not Include this in My Earlier E-Mail. The Sustained High Heat May have Damaged to the Ign Module, but this Would Not Cause the Kick Back. The Key Phrase is the Engine Turns Correctly with the Spark Plug Removed. If Any Other Damage would be Causing the Problem, it Would Occur Even with the Spark Plug Removed. If the Spark is Not Consistent, then **Remove the Spark Plug and Wrap the Threaded Section of the Plug with Wire, then Attach the Other End of the Wire to the Engine Block. Now, Remove the Coil Shut Off Wire at the Shut Off Switch. Check for Fire. If No Fire, then Remove the Cut Off Wire from the Coil (removal of the blower housing required) and Check for Fire. Turning the Engine By Hand (giving a Quick Twist with the Wrist) is Enough to Make the Coil Fire the Plug. If Still No Fire, then the Coil/Ign Module is Bad. By Attaching the Wire Ground for the Spark Plug, you are Removing Any Chance that a Bad Ground was Causing the Intermittent Spark During the Coil/Ign Module Test.** If you Hit a Snag or this Does Not Correct the Problem, I am Here if You Require More Assistance. Hope this Helps. Let me Know What Happens, Please. May the All Mighty Bless You and Yours. Thanks.
Good Luck
Respectfully
John
PS: I am Allowed to Answer 10 Questions a Day. If you See I am Maxxed Out, then Try Submitting your Question at or Just After 8pm EST (US). My New Day Starts then. Thanks.
Respectfully
John
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Hi! John
Thanks for your response. I followed your sparkplug check method and I did get a spark. I have as yet not followed up on the flywheel key but I think I will have to. Prior to me coming to you, I felt that the ign module was the problem so I took of the blades and tried to undo the nut holding the blade disc without success. I did try putting a spanner on it and then hit it with a hammer. But this did not budge it so I went about drilling the flat edges and used a punch and hammer to turn without success. Eventually I used a gas flame to heat the nut and then had success.Perhaps all the hammering may have caused the flywheel to become dislodged ?????? I had left it at that when I got your e-mail and I went about doing the sparkplug test. Today in exasperation I took the mower down to the local shop and explained the problem. The mechanic there pulled on the starter rope and agreed that there was a problem which seemed like compression was making it lock up. He could not identify the problem except to suggest that I leave the unit and he would do a full service check to find the problem !!!!!!!!
Bearing in mind that the unit belongs to a pensioner and the current cost of parts only fitted has cost A$ 87.00 I was not prepared to leave it there. Unfortunately I cannot dip into my pocket as I too am an old age pensioner (72).
However, bearing in mind your suggestion of checking the flywheel key, I am considering taking the entire unit to pieces. Do a full strip down. I know that I will have to replace the gaskets and a few other pieces but it would be a lot cheaper than A$ 140.00 that was quoted. I used a mulitmeter on the wires and the Ohm reading indicates that there is resistance and continuity. I am not aware of what the spark output value should be and whether the spark that is there is strong enough to fire. But I feel that if there is a spark then it will fire. At first I was considering washing out the sump and the cylinder with kerosene just to ensure that there is no oil residue lurking around causing excessive compression. I will check tomorrow with the shop whether the decompression kit they sold me is the correct one or is there another one for my mower. However I will press on and if you can come up with any other suggestions I will be only too happy to follow it through. I will also let you know my progress.
Thanks once again for your input and will look forward to hearing from you. It is 10.30 PM here in Australia and I must hit the sack as I have a full day tomorrow.
Kind Regards
Ralph
AnswerHi Ralph:
It is Possible you Damaged the Flywheel Key when you were Hitting the Nut. Please Remember that a Blade May be Required to Balance the Engine. This May Help in the Flywheel Removal. ***Remove the Blower Housing (metal engine cover). Remove the Flywheel Nut or Starter Cup (Depends on the Model). Now Attach a Steering Wheel Puller to the Flywheel Using the Threaded Holes in the Flywheel. Tighten the Puller. Now Hit the Puller with a Hammer. Repeat this Procedure Until the Flywheel Pops Up or can be Lifted Off the Crankshaft. On Some Models you Can Not Use a Puller and Must Use a Pry Bar and a Pipe Cap that is Slightly Larger than the Crankshaft. Place the Pipe Cap Over the Crankshaft to Protect it. Place the Pry Bar Under the Thick Section of the Flywheel and Pull Up Against the Flywheel. **BE CAREFUL DO NOT PUT A HOLE IN THE BLOCK UNDER THE FLYWHEEL** Now Hit the Pipe Cap that is on the Crankshaft (covered with the Pipe Cap). Repeat the Procedure Until the Flywheel can be Lifted Off the Crankshaft. *** If you Hit a Snag or this Does Not Correct the Problem, I am Here if You Require More Assistance. Hope this Helps. Let me Know What Happens, Please. May the All Mighty Bless You and Yours. Thanks.
Good Luck
Respectfully
John
PS: I am Allowed to Answer 10 Questions a Day. If you See I am Maxxed Out, then Try Submitting your Question at or Just After 8pm EST (US). My New Day Starts then. Thanks.
Respectfully
John
