QuestionI have a 2005 Ingersoll 3016 garden tractor with the Briggs and Stratton 16 HP engine, model 303777, type 12222-E1,code 02062511. Only 72 hours on the engine. Has a new battery 2010. One of the mower blades caught a wire fence and stalled the engine. All I hear now is the click,click,click as the key is turned, nothing else. Suggestions? Thank you.
AnswerMark
Sounds like you sheared the fly wheel key.The cover of the fly wheel needs removed,then you can see the engine shaft and there should be a key way all lined up with the shaft and fly wheel.
A sheared flywheel key is a frequent cause of a lawn mower engine no-start condition or poor running, often the result of hitting a rock, stump or other non-mowable ( non-movable? ) object. Flywheel keys are more likely to shear on lawnmowers because the crankshaft is solidly connected to the cutting blade which may strike an obstacle such as a rock or a stump, compared to other situations where the engine crankshaft is connected to the load ( e.g. pump, mower deck, tiller tines, drive wheels, etc. ) via a v-belt or coupling. The blade, crankshaft, and flywheel are spinning at about 3000 rpm, so when the blade hits an immovable object, the crankshaft decelerates suddenly but the flywheel doesn't want to stop so fast. Thus it shears the flywheel key. Since the flywheel continued to rotate relative to the crankshaft, the ignition timing is advanced. When pulling the starter rope the spark will fire during the compression stroke causing the piston and crankshaft to spin backwards. When this happens the rope handle may yank violently out of your hand and the recoil starter may possibly be damaged. This is a sure sign of a sheared flywheel key.
