Mower won't start

[UrbanWolf]

My family's old mower won't start no matter what we try, new gas, new oil, new spark plug. What other reasons cause it to not start? Is there a battery that make the spark plug sparking like cars?

[Boadie30]

No... what kind of mower? Riding.. push.. a battery would only push a starter.. what about air? How long has it been sitting? Air cleaner? Record with sound trying to start..

[BPTactical]

No battery. Most mowers are magneto off of the flywheel. Usually their timing does not shift, unless the blade struck something.
A variety of reasons it may not start, gummy carb, plugged fuel line, plugged vent in the gas cap, plugged air filter etc.
Systematic approach: are you getting fuel to the cylinder- spark at the head-compression decent.
A whole mess of reasons that are hard to diagnose on da webz!

[twitchyfinger]

Is is a pull start or does it have a starter motor to crank it over? Most likely it's a dirty carb from old gas sitting in it.

[generalmeow]

There probably isn't a battery. If its getting a spark, it sounds like its not getting fuel. Maybe take the carburetor apart to see if its blocked?

[UrbanWolf]

It's a pull start, I'm very curious if it doesnt have a battery, what creates the spark?

[twitchyfinger]

It's a pull start, I'm very curious if it doesnt have a battery, what creates the spark?

Like BP said there is a magneto on the flywheel that generates electricity when it spins. Did you check for spark?

[clublights]

It's a pull start, I'm very curious if it doesnt have a battery, what creates the spark?

Magneto...


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magneto

[UrbanWolf]

Like BP said there is a magneto on the flywheel that generates electricity when it spins. Did you check for spark?

No, I can hold the spark plug and no shock, took it into the dark, no spark.

[twitchyfinger]

It gets complicated to explain over the net but its basically when you pull start it. Here is a good explanation: http://science.howstuffworks.com/question375.htm