Mower won't start

[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?

[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]

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

You need to have the end of the plug grounded to the engine like on one of the cooling fins of the cylinder head to produce a spark. Also careful if you are not holding the plug by the boot in it you can get zapped pretty good!!!

[UrbanWolf]

You need to have the end of the plug grounded to the engine like on one of the cooling fins of the cylinder head to produce a spark. Also careful if you are not holding the plug by the boot in it you can get zapped pretty good!!!

I did have it ground to the engine.

[twitchyfinger]

I did have it ground to the engine.

Okngood just checking. Then that's when it gets complicated to explain. Most mowers today will not produce spark to start the engine unless you have the bar on the handle depressed (it's a safety feature). They made it that way so you have to be behind the mower to start and operate it for safety concerns. That bar is a cutoff switch to the electrical. I'm assuming you had that engaged also? Like others have said it takes a systematic approach of testing trying and cleaning (like said carb) to diagnose and repair a mower. Kind of difficult to do other than the educated guesses given by everyone so far. Check out all the you tube lawn mower repair vids or if you get tired of dealing with it. A tune up shouldn't be too much at a small engine repair shop.

[SideShow Bob]

Put the lever to run, pull the plug wire off the plug, hold the tip of the plug wire and give the pull cord a good yank. You will know if it is getting a spark or not.

Then, Put the plug wire back on the plug, take the air filter off and dribble a small amount of gas down the intake above the carburetor throttle butterfly and pull the starter rope. If the mower runs briefly, as mentioned before, the carburetor needs cleaned/rebuilt.