Kohler Modification

[R Bedell]

Well Guys:

Monday night while working in the yard, my 1450 spit and sputtered and then died. I could not restart it. Traced the problem down to NO SPARK. Since the tractor was out in the yard, had my son drag the 1450 back to the shop for in depth analysis. Traced the problem down to a bad HV Ignition Coil.

Now this isn't a serious thing BUT this is the second time it has happened it 2 years. SO.... I got to thinking. This coil is mounted on the RH side of the cooling fins.....right where all the heat and vibration is. I am thinking this is a harsh environment for this poor coil. There must be a better location.

So, studying the situation for a while, I decided to relocate the coil. I decided to mount the coil in the LH side of the pedestal area under the dash. No heat and less vibration. So I did it. Had to rewire the (+) ignition wire, points wire, and Spark Plug wire. Started the ole girl up and all was fine again.



Only time will tell if this modification will be kinder to HV Ignition Coils.

[JMD]

You could wrap coil in thin strip of rubber to help with vibration I don't think case has to be grounded. Good idea to relocate.

[jcrews]

Roland
I know you have a camera, lets see some pictures

[MBounds]

Roland...Relocating the coil could be an excellent idea but how did you handle the condenser ground/connection to the coil (-). I suspect that grounding it to the pedestal may eventually create the same ground circuit resistance problem found at the IH battery ground location....or did you bolt it to the engine and just use a looooong pigtail??

Myron

[R Bedell]

Ah Myron:

Good Question......

I ran an extra Ground Wire from the from the frame to the Condenser mounting tab.

Then of course, my 1450 is loaded up with extra grounding. :biggrin2.gif:

[MBounds]

Roland: I suggest that you add the condenser info to your original post and put it in the Tech "fix-it" section. For folks blowing coils regularly, this could be a great solution to their problems....A photo or two for the conceptionally challenged would likely be helpful also.

Myron

[RChristensen]

Roland I don't know about the vibration affect on the coils and heat is never a good thing in any environment. But I mow all summer with my 1450 and it is always 100 plus degrees and the coil is the one that came with the 16 hp engine I put in the 1450 8 or 10 years ago. I have the Point saver on the engine and I blow the entire tractor clean every night before I put the tractor in the garage.

My neighbor has a 1450 I rebuilt several years ago and then he made me sell it to him. He mows all summer in the heat of the day like I do and as far as I know it has the original coil. If it failed I would have to replace it for him, you know how it goes when you sell to a neighbor or a relative.

Years ago I had some problems with coils on some of my Cubs that were not used as hard as this 1450. I was buying those coils from NAPA and they had the built in resistor. I finally bought 3 coils from Madsons and replaced the bad one I had at that time and put the two spares on the shelf where they sit today with cobwebbs on them. Maybe the trick is to always have a spare.

[drysumpjet]

Most coil failures I have seen can be traced back where the user runs the tractor out of gas and forgets to turn the ignition key off. This is easy to do. Note this is not a problem with tractors that incorporate magnetos which many of us are accustom to.
If the points happen to be "closed" with the ignition switch on, this severely overheats the coil, breaking down the coil's internal wiring insulation. The failure might not be immediate, and work again intermittently once cooled.

Does your coil feel extremely hot upon failure? If so, this is a sign of compromised insulation.

I have had great luck with the Bosch Blue coil. They have been known to last under extreme conditions in VWs/Porsches, where they are subjected to considerable heat.

[greg r]

Working with automotive points ignition systems some years, alot of the recommendations sound okay. By far the best is relocating the coil. Many old car rebuilders, tractors too, will get the OEM coils off the engine and mount it on the rig's firewall. Anything to keep it cooler and away from mechanical damage.
'Lectrons don't care where they get jazzed up, or where they gotta go, as long as the path ain't too long and hard(resistance), to follow.
Hail, that's a great idea for my tractor.

I saw a 782 once with a KT17 that had two coils mounted to the firewall/gas tank support, one for each cylinder. Duals are about $160 to replace.

Scott