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Living on a farm, homestead,
or just a small country estate, we
often find much of the repair work falls on us. Home repairs,
appliances, and oh Lord, that ever-present one-cylinder engine.
One-cylinder engines are most common in
sizes from 2 to 12
horsepower, carrying with it the same basic characteristics of
any gasoline engine. Trouble-shooting the one-cylinder, however,
is somewhat different from the 4, 6, or 8-cylinder.
When larger engines (those in autos with
4 or more cylinders)
are having problems, they will usually run. Not always smooth,
but they run. The one-cylinder, when something is wrong, may not
even start, let alone run. For that reason the one-cylinder
engine is a harder one to trouble-shoot.
Trouble-shooting the small engine, if you
know how, can save you
quite a bit of your hard earned cash. Usually when one doesn't
start we buy a tune-up kit when it needs nothing more than a new
plug. Worse yet, the plug may just need cleaning. If we decide
something is wrong withe the carburetor we usually buy a new
one. Needless to say, much of the work and expense that goes
into the repair of a small engine is unnecessary. We work by
trial-and-error until we've spent the price of a new engine and
then take it to a mechanic who works on it for 20 minutes and
charges us for a full hour at $24 per hour or more - just for
labor!
Another important thing to remember about
a small engine if you
live close to a small town is it's sometimes a hard one to get
repaired. Even though there are more mechanics today
specializing in small engines, there are still towns that don't
have a single small engines mechanic. Auto mechanics usually
don't work on lawn mowers or power chain saws.
There are only two things that a small
one-cylinder engine must
have to run. It must have an adequate supply of fuel, and the
fuel must be getting into the engine. Then there must be an
adequate supply of ignition spark. These two points ar known to
mechanics as "gas and fire".
First, let's take a closer look at the
gas. Before you go a
single step farther, find the air adjustment valve on the
carburetor. Turn the screw to the right as fall as it will go.
Now turn it back to the left 2-1/2 turns. If the carburetor
works function at all, it'll work right there.
To test to see if the carburetor is getting
gas, remove the air
breather. Set your troddle of choke (or start) and pull the rope
starter. Look into the top of the carburetor. If gas is visible
it is unlikely that the problem is with the carburetor. If you
think the problem might still be gas, try this one. Using the
palm of your hand, cover the opening on top of the carburetor.
Pull the rope starter again. Pay close attention (by feel) which
way the air is going through the carburetor. Is it sucking your
palm into the carburetor or is it trying to blow it out? If it
blows, you have problems with your valves. Chances are one of
them is burned and will need replacing - a charge of $100 or
more if you take it to the shop but less than $20 if you do it
yourself.
The next point to check if the engine still
isn't running is the
fire. The fire consists of the coil (or magneto), the breaker
points and the plug. A coil will usually outlive the engine
twice-over. The points and plug, however, are a different story.
They usually need replacing at least one a year - call it an
annual tune-up.
To check the points in the engine, remove
the plug wire. Hold it
with insulated pliers about 1/4 inch from the end of the plug.
Pull the rope starter. If the points are breaking properly, you
will be able to see the spark as it jumps from the wire to the
plug. If no fire is seen, replace your points.
When you check the wire, there might be
a spark coming to the
plug. If it is getting to the plug, it is possible that it isn't
getting through it. Remove the plug from the engine. Put it back
on the plug wire and pull the rope starter. Be sure the plug is
grounded against the engine. If no fire is visible coming from
the end of the plug, replace the plug with a new one.
The small engine is popular all over the
world and will be with
us for many years to come. You would do well to learn to fix it.
