BCS 290 two wheel tractor with no spark

[dosha9]

I just picked up an old BCS tractor in a trade. The guy said it had a full service two years ago, but had been sitting for a year. He said it should run, and seemed like an honest guy, so I took his word for it and made the trade. When I got it home and tried to start it, I got nothing; not even a pop or sputter. so I took it to a small engine repair shop out in the country, and the guy said he'd never seen one before, and after cleaning the carb and trying to start it with no success, he stopped and said he'd need to charge more to take it apart to find an electrical issue. He says there's no spark. I think I should be able to figure this out myself, with the help of somebody thats knowledgeable about BCS ACME engines. Any advise would be much appreciated.

 

[Agvg]

Start with the simple things, is there a stop knob or other solution? Does it work?

 

[dosha9]

Well, it doesn't start. the mechanic said it has no spark, and I'm not not sure what a stop knob is. It has what looks to be a kill switch that says "pat.pend" on it.

 

[kencunningham]

If it has a magneto mounted by the flywheel and it has been sitting out side for a long time, the first thing you should do is clean the rust off of the flywheel and the poles of the magneto. Then reset the air gap, I have allways had good luck with using index cards to place between the two to set the gap.

 

[dosha9]

what should I clean the magnets with? sand paper?

 

[jimmysisson]

Emery cloth loses less grit in use, but ~120 grit paper will work. Just blow the grit out after.
Jim

 

[dosha9]

I was able to get this thing to spark again, but the there's some blockage somewhere in the fuel line between the carburetor and the piston.