Did Jd sell me the right L120 coils?

[fred.hayfarm]

I have a hard time swallowing what JD said, but here it is: My L120 has been quitting after 30 min or so - runs rough and dies in about 5 seconds. I changed plugs, air filter, fuel filter, and gas cap. They recommended new coils. Three guys looked up the part and they all picked the same one. So I bought 2 coils for $80. They are a different shape from the original coils and will only mount if I turn them upside down. In that orientation, the wiring does not reach the coils, so I had to splice in some primary wire. The coils align with the fly wheel ok, but the engine did not fire at all when started. I put back the orginal coils and it fired right up. I have not tried the 30 minute test, but I don't expect it to pass. My main concern is: have I been BSed about the coils? Does turning them upside down even make sense electrically? Has anyone else run into stock replacement coils that don't fit? Whats with JD? Thanks for any advice.

 

[swines]

Parts guys aren't mechanics - they sell parts shown on the diagrams / parts lists. They have to sell parts for hundreds of products, it's impossible for them to intimately know every single part for every piece of equipment sold by John Deere for the past 50+ years.

That's "What's up with John Deere."

Also, manufacturers make changes to parts. As an example, I just got a new drain valve for an Ingersoll Rand coalescing filter for my compressor system. The part is totally different than the original part - obviously, they've made design changes or changed vendors for that part.

If the part number on the box matches the part number on the diagram or parts list - that's the best they can do. Unless, of course, you think psychic parts sales is something that's realistic.

My advice - buy the service manual and look up the part number yourself so that you're sure of the correct model, part number, etc.

 

[Gary C.]

I really don't see both coils going bad at the same time . I guess it could happen. I had a Cub Cadet act like that a week ago. It was a single cyl engine. I replaced the coil & it done the same thing, ran until warm & quit. Changed the fuel cut off solenoid in the bottom of the carb. & it runs great.

 

[fred.hayfarm]

I appreciate the comments swines. But the technical question was can I make the coils work as described or are they just nodding their heads - the service guy didn't really seem to know, he guessed it was my only option to install them upside down.. On the business side, I do expect a manufacturer to maintain application details for every part of every machine for at least a little into the past - this machine is only 5 years old, not 50. They should know how and why the part morphed and what to do about it. Is it good practice to sell a customer a weird part that requires non-standard installation plus user modifcaton of the wiring harness? I think not. Not if they want to retain the customer.

As for the technical manual, had I bought one on day one, what good would it do me now?
Thanks.

 

[RandyT]

Could you get me the model, type and code off of the valve cover. Briggs changed suppliers a couple of years ago, and the new modules look nothing like the old modules. I may be able to find a bulletin or something on them.

In most dealerships the parts department doesn't have direct access to the service bulletins so they wouldn't know about the technical changes.