The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop portable welder?

Ok, I'm in serious straits here. My portable welder won't start. It is a four cylinder Wisconsin on a trailer. It DID run great, then one day I got distracted and shut it off and forgot to turn off the fuel. Next day I started it but it was running real funky. Shut it down and checked the oil and the crank case was full of fuel. I drained it and put in new oil. Turned it over a bit to get the new oil flowing and then tried to start it- wouldn't start. I don't know squat about magnetos or lawn mowers for that matter. I checked the points and appear to have a yellow spark there (weak spark?) and I have a yellow spark at the plugs. It has good compression and is getting fuel. I think the do-hicky behind the points is the mag and it is down low in the back left side of the motor at about the same level as the top of the crank. Could the mag have gotten gas and oil into it? If so, how do I fix it? I need this beast running so I can finish welding on my 45 GMC COE and finish building my car trailer. (I'm getting really tired of working in the barn and not on my truck.) I've been over a month puzzling on this and am about ready to tear it apart just to see what makes it tic.

Oly!
I've no idea to fix your welder but, glad to see you post!
-David

Oly - scroll to the bottom here - don't know anything about'em myself!

Bill

Change the plugs. I'll bet it starts with a clean set. For some reason, once the plugs have been wet on those engines, they're ruined!
Jerry

Dear Oly,

I've worked on Wisconsins quite a bit--I've got a big log splitter run by an old Wisconsin 1 cylinder, and you can't believe how many times I've torn that thing apart. Not sure, but it sounds like the float on your carb stuck and the fuel (which you forgot to turn off) flooded over, filled the cylinders and then some. I don't know if the fuel could have gotten into the magneto, but from its physical location it's a possibility. You should have a pretty strong BLUE spark (not a weak yellow one) when you turn it over. The point in the magneto might be fouled, etc. If you have good compression, the problem has to be fuel or spark. You might want to take the carb off, soak it in a carb bath and put in a new kit (available from NAPA)--it's probably a zenith carb (take the number from the brass ring on the top). This will remedy the float problem, etc. Then you should take off the magneto (or if accessible just the front cap). If you can take off the cap, you will see the point toward the bottom of the mag. Make sure they are clean and dry--file or burnish lightly and make sure the gap is at .015. Make sure the coil and other parts aren't swimming in gas. Put the cap back on and check for spark. It could be conceivable that the mag is losing its spark--this sometimes happens. This is probably a fairbanks mag and I'm not sure where to find replacement points, etc. At any rate, these mags are routinely available on Ebay, as are the carburetors. I hope this helps to get you started. Good luck.

Jim

This is the wisconsin I was talking about, thank you.

http://photobucket.com/albums/b285/cowgirlcindy/?action=view&current=licolnwelderontrailer.jpg

Oly, I had the ame problem with my welder. Overhauled the carb and replaced the plugs and then it wouldn't run. The fuel line got plugged up in the mean time. Once I replaced the fuel line, filter,and the shut off valve it runs better than ever! Redcoat