[BriggsTecumseh]

Hello, I own a Lawn-Boy R7268 with a randomly working kill switch. sometimes it works perfect, sometimes it shuts off in a bit of a hicup and sometimes the rpm drops but it does not turn off. I put a multimeter across the switch and it works perfectly. So i am wondering if it is the magneto, the ground it uses the short the plug or something else?

 

[Yard Nazi]

Hi and welcome to the forum. First I got your post moved into the correct area.
The on off switch could be intermittent. You said you checked it with a meter and it was good. Never heard of one partially killing the spark and only slowing the engine down. Remove the switch and check the connections where the wires enter the switch. I had an older on off switch that the wires were loose where they were riveted to the bottom of the switch. I also recently had a newer (1983) kill switch that was shorting out the spark due to moisture getting in the switch. The meter appeared to read good but upon closer examination there was still a small amount of continuity with the switch off. Cleaned out the switch and fixed the issue. Let us know what you find. Bill

 

[BriggsTecumseh]

I tried another lawn-boy switch of the same appearence and it didnt solve the problem so I dont think its in the switch.

 

[miller17636]

Coil is starting to go. Try swapping in a known good one.

 

[Yard Nazi]

Just out of curiosity is there a part number on the coil? Pre compliant coils should be ground to run. When turning the switch to off you should be opening the circuit and there should be no continuity when the switch is turned off. Bill

 

[BriggsTecumseh]

Pre compliant coils should be ground to run. When turning the switch to off you should be opening the circuit and there should be no continuity when the switch is turned off. Bill

Yes its exactly this. The coil needs to be grounded for the engine to run.

 

[Yard Nazi]

Okay, trying to figure out why the coil going bad would have anything to do with it not shutting off properly. I am assuming the mower starts and runs okay throughout the mowing cycle as this was not mentioned previously. I'm not the best at diagnosing electrical problems but it has to be something simple that is being overlooked. We'll get it figured out so keep at it. Bill

Check all of your connections involving the connection to the coil and up through the switch. I had an F series that sputtered and kept dying on me. After trying a new coil I got it to run. Then the same thing happened. Turns out one of the wires was broken inside of a connector and was making intermittent contact. Probably not it but can't hurt to check.