I have a borrowed Troy Bilt chipper. Has a 10 HP Tecumseh engine.
They guy I borrowed it from said that it hasn't been run in two years.
Of course, it won't start.
I took the carb apart and cleaned all the grunge out of it. Really wasn't as bad as I expected. (Replaced a bunch of "shot" hoses, too.)
I was able to blow through the jet, and most every other little passage, so I think it's okay.
I did notice that there is one "mixture" screw that was, strangely enough, turned all the way in. It had a plastic cap on it, so I can only surmise that it's supposed to be that way. (The owner is not mechanically inclined at all, so I don't think he's messed with it.)

I'm not sure about spark. I took the plug out, connected the wire, and let it lay on top of the head. Couldn't really see a spark, but it's pretty bright outside.
Is it possible to check the coil on these things? Where do you measure?
It's got the lug on top of the coil to kill the ignition. I made sure the switch wasn't shorted.
The plug doesn't measure shorted with a meter, although there is a good deal of carbon on it.

What else?

Thanks!

More info...
I'm guessing that the kill switch just grounds out the primary side of the coil.
With the switch in the run position, I measure about 300 ohms to ground.

Tried another spark plug. Nothing.

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 03-08-2011).]

Did you try priming it by pouring a capful of gasoline into the carb?

Brad

With no ignition that won't help.

Try this. It might be a "fun" read at any rate. I just saved it to my hard drive as well.

http://www.cpdonline.com/692509.pdf

Thanks guys,

Doni, That's perfect! Thanks for the link.

Be sure to check the air filter.

Okay...
I do have spark. Couldn't see it outside in the daylight.
The plug is not getting wet, so I'm now forced to revisit the carb again.

The air filter isn't new, but it doesn't look bad. I hit it with a compressed air gun and nothing came out.
I think that it it were clogged, I'd still see the plug getting wet.

Try the carb set screw just for giggles.. Back it out half way..

Mine had "vibrated" in to the point where it would only run on full choke.

I'm with the guy who asked if you primed it? Also, you might want to check compression as one of your valves might be stuck open due to carbon/etc.

I'll try the mixture screw. It's supposed to be the idle mixture from the diagrams I've seen. The high speed mixture is not adjustable.
I can try to prime it, but the carb is horizontal. No way to just pour anything in. Will have to come up with a spray of some sort.

Compression seems fine. When I yank the cord there's plenty of resistance. I can feel it when I pull through the compression stroke. It certainly doesn't freewheel.
A good yank sounds like it provides three "strokes".

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 03-08-2011).]

Re-check the float, usually when they sit like that one did they stick closed and don't let any gas in.

If you unscrew the bottom of the carb does gas flow out (do this outside!).

Mike,

I've taken the carb apart. The float moves freely. I can put a rubber tube up against various things and blow, and air comes out pretty much where I'd expect.
If I loosen the fitting on the bottom of the bowl, gas leaks out.

I had a tecumseh sno blower that needed coaxing. I put 4 or 5 drops into the cylinder and screwed the spark plug back in and got it to run for a few cycles....after about 3 tries at that it would stay lit.

I too would recommend throwing a capful of gas down the carb and trying it.

This will not only confirm it is a fuel issue if it starts or tries, but it also might run enough to pull the vacuum you need to prime the carb and solve the issue.