Kohler K361 Manual page 12

BREAKER POINTS: Points ar e illlder the r ectangular cover on the carburetor side of engi ne . Use the follow ing
procedure t o adj us t breaker point gap:
1. Remove breaker point cover.
2. Turn engine over illlt il breaker points ar e full open--mea sure gap with fee ler gauge. Opening
should be .0 20". A dj ust by loosening gap adj us t ing screw then i nsert sc rewdr iver bl ade in
adjust ing notch t o shift m oveable plate until .0 20" opening i s attained. Retight en gap ad-
j us t ing screw.
3. Gap setting ca~ var y (. 017 - .0 23). To achieve smoot hes t running see timing l i ght instructions
below.
Always r eplace badly burned or pitted breaker points. A certalll amount of bui ld up or metal transfer
occurs illlder normal oper ating conditions; however, if this occurs t oo frequently and becomes exces s ive ,
the condenser m ay be at fault . Slightly pitted points can be dre ssed down wi t h a point file, al th ough
thi s should be done only as a tempor ary fix s ince points m ay t end t o arc more r eadily af ter f iling. Re-
place points at first opportilllity af ter filing. I f points are oxi dized, rub a piece of coarse cloth be-
tween the sur f aces . Dirty or oily poi nts can be cleaned with a cl ot h but make sure no particles of lint
are l eft between surfaces.
TIMING: Engines are equi pped with a timing sight hole in ei t her t he bearing plate or in t he blower housing.
Two timlllg marks are st amped on the fl ywheel --the T m ar k indicates Top D ead Center (TDC) whi le t he S or
SP mar k llldicates t he Spark or Spar k
Run
point which i s 20
0
before TDC.
Two m ethods can be used f or timing--the timing light m ethod is the more precise w ay of achieving
exact timing. The timing light can be used with magneto ignition systems ; however, a st orage batter y may
have to be used per timing light manufacturer
I
s instructions.
METHOD
1 -
STATIC TIMING : R emove breaker point cover and remove spark pl ug lead t o prevent illlintentional
st ar ting. Rotate engme by hand in direction of normal rotation (cl ockwise when viewed from blower housing
end) . Points shoul d just begin to br eak as the S mark appears i n the center of the timing Si ght hole.
Continue r otating engine unt i l points r each m aximum opening . M easur e gap wi t h fe eler gauge-- gap should
be .0 20" full y open . If nece ssary, loosen point gap adj us tment screw and readjust gap t o .020" full open.
Maximum gap setting can vary a few thousandths ( .017 - . 023) t o achieve smoothest running. Securely tighten
adj us t ing screw af ter timing.
METHOD 2 - TIM IN G LIQIT: Several different t ypes of timing lights ar e available--follow manufacturer's
llistructions for type used. The fo llowing timing pr ocedur e can be used wi th
~
timing lights:
A. Remove high tension lead at spark plug--wrap one end of a shor t piece of fine wi re around spark plug
t erminal. Reconnect lead to t erminal--free end of wire must protrude f r om under boot. Ql o te: Step
A for timing lights with alligator clips- -some lights have sharp pr ongs on spark l ead --on the se s im-
ply push prong thru boot until it contact s metal connec tor .)
B. Connect one timing light lead to the wire that has j us t been wrapped arolIDd spar k plug t erminal.
C. Connect second timing lignr-fead t o hot (lIDgr ounded) side of battery-- se e timing light inst ruct ions
for battery s ize , wiring, etC:--
D. Connect third timing light l ead t o gr ound.
E.
Rot ate engine by hand until S mark vis i ble - -c halk S line f or easy reading .
F. Star t engine ,
run
at 1200 - 1800 RPM, aim timing light into s ight hole--light shoul d flash just as
S m ar k is centered in s i ght hol e or even with cent er mark on bear ing plate or blower housing .
G. I f timing is off- - r em ove breaker point cover , l oosen gap adjusting screw, shift breaker plate until
S mark is exactly centered. Retighten adjust lllg screw befor e r eplacing breaker point cover.
alternator system
On elect r i c s t art models the
15
amp al t ernator system pr ovides electr i cal energy to charge t he battery.
A sol i d state rectifier-regulator is m ounted external ly on the engi ne or on the equipment powered by t he
engine . The system also includes an alternator-stator and permanent magnet r i ng ins ide the f l ywheel.
These sys tems are virtually service f r ee --the only required se rvice i s an occasional check t o m ake sure
that all e l ect r i cal connec t ions ar e tight and that wires are not frayed or cracked . Check the pr ecautions
t o the sys tem on your engine to avoid damaging charging sys tem com ponent s .
PRECAlITIO N S-
-15
AMP SYSTEM
1. Bat tery polarity m us t be correct . Negat ive ground systems are us ed with K ohler Engines.
2. Prevent a l t ern at or l eads (AC) from touching or shor t i ng. This coul d permanently damage the stator.
3. Disconnect l eads at r ectifier--regulator before elec tr ic w elding is done on equipment in common
gr olIDd with engine .
4.
Do
not operat e for any l ength of
t~ne
wi t hout a battery i n the sys tem.
7