John Deere 300 no spark

[johndeerejamie]

I've been battling this 77 John Deere 300 (kohler) for years trying to get it running again

Finally gave up on it I suspect the walbro carb is my issue and was tired of fiddling with it.

I recently acquired a ccw 400 which appeared complete and in good condition. I did some work and dropped it in, ill need a little work to make exhaust connect and the choke cable to function. Upon working on this motor I discovered a couple things...recoil needed work, compression is around 140...this motor looks nearly new as far as it being clean.
Anyways I gave it a shot and it fired right up, didnt play with the carb setting or anything, it seemed to run ok, but then just completely died and wouldn't start again. Fuel seemed to be leaking around carb but may just be flooding out the front....I bought a kit for it and its the tillotson hda carb. Now it appears there's no spark? Cables and plugs appear ok, I swapped coils from another sled I have and no luck. When I removed recoil, I discovered the Three Pulley screws...one was missing and one was barely in, the big part that goes around stator (sorry unsure the name of part) that you usually need a puller to take off was loose and wiggly....would this have damaged or thrown something off? I tightened it up and put it together and still nothing. I'm wondering it timimg was knocked off, however I'm getting zero spark now....

So yesterday I wrote a little note to guy who lives around me who had a JD sled in his yard for years...I look at it everyday when I walk the dogs. He called me said I could have it for free and he gave me all kinds of odds and ends. His is a jdx8..missing a bunch of stuff but motor is complete and it has the bendix carb, i belive his is a ccw 440. So now I have three motors with three different carbs does anyone have Input, suggestions ideas etc? Just want to have a running sled I will be putting the rest in classifieds..not restoring it or anything it is in good overall shape. I can use any carb with any motor haha whats my best bet! The kohler definitely had spark but wouldn't run.
Thanks for reading and help is really appreciated!

[Steven Rempel]

Have you down loaded the service manual?
I have had a lot of issues in the past alot of them turned out to be setting the timing and the gap for the points. Also insuring that points are clean takes more filling and sanding then you might think to get them right.

Currently I have one where it is now time to replace the points as they are worn and produce a weak spark.

Make sure your plugs are gaped right this can also have a big impact with the kohler for getting a good idle.

The more I follow the service manual the better the run I use the sm2100 Aug 74. You can find it here on this site I forget the link but I think "re edited"

[Steven Rempel]

http://www.vintagesnow.com/John_Deere.html

found it

[johndeerejamie]

Thanks for reply!

I just found it wierd that it was working fine And dandy for a short while and then just cut out and now no spark. Also I have unugged the harness to confirm its not ignition switch or kill switch

One think I've wondered is which coil does which cylinder? I noticed the wires on coils are different colour but which coming from the engine connector is for which cylinder?

[Steven Rempel]

I dont know off the top of my head and hate to give you the wrong answer but it does say in the manual.

one thing you might have a look at is the connectors, over time the tarnish and they may work for a little while and now no longer make a good connection. I find after sitting for a long time that cleaning the connections of every one with a steel brush and sandpaper can also eliminate a few issues. Or at least give you assurances that those are no longer a question. It takes a lot of time but it dose help give peace of mind.

Unplugging the harness I think you on the right track to insure you isolate the problem of no spark. I would make sure that you have a way to kill the engine if all of a sudden it fires up for you and runs like its going to explode. I finally got spark and promptly put the plugs in and gave it a pull and holy crap. It has happened to me and giving me really heart attack when you grab the pug wire and it shocks you make you jump, stuffing a rag in the carb and it gets suck it right down still won't shut off, that will get you heart moving. Had to cut the fuel line but even that takes a bit of time to burn all that fuel in the system. I am sure this wont happen to you, this motor and wiring harass had major issues. And I was very inexperienced. Needless to say I spent the next week rebuilding that motor.

also turned out PTO seal was bad. So before you get to far check SEALS. sorry needs to be said.

[johndeerejamie]

Yeah I'm well aware of the crank seals!! They are on order...

Just unusual how I lost all spark for some reason....gonna spend some more time diagnosing tonight

[johndeerejamie]

So I have a kohler 295, ccw 400, ccw 440
Walbro wda31, tillotson, and bendix carb

What carbs can interchange with which motor?...maybe I can use the tillotson hd carb with kohler?
Or bendix?

From my reading all these carbs aren't all that good..opinions..??

[JDT]

If your flywheel was loose on the crank and you started the motor chances are good that you damaged the coils underneith.

That the flywheel back off and inspect the stator plate with a keen eye.

Take some pictures and post them here.

As for your collection of carbs all of them will perform well if they are clean and adjusted properly.
Only drawback is there are limited parts out there for the Bendix ones.

[johndeerejamie]

Ok perfect thanks a lot for all the help !

I'm starting to think I can just put on the tillotson the kohler which I know had spark and go from there

From what I have discovered it appears that the points aren't opening at all... The magneto mut have thrown something off when it was loose.

The coils dont appear damaged however I'm not exactly sure what I'm looking for...I will post a picture for sure. The inside of the magneto wasnt the cleanest not sure if that's all that important or not.

[johndeerejamie]

Some good news...

I fiddled around trying to get spark on the 400 with no luck...I then decided to swap back in the original 295 motor and tryout the tillotson hd carb....fired right up and was running ok then started getting a little funky. I got a full rebuild kit for that carb locally and rebuilt it using a video on you tube.
It ran really well for a bit then kind of bogged out and died and i couldn't start it again...
Played with it a bit longer and got it started and began tuning it as best I could....kind of tricky but I think I'm pretty close did some laps around my house and it was a blast!!
I think I still need to figure out some tuning and a way to make my choke cable work with this carb...I have no bracket or anything for it.
I think at least I have now ruled out the walbro as being one of my issues that goes way back.

Needless to say when I get this sled back together I have a fair amount of parts from parts sleds etc Ive acquired to make this run if anyone needs stuff. Walbro carbs, bendix carb, 440, 400, windshield, plastic covers have a jdx8 parts sled with good parts on it
Tracks.. Etc lots of 300 stuff

Thanks again to everyone who helped!! Hope it runs this mornin like it did last night! Great to know we have another Deere out on the snow after being stored since 81