Starting problems for my YT6800

[nascarjay]

I powered washed my YT6800 now it wont start,  Ive checked for spark at the plugs and it seems to have a weak spark is this normal? also they smelt of gas badly going to replace plugs anything special about them?  Is there a alternator? if so where is it? when I try starting it, it smells like gas badly like it flooded but ive been waiting long time in between tries and still smells bad even tried starting fluid with no luck. any ideas on what to try?   Thanks   Jay

[rattosh51]

The fact that you have spark tells me that should be good. The gas smell sounds like more of the problem. Maybe a gas line got blown off or something. I would check them all the way back to the tank. Spark plugs from the manual say NGK BPR5H5, gapped .024-.028. I always pick the mid gap, .026

[nascarjay]

actually I dont think there is a spark I put it on a tester and could not see one  so is there something that would cause that if it got wet? and is there anyway to test the coil?
if you had no spark after washing it what would you try?

I live in Michigan is there any place I could bring it to have work done on it?

Any help would be great thanks

[rattosh51]

Did you test both sides? Sometimes one coil will go out, but not the other.

[nascarjay]

yes I have and dont seem to have spark on either side
do you know what could of happened just by washing it?  and do you know what a CDI is thanks

[rattosh51]

CDI is the Capacitive Discharge Induction unit...here's an article on it,

http://www.4strokes.com/tech/testcdi.asp

Sometimes the pressure of the washer is too much for some wires/parts. Usually it blows something off of a connection somewhere. Time to check all wiring from ignition switch on down & make sure there's nothing loose or disconnected.

[nascarjay]

checked all wires and they all seem sonnected It is hard to test for spark but it seems like I have none at the plugs on both sides I still can not believe that it ran great until I washed it Ive notice that people replace the coil and with that the CDI unit I just dont know what to do   do you know if Yamana dealers would still be working on theses or not?   do you know how to test for a bad coil?  I sure wish that someone could give me a direction on where to go I thank you for your help and any more would be great thanks again

[rattosh51]

Depends on your local Yamaha dealer; some of 'em don't even know that they made a lawn tractor!
Let's get back to basics...does it crank over, or is there nothing when you turn the key?

[nascarjay]

it turns over fine battery is new and shows 13.5 amp when starting it drops down to about 10.5amp Ive tried booster box during starting also I put in new plugs  I have notice that when I first turn the key the oil light and charging light use to both be on now the oil light is on sometimes and the charging light seems to come on normaly   I again try to check for spark and given that the terminals are different its hard to get a good connection but it seems like if there is a spark it is very weak or none at all so that is all I can tell you at this point   I have found a dealer that actually sells replacement parts for this tractor so Im going to contact them tomorrow

I was being carful not to get anything electrical to wet   when washed

it sat outside covered all winter and started right up  and I go and wash it and wreck it  so mad at my self  I washed last year like three times and did not have a issue anyways thanks for your help

Just trying to give you as much info as I can  

again when trying to start it it smells bad of gas like its fluded been told cuz of no spark to plugs and yes plugs smell of gas when I take them out   seen on here that it needs to be putting out like 12.5 amps or better to start but not sure if that is during turning it over or before if during turnning over not sure how I can get it to that either like I said tried booster box while starting it did turn over faster but still smelt like gas and did not act like it was wanting to start anybetter
well thats all I can think of for now thanks again

[rattosh51]

Stumped myself on this one, but the spark issue seems to be the main problem...don't know what could have happenned there. Are you going to bring it in? Have you checked the seat and brake safety switches?

[RAB5050]

jay, welcome to the (oups) I wont do that again club.  Even if your cables and connecters etc. are wet spray everything down with  wd40. You wont hurt anything just give it time to evaporate before you try to start it. I have been using it for many years and it works wonders.

[nascarjay]

Well ok got word from the yamaha shop that is working on it they told me that they think that it is the rotor magnet that is causing the coils not to get power to spark  my question is  I have seen rotor assembly for sale and they are about 400 bucks and I not seen just a magnet for sale so are they are in one? and if not do you know where I can get just the magnet? and also do you know if this is something that would happen by power washing it? thanks

[RAB5050]

When you did the power wash did you use really hot water? I do know that magnets lose there strength once they pass a certain temperature. One thing you could try is to somehow test to see if there is any strength left in the magnet,if you place the tip of a screwdriver near the magnet you should be able to feel the pull. I cant help you about the separate magnet thing I am not sure if they magnetize before or after its installed in the flywheel.

[nascarjay]

Well ok they said that they tested the coils and that they do deliver a spark if touching the rotor and so they say that they are good they just tell me that the magnet is weak dont know how they know this but wow Im so praying that once I spend 350.00 for this part that this is it.  Ive talked to other dealers that know a bit about these mowers and they say that its very rare for these to go bad but its possible They also say that they would replace the CDI unit first but I so can not find one do you know where to get one?  
Also they keep saying that it is just odd that it ran fine until I washed it and continue to think its a connection issue but I would have to think that the tech at the Yamaha dealership that is working on it would of checked for all that I HOPE   Im just at such a loss  being on disability this is alot of money for me to spend   when I could just buy another mower for about that much money and know that it works Im just so afraid that this will not fix it and then Im screwed.  

SO AGAIN DO YOU KNOW WHERE I CAN GET A CDI UNIT?  

THANKS

[nascarjay]

yes in fact the dealer said that they could not get it to turn over so the disconnected the brake switch which is wierd cuz it turned over fine for me  I am thinking that they just did not push hard eough on the brake it does need to be pushed pretty hard.  I just connot help thinking that it is just a wire problem somewhere it just does not make much sense to me that a magnet would just all of sudden lose it strength just by washing it.  and talking to other yamaha dealers they just keep saying that its odd that a rotor assembly would go bad in fact in 30 years of this tech working there said that he only had two and they were both on generators and were bad from the factory. but again its 21 years old so once again I get hey its 21 years old guy everything and anything could be bad at this point  so not what I want to here.    

Although anyone who sees this cannot believe that its that old its it real good shape well other than the fact it wont start lol

[rattosh51]

There is no CDI-named part in the electrical schematic, maybe they're referring to the rectifier?



#16 on the drawing, called the rectifier/reg assembly
p/n JE8-81960-00-00

[RAB5050]

jay, in the end you still have a valuable machine that could be sold for more than you think. The (guys in the know) will pay a lot. Do you know why these machines are worth so much?It's because first off they are way over engineered meaning built like a tank with metal thickness up to three or four times what the make now. That means they last forever if they are kept dry. Any problems usually comes with moisture and not changing the oil etc. What makes them stand out above the rest is that they have hydro drives,to buy anything with the same drive starts around maybe three thousand.
 One thing that's important is too keep your old flywheel don't let them tell you its a trade in value or that its not worth keeping. I hope its not too late for you to tell them you want the old flywheel.
 You can sell the flywheel in here even if the magnet is low.

[bilgrotie]

Hello, I think that you should find another mechanic, I am 67 years old and have worked on engines most of my life. Not all people working on equipment are qualified and many are getting their education at the public's expense.   I have a Yamaha YT that is very hard to start, however, with just a small shot of starting fluid it starts immediately. Common sense dictates that washing the tractor didn't demagnetize the magnets. The CDI ignition is very reliable, we have been riding Yamaha motorcycles for many years and I have never had to replace one. I did have a problem starting my Yamaha Royal Star 4 cylinder motorcycle this spring, it had no spark at all. The problem was not any very expensive parts but rather a little corrosion between some wires on a terminal under the seat. I have found that since the introduction of solid state electronics on mobile equipment the most common problem is in the wiring.
Because of the high cost of parts for the YTs ( $40.00 air filter) and the unavailability of many parts I would not invest much money in one of them.

[RAB5050]

bilgrotie, we can only give advice based on what he tells us. I focused on the magnet because he was told that's where the problem is. I respectfully disagree with you on the value of these machines,mine is 17 years approx.and was used on a large sandy property. It still runs perfectly with very little maintenance,and as far as the air filter goes forty dollars is chicken feed.
IMHO

[nascarjay]

Well I guess I am going to buy that assembly unit and hopes that fixes it  I still think like most of you all that it most likely a connection issue but they suposely have done thoes checks and still think that it is the weakness of the magnet that is my problem.  but what they dont say is that once I invest this money on this part that it will solve the problem so then what?   I am just afriad that they will put this part on and it still wont start.  and so then they look for another reason and then find its just a connestion or wrose yet they deemed that they can not fix it so then I will have 500.00 into something that wont work and well I just can not afford such a thing to happen.  I guess all I can do is pray.