Last year I found a non-running 8430 Lawn Boy at a yard sale and picked it up for a few bucks. After looking through posts on this forum I determined that the ignition module was probably bad. As there was no local parts source, I tried one of the tricks I learned on this forum, to heat the old module in a 200 degree oven for half an hour. I did it and the mower started right up and ran great for a few weeks. When it stopped running I repeated the heating and it worked again.

This spring I broke down and ordered a new module from the internet. Unfortunately, after I installed the module, the mower wouldn't run. I tried remounting it and checking the connections several times--no go. Is there something that I could have missed? Or, do I need to try and return the part and get another one from that or another source?

Finally, the mower is a self-propelled unit with a very funky handlebar arrangement that has the top section move forward as you push on the machine. I find this set-up to be a PITA as I am using the mower for trim work. Is there a simple way to take off all of the self-propelled equipment and swap in a plain handle bar?

Thanks!