A few things to check are: Look under the flywheel cover for the spark plug cable to see if mice have eaten the rubber insulation (for some reason, the little critters seem to savor the flavor). Also trace the smaller insulated wire that goes from the ignition coil to the throttle linkage assembly for being chewed on, or disconnected and touching ground. This is the "kill wire", if it touches the ground of the machine in a "metal to metal" fashion, it "kills" the spark from the coil (magneto). Also inspect for rust build-up on the surfaces of the flywheel magnet. The presence of rust will "spoil" the magnetic field instead of allowing a spark to be generated in the coil when the magnet travels past the coil. Remove rust with some fine grit emery paper and wipe away any rust dust from the flywheel and coil surfaces. Use a busness card or a matchbook cover to set the air gap between the coil and the magnet.

would disconeccting the wires (there are apparantly 3 kill switches IE key, blower engage and operator control) from the terminal block on the engine for diagnostic purposes, if I then had a spark wouldnt that elimanate the magneto as the problem?

Thanks

Go to the top of the class, that is the correct procedure.

If you confirm that it is a magneto problem, do yourself a favor and buy the coil w/ the electronic ignition built in. You will have better spark and won't have to pull the flywheel to worry about points ever again.

Thanks everyone I replaced the magneto with the electronic one and boy do I have spark now, but I am on to a new problem, it doesnt appear to be getting any gas, if I put a litlle gas in the cylinder it starts right up until the gas is gone, what should i check on the carb? and how do you empty the bowl easily?

Thanks

Check the breather hole in the gas cap. Little bugs can and do make their nest in that hole, and that may be some of the problem. Ever hear of "Mud wasps"? First, remove the cap and try it, after giving it time for the gas to fill the carb bowl. The breather hole, when closed by a bug, makes a vacuum and the gas won't flow.