Hi snapper6xs. Are you still running? I have a 1991 RER with an 11 hp Briggs Intek, also intermittent no-spark situation. I replaced the magneto (it always seemed to die just when it got hot) rebuilt the carb, pulled the head and cleaned carbon off cylinder and valves, and replaced the safety switch interlock thingy. I seemed good for two cuttings and POW, it dies on me yesterday. I pulled the red wire off the post with the magneto kill wire and nothing. Then I pulled the magneto kill wire and it fired right off. Can that terminal block that it connects to expand and cause a ground situation when the block is hot? If so, what's the fix?

I checked my compression today and it read 105psi. I am not sure what the factory spec is, but it seems like a reasonably good number for ignition. I am wondering if burning oil simply gunks up spark plugs and perhaps I may need to change them more often. Another thought I had was that this new syn.oil I put in this season is removing the old sludge from the conventional oil of other seasons, and it is ending up on my spark plug. Other than burning oil and gunking up the spark plug (the plug never fouled by the way) the machine seems to run fine. I am just concerned that something else might be wrong, causing bigger problems. It was a pretty gunked up plug for one season's use. If anyone else has some thoughts or some test I can run or something I should check, I would appreciate the suggestions.

Thanks very much for the suggestions. Choke seems to be closing OK but I will take a closer look at whether it is fully open when engine warms up. Air filter is new. I asked my local JD dealer about going to a hotter plug and he advised me not to do so. I still have a tank full of 89 octane so it will take a few weeks to run that out at which time I'll switch to 87. I've noticed that engine will start in about 6 seconds after standing over night. Will start immediately after being warmed up. Is a cold start of about 6 seconds normal for this engine? Again, thanks for the help. Jim

If you are saying that the engine won't physically turn over- so that the screen of the engine turns part of a turn and stops, then you likely have a compression release issue. This could be caused by a defective camshaft, loose rocker stud etc which there is lots of info on the forum to search for. So, if the engine cranks over well only with the spark plug out- that is the likely cause- provided that fuel hasn't bypassed the carb and hydraulically locked the engine. If there is a presents of fuel- know that an open spark can make a bad day worse and cause a fire. If in fact your engine does crank well and you don't have spark, disconnect the harness at the engine or the small wire at the coil to be sure. If still no spark, then you have a funky coil.