Bill, I think he'd be lots better off if he took it to a repair shop! Some folks are not "cut out" to be mechanics, and had best leave experimentation to some repair shop! And, what changed the compression? Could it have been a dead or low battery? HMMM?? Or, do valves unscrew their adjustment bolts when you store them away for the winter, or any time? Ahh, yes, so many problems, so many cures, so many questions! If folks would just go back thru the files here, they'd probably find answers to just about everything. Rusty

i found the parts list/manual online,but, no telling if the diode is part of the main harness or if it a seperate harness(it has a connector to the main harness)..nobody at sears parts dept or online could help me. yes the diode is under the engine shroud, but, the main fuse does not blow..also it's a Kohler engine. thanks!

"Does Kerosene burn hotter than gasoline?" Well.......yes, but just barely. The real issue about kerosene (as a fuel in IC Engines) is the violently explosive manner in which the kerosene "combusts" after being compressed and spark ignited. The gasoline formulae are all blended to perform at a specific "Octane rating" (which relates to the "rate of burning" of that fuel blend). Higher Octane rated gasoline burns SLOWER than low Octane rated gasoline. The octane rating specifications of motor fuels are based around the design parameters of the engines which will be burning the fuel. One of the primary considerations in fueling internal combustion engines, is to make sure that the fuel combustion is not violent enough to damage the combustion chamber components of the engine. With this aim in mind, gasoline is blend of various compounds and additives so that it does not actually EXPLODE in the combustion chamber, but instead it only "burns very rapidly". Kerosene, in contrast, is not formulated to be a fuel in the average, piston type, spark ignition ICE, and so DOES NOT contain any "Octane rating improvers" or "anti-knock" compunds. Consequently, when kerosene is used as a fuel in a piston type, spark ignition engine, detonation (instead of a rapid burn) will occur at the moment of the spark. Because the crankshaft and connecting rod (of a given cylinder) are nearly (but not quite) straight up, the detonation has the EFFECT of trying to force the crankshaft to stop and turn in the opposite direction. Because the reversal cannot actually happen, the effect of the detonation on the piston, rod, and crankshaft is very much like a fencepost being struck by a sledgehammer. The piston and all the other components of the engine were never intended to withstand the forces produced during detonation. For those interested in further reading, click the link below. There is a paragraph that deals with early attempts to use kerosene as a fuel in motor vehicles. It pretty much sums up what canguy posted. Here is a link that might be useful: Gasoline history

A couple possibilities. That's a Briggs OHV engine. IF the valves get out of adjustment, the compression release doesn't function. OR, you simply have a bad connection in the cranking circuit. Clean the ends of all battery cables. make sure engine mounting bolts are tight. The ground side is just as important as the "hot" side. Then there's the possibility your battery has reached the end of its life. Charge & get it load tested to be sure. A bad solenoid is also a possibility. This post was edited by bill_kapaun on Sat, Nov 8, 14 at 22:34