Gas gets into the crankcase because the carb float needle is leaking and the gas is running into the cylinder and on into the crankcase. IF the crankcase is over full, of course it is going to blow out the excess. Add a gas line shut off valve and use it when the engine is not running. Replacing the carb float needle MAY work but in old engines like that, maybe not. Trust me, that chamber DOES NOT remain full of oil when the oil level is correct And the crankcase breather is operation properly. that large hole you are talking about IS NOT a drain, it is for crankcase pressure, vacuum to move back and forth thru. Walt conner

In the process of acting on the advice, checks and tips given in your replies, I disconnected the plug going into the stator's outlet and using a voltmeter on the tips revealed, got 19-20 DC volts. Good stator! I found that the positive wire from the stator and into the switch and out to go around the amp meter and back to the solenoid was defective. Rewired it, took the amp meter apart, and all is copacetic now. In the area of probably too much information: This Craftsman rear-discharge 6-speed mower was purchased in 1985 for just under $2,500. Still runs great, use it all the time for finer mowing and would take the rear-discharge over any side discharge including my 3-blade, 61" deck diesel mower. 1985 Craftsman mower: 502-255750 Engine: 253707-0181-01 Stator #: 393474 [dual circuit]

Actually...I seem to recall reading of some moronic (IMHO) new part of the code that prohibits low voltage and 120V wiring from going through the same framing penetration. The NEC seems to, at times, find the most outlandish/far fetched things that could happen and base code around them. Though my memory of reading about this one is different...I think it was just concern over interference. Well, interferance is never going to start a fire, so the NEC should just butt out. When I ran some audio lines through a hole in a joist that already had a 120V line, I use balanced audio connections and wires for this very reason. Interestingly even with very high quality Canares starquad cable, they still pick up just a tiny bit of 60hz hum that would otherwise not be there. Could have been mediocre CMRR at the receiving piece of equipment which was a cheap Chinese commercial sound reinforcement amplifier. (QSC brand...sounds pretty good though) Not everyone is going to put in a $100 set of transformers, certainly not on a budget piece of gear and so they usually just use an op-amp that costs 10 cents. Anyhow it's reasonable to infer that standard "RCA cable" would have been full of 60 hz hum. Still not a reason to outlaw it.

Not sure I followed it either. Depending on the model, the orange/blue connections on the ecobee are usually the reversing valve connection for a heat pump. Are you sure this isn't the case for your installation? In any event. follow from the connectiors at the thermostat/furnace/condenser and don't assume the colors are as they should be.