# Honda gx160 5.5hp wont start



## mrfixit

Ive been working on trying to get this engine started. found out that im not getting a spark when i use the recoil. replaced the plug, and then disconnected the oil alert and found out that i do get a spark. when i reconnect the oil alert i do not get a spark. i double checked and made sure that there is plenty of oil in the machine. my question is, do you have to take the whole engine apart to replace the oil alert, or is there an easier way? from the looks of it it appears that you would have to disassemble a lot of the engine to get to it. also, could the problem lie somewhere else than the oil alert. any help would be appreciated. thanks.


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## bugman

if i were you i'd cut the oil alert off and just check it like a normal engine. the oil alert to me is well just for people that don't check the oil. but if you check it often i'd just leave it off.


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## scrench

i agree with bugman . you can also test th e low oil shutoff with an ohms meter


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## jworacing

*Test the magnet switch*

You could test the magnetic switch with an ohm meter. there is also a module that goes with the system. i do have manuals that describe how all of this done. I also have spare parts. Pull outs but good none the less


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## roperdude91

hrrm
cut the wires off and check the oiil like a normal person should
or trash it and buy a briggs


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## jworacing

*B&S come on!*

I have a 10 HP B&S on a generator it has probably 30hrs on it it runs ok but the leaks like the EXXON VALDEZ. It's leaking at both ends of the crank. The muffler is like an old tin cans with holes punched in it. The thing is loud and i nearly go deaf from it. I read elswhere that if you try to muffle it the engine's internal noise will dround out the exhaust noise. Bin Racing Hondas for 5 years absolutely 0 engine trouble!!!!!! The proof is in the pudding.


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## bugman

hmmmm had no trouble from mine. used extensively. oh well to your own i guess.


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## roperdude91

jworacing, you seen like one of those honda loving **** from gardenweb


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## bugman

I've got a 6.0 ohv briggs generator. um well five days straight running and she's like new, not even an oil leak anywhere. its sometimes the oil you use that makes em leak. thats why i never use the oil that comes with em. 15w-30 sometimes will leak more on seals that are not perfect. matter of fact my noma thats well been through three owners and has never been rebuilt, no new seals. old as heck and was used alot!! its doesn't leak. the muffler must be one of those can muffler's. thats why i use the screw in type models or just put a straight pipe on em. so lets see. maybe 7 8years old and runss good and doesn't make exsesive noise. matter of fact my neighbor a couple houses down owns an 11hp generator with a quiet muffler, can muffler now, quiet and even at high rpm's its quiet.
hondas are to me only good if the are the commercial types. 
oh and restrictive type mufflers like on hondas cause more heat and are noisey. replaced a old briggs powered pusher with a straight pipe and well runs cooler and has less noise.
actually i don't think roperdude was meaning any offense by getting a briggs. atleast by saying trash it and get a briggs isn't being offensive to me. if he told me trash a briggs and buy a honda i would just say ok whatever you like is fine to you i like what i like.
every single briggs i've owned the only one i've had trouble with is ones with diaprahms. even then they ran still with holes almighty.
been racing briggs before with my old friend, outlasted hondas and the brigg were old tiller motors. only problem with em was the screw settings. had tecs and they crapped out, had one honda and it crapped out the same day i bought it. had people around here buy hondas and they barely lasted a year. but of course there are good ones but i'm sticking with briggs myself because i've had only minor trouble with em. diaprhams and one coil. the engine shop right near here love them hondas though because they always break down and they fix em. the other one don't service but briggs and tecs because they got so many hondas coming in broken down. ask roper his honda didn't last for crap then i broke down, even cut crappy. but to your own i always sayno offense by what i said either.


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## scrench

roperdude91 said:


> jworacing, you seen like one of those honda loving **** from gardenweb


i think he got banned from garden web i wonder why


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## scrench

roper his honda didn't last for crap 
is that the one he has pictures posted of ? wow it looks like he took real good care of that


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## jworacing

We only used the GX series motors for racing 9HP pushing 650lb car 62 miles per hour all summer long. They are the best. As for "Roper" I take no offence, But I do have pitty for him. Don't get me wrong I have worked on a lot B&S and Tecumseh. There must be a reason why 99% of the rental industry uses Honda GX series motors. But If you do not take care of them no matter what they are they will inevitably let you down.


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## bugman

yeah i take care of mine. thats why every single one of them still run as good as new. an i abuse em as well. wet tall thick grass. mowing steep ditches. even flipped a couple and they ran like that and rev the governor once in a while to get em warmed really quick in the cold months when i'm in a hurry. all except my murray and noma are clean and kept clean. the murray rider and nome both have briggs. and both are old and original engines and were not cleaned but taken care of and they run well. just look in the got another freebie by bbnissan. the pics of both of em are in there of my riders. i keep em well. unlike some who don't check the oil etc and the engine fails. i've had some leaky seals on an old virtical shaft 11hp briggs mower engine. some 10w-30 stopped it some and stp oil treatment ended it. but of course it was old but she was a good runner. but really i've seen briggs pulled of tiller's and put into racing and ended up lasting longer. oh and i think that why they use hondas more is the cheapness of them i think. might be wrong though. basically when your buying a mower with a briggs it's for the engine wise not mostly the mower. hondas its the mower wise and engine wise. oh and i need to know though why does craftsman mowers with briggs come with a 40$ warranty and hondas with a 70$ one. just wondering on that one.


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## roperdude91

my honda looks like crap becuase it ran like crap, i killed it and i have left it OUTSIDE for a month make sense now??
my briggs run fine, look like new and have been through more than the honda did, the honda just plain crapped out from use


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## scrench

dude i read all your posts and none of them make any sense to me , but i still think honda is pretty killer , Honda gx160 5.5hp wont start was the title of the thread


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## bugman

couldn't even handle extra rpm's. mmm mmm mmm, ran a 3.5 through a field with no governor. well at about 7 to 8,000 rpm's it went through the grass. but only one problem


ran out of gas in two minutes when i had filled it up before i started it. still runs like a champ today. no governor either, i use it as a quick field path clearer, was old and given to me by my stepbrother because of hard starting. cleaned the chamber and boom ran nice. its about 15 years old and well through 5 years of mowing a big yard on a 22 incher which it was not put on there at first, brother replaced the crappy honda with a briggs, was from a 20 incher that rusted out, then used by me, it still stands up to anything. no problem outta it yet. and i put about maybe 5 bucks in it for a plug and a breather and thats it. rings are good and bore is good.


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## lukes07

*switch and module testing*



jworacing said:


> You could test the magnetic switch with an ohm meter. there is also a module that goes with the system. i do have manuals that describe how all of this done. I also have spare parts. Pull outs but good none the less


Can you tell us the procedure for testing the switch and the module ? I think that using only the ohmmeter is not very sure ... I have try on GX610 and I am a little confused about results


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## LowRider

stay on topic guys no need to high jack a thread. 

As for OP, like another guy said just disconnect it. there only usful if you don't check the oil or are worried about the hills you have mow or whatever you useing the engine for.


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## kcarney

*honda gx 160 wont start*

i bypassed the low oil alert and made sure there was fresh gas to. there is gas flowing to the carb. checked the spark plug and still no spark. the only thing i have not checked is the ignition coil any ideas.


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## usmcgrunt

kcarney said:


> i bypassed the low oil alert and made sure there was fresh gas to. there is gas flowing to the carb. checked the spark plug and still no spark. the only thing i have not checked is the ignition coil any ideas.


Hello and Welcome.Did you use a spark checker or just lay the plug on the engine to check spark?Honda's are pretty fussy about spark plugs,did you try a new plug gaped at .030?


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