# MANTIS Tiller Won't START



## tillertalk (Jul 17, 2005)

We own a MANTIS tiller Model # 722M, engine # SV-4/B355876, E, Koritz Corp Made In Japan and this season we CAN NOT get it to start! We have been in contact with MANTIS doing the following things (but not specifically in this order)

Dumped out fuel
Cleaned gas tank 
Added New fuel tank grommet and 3 new fuel lines
Added New “in tank” filter
Added New Start/Stop switch
Added New Spark Plug
Added New Choke Air Filter
Cleaned the muffler screen
Added grease to Worm Gear Housing
Added New Purge Bubble to Carburetor
Disassembled and sprayed carburetor with cleaner spray
Completed a “re-build” of the carburetor (diaphragms, needle valve, screen, etc)
Bought New gas container, doing proper fuel/oil mix


During all of this we had a couple of instances where the engine did try to run, but now it just won’t kick over. It seems to be getting fuel, because after many pulls on the start cord the spark plug is fouled with gas.

In checking for a “spark” there doesn’t seem to be one. This was done by leaving the cap wire on and shorting out the spark plug outer shell to the engine, with no apparent spark in the gap. 

In looking at the exploded view of the Starter, Pawl Catcher & Clutch diagram I see references to an Ignition Coil, Coil Spark Plug, Cap Spark Plug, Pawl Assy Starter and Pawl Starter. Are these the parts that create the “spark” for the plug to ignite the fuel? If so where could we find these parts, and how difficult would it be to replace these, if this were the problem.

We would appreciate all of the help and suggestions to get our tiller running again. We are retired and need to look for help in all areas trying to stay within our retirement budget.

THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR HELP!


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## hankster (Jan 1, 1998)

Best bet would be to get a spark checker... only a couple of bucks at the local auto parts store.

Also, is the exploded view on-line somewhere so I can look at it? In most cases the ign. coil should include the boot and cap but I would like to make sure. In most cases you would just need to purchase the ign. coil.


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## Homer D Poe (Jan 6, 2004)

Have you checked out the switch and wire? Ours have a common problen of switchs dieing on us.


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## mikemerritt (Dec 6, 2004)

These little Kioritz (Echo) are known for failed coils. You do need a spark tester to make sure. Pulling the ground wire from the coil itself will rule out a bad switch or shorted wire. 

You may be able to replce just the coil but probably would be as well to change the whole coil assembly.

Mike


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## Dakotapix (Jun 10, 2008)

I'm reviving an old thread here because I just ran into the same problem on my old 1994 Mantis 2-cycle tiller. I just had the tiller serviced at my local small engine shop and was told that the ignition coil was failing although it was running okay after the carb rebuild. Price for replacing the coil would be $100. I just called Mantis and was given a price of $61.95 along with basic instructions on how to replace the coil myself even to the extent of connecting the coil wire to the spark plug cap including the little spring that fits inside the cap and setting the gap of the coil to the flywheel of .014. 

I purchased a new Mantis tiller last year so I'll be giving this one to my son, hoping it will give him a few good years of service. Hope this won't be good money down the drain because this was a $50 garage sale purchase about four years ago.


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## Guest (May 20, 2009)

check the kill switch sir.


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## Lawnmowertech (Nov 12, 2008)

i agree with eric check for a shorted out system before going and spending that much for a coil make sure it isthe coil before purchasing a coil 

which means troubleshoot the electrical system


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## Deathrite (May 21, 2009)

i would also like to mention the checking of the air gap between the coil and the flywheel. switches are the best start i do agree. if all else fails i would ask this: does the carb have little red/black and white plastic caps on one side? if so they are mixture screws and i really can not suggest messing with them. if there are no cap but there are two screws BESIDES the idle screw (which normally has a spring on it and is where the throttle lever touches the pointed end) then the limit caps have been taken off and the mixtures might be out of whack. there is not an easy way to fix that. find someone who knows how and let them fiddle with them. Zama has a good basic run down on how it can be done. search Zama cabs.


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## tennessee titan (May 7, 2010)

First thanks for the info in this post. MY son in law's mantis would never start for me (3 years trying). In reading this post I realized that the bulb was NOT a primer bulb, but a purge bulb. I had been pushing it 3 or 4 times like my lawn mower. Never realized before that it had to be pushed until it was full of fuel and free of air.....
Runs fine now!


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## NOW WHAT (7 mo ago)

Have a Mantis tiller bought 3 yrs ago, Kickstand Model 7924. Address on it is Southampton, PA. The problem is it won't start for me! It worked the first year. 2nd year it wouldn't start, had it to the shop 3x and gave up that year because by then it was late fall and I wasn't going to use it anymore. Removed all the gas and stored it in my shed for the winter.

This year I put gas in and it won't start, again. I take it to the shop where I bought it and they also repair them, and the mechanic starts it right up! I make him do it 3x, and see if I can do it. I do. I get it home and do the exact same thing and IT WON'T START!! 

BTW, first, because the bulb is full of gas, he says that's how he knows it's flooded (even though everything I see on YouTube about starting one says that bulb HAS to be filled with gas.) So even though it was a 20 min drive there, we wait a few minutes, then he says: To start it, push the choke all the way in, hold the lever down that makes it go and pull the cord part way out, then pull completely out. When it starts, let go of that lever and it'll idle. That's what he did and it started right up! 3x we did that. He was talking about hot and cold starts, when the choke should be pulled all the way out and when it should be pushed all the way in, but I lost him at some point. All I know is the way he told me to start it, like he did. 

Get it home (20 min drive, it's always in the upright position) and do the exact same thing and it won't start! Is my yard on a haunted graveyard like in the Poltergeist movie? No matter how I try to start it - hold the lever, don't hold the lever, choke in, choke out, push bulb to fill it, think it's flooded, wait like 1/2 hr - it won't start. Won't start for 2 other people either. WHY does it start for this guy EVERY TIME I've taken it in (twice now in 2 weeks) but not for me when I get it home? How does a 20 min drive change anything?

Oh, and one of those times I didn't take it out of the car until the next day, so it sat in my car overnight and until about 1pm the next day. And it was hot - 87 degrees. Then tried over 2 hours to start it and it wouldn't. The guy said if it's hot it won't start. So we actually brought it in the AC'd house that hot day and 3 hours later it STILL won't start.

Everything seems to be fine - spark plug, carburetor, gas line, etc., because it starts at the shop EVERY TIME, so none of those things are a problem. For almost $400 it shouldn't be this hard to start!!

Help or suggestions? Please, and thank you.


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