Craftsman riding mower will not start

I have a craftsman riding mower that ran great for two years. I drove in into my shed to change the blades. I lifted it up just enough to use my impact tool and then set it back down. Now for two weeks it has not started. I know lifting it up about two feet could not cause a defect but that is what happened. It turns over but will not start. It is getting gas because the spark plug is wet and the battery is good. I used either, cleaned the air cleaner, I changed the fuel pump, the fuel solenoid, spark plug, changed the oil and filter, cleaned the carburator three times. It is getting Intermittent Spark, (sometimes it sparks and sometime it doesen't.) I am planning on cleaning the magnet on the flywheel and the coil legs. I'm thinking of putting on a new coil. Two different small engine shops are at a loss as to what is wrong. I would like to know if anyone has some good advise of what could be the problem and if you think it could be the ingition switch. Even if it turns over great but doesn't start, could the ignition cause the problem? I'm at my ends witt and looking for answers.

 

If the plug is wet, it's getting too much fuel. Does the oil smell like gas? I'm thinking your needle in the carb is not sealing and letting the engine flood. A wet plug may not fire all the time, so that goes along with that. If a new dry plug that has never been soaked with gas before still doesn't spark all the time, then I would unplug the kill wire to the coil and check again. If still inconsistent spark, and your plug is grounded well and the armature air gap is correct, the coil is bad. Knowing what you have could help tremendously.

 

Thanks for responding. I have a craftsman rider 18.5 HP model 917.273634. I bought a new plug and installed it but it didn't help. My next step is to disconnect the kill wire and try it. But I was wondering if the ignition switch might have something to do with the no start. It turns over but does not attempt to start, so I wasn't for sure if there is a wire that might create that problem. The kill wire is hooked to the voltage regulator, I think, but when I discount the kill wire that comes from the armature magneto I will see what happens.

 

If the kill wire isn't the issue, my next thought is to check (bypass) each of the safety switches. You may have to look on line & get an "exploded view" of your mower to see where all the switches are & check each one.
Off the top of my head, there should be one under the seat & one for the deck engage/disengage. There could be one for the transmission to be in neutral & possibly one for the clutch/brake. There maybe more or less depending on your specific mower.
You might want to check each of those items to make sure they are in the correct position as well. I have done it & its embarrassing to work on a mower for two days & realize that you left the mower engaged. Just a simple flip of a leaver & it starts right up. Emmmbarrassing!

Good luck.

 

It's possible that the switch is causing the problem but highly unlikely. There are a lot of things that could be causing it. The kill wire goes to the safety switches and the ignition switch, not the regulator. I think you're looking at the stator wires. They go to the regulator.

 

Te kill wire connects to the coil!,,