Properly killing the engine

[arceeguy]

The kill switch on most small engines shorts out the stator (magneto) to eliminate the spark. It does no harm.

I favor the white wire rather than the blue wire because I'd rather have low voltage at the kill switch rather than the couple hundred volts present at the blue wire. Doubt I have seen a stator or CDI failure from it.

 

[tskrem]

Disconnect the white wire and the Kill switch.
If you want to put a switch on the blue line.
The kill switch is bad on the magneto.

I run Bule coil wire to blue cdi wire.
Black coil wir to Black CDI.

The white wire is disconnected or could be used for small low powered lights.

I just put the choke all the way to close and give it full throttle to shut her off.

Sure it sucks in some fuel oil but i feel it keep things lubed up.
A little extra oil never hurt.

How did u 'disconnect' your white wire?

 

[jimraysr]

Siezing An Engine?

I recall a buddy telling me that they made sure their go-cart engines didn't run out of gas as sometimes the little 12K reving machines would sieze before it came to a stop after running out of gas? 2nd hand information, but IT did make sense to me.

Jim

 

[DJEEPER]

I recall a buddy telling me that they made sure their go-cart engines didn't run out of gas as sometimes the little 12K reving machines would sieze before it came to a stop after running out of gas? 2nd hand information, but IT did make sense to me.

Jim

Well, in a way, yeah that can make sense.. but you dont want to flog the heck out of the engine before shutting it down, you want a nice cool down period.

The reason your buddy said that is because in 2 strokes, the oil is in the gas, so when you run out of gas, you will run on very thin to no lubrication for maybe 100 revolutions. Hot piston/engine plus no lubrication = seize.

 

[jimraysr]

2 Cycle Seizure

I have had my share of piston seizures. My first trail bike was a new 68 Yamaha 80 premix. Bright yellow, not pink. ) Really just a step through with a big rear sprocket. It was a good bike to learn mountain side trail riding. After doing something stupid the step through allowed me to extricate myself with out falling down a hillside occupied by boulders and cactus.

Anyway my 200+ #s gave the engine a hard time and I seized the piston more than once. Would pull the jug after it cooled and clean up the piston and cylinder with crocus cloth. It allowed for an appreciation of the wonders of nature in total silence. My buddy rode a Honda Trail 90, so he was always there to save my back side. Towed me back to camp once after I slipped the rear tire and pulled out the tubes' stem.

Back to the subject. All of those bikes killed the engine by shorting the mag to ground and I never heard of any problems resulting from the operation.

Jim

 

[AussieSteve]

Back to the subject. All of those bikes killed the engine by shorting the mag to ground and I never heard of any problems resulting from the operation.
Jim

Yep. Although these little engines are poorly engineered, they're fairly well designed. (I couldn't count how many mowers and other small 'stationary' engines, as well as small bikes, do it this way.)
We can safely assume that the engineer who designed the electrics knew what he was doing. (But I'll bet he didn't intend it, (the white wire), to support lighting. It was only ever intended as a safe, low-current way of shorting the ignition.)
As far as seizing an engine by starving it, that's very unlikely unless it was already very overheated and about to seize. (That's how they run those go-karts - right on the edge.)
... Steve

 

[george_n_texas]

Chunked my kill switch

I was just comming to a stop then letting the engine die releasing the clutch til a friend mentioned choking it. I like the choke method it also seems to be easier to start without using the tickler on short stops to shop ect.

 

[arceeguy]

Engaging the clutch at a standstill is another method to kill the engine. Once again, no harm.

I would refrain from using the choke though. Although many believe this provides extra lubrication, it does not. The unburnt gas/oil mix has about the same lubricity of raw gasoline, it'll actually wash the cylinder walls of lube. Two strokes get their lube when the fuel vaporizes in the crankcase of a warmed up engine, leaving the oil to coat the internal parts. (I also think their is some centrifugal separation from the rotating parts, but don't quote me on that)

 

[Bent Spoke]

Leaning it out by starving it from fuel is about the worst thing you can do, the idle goes up just for that, your leaning it out. I use the kill switch that's why its there.

 

[george_n_texas]

I thought the kill switch was to hide your motor running from the cops.
Why U say starvin it from fuel that's the opposite of what the choke does? Explain why you think something matters and I might listen.