How to fix a Predator 212 with No Spark

Small engines like Predator 212 do not have complicated electric wiring like bikes/ATVs or Cars. So it is actually very easy to solve the ‘no spark’ issue at your own house.

The engine has a magnet attached to the flywheel (that needs to be clean), and the ignition system that has 2 coils, primary coil, which produces current from the changing magnetic field (due to flywheel spinning), and a secondary coil, which acts like a transformer to increase voltage and sends it to the spark plug.

No CDI box or battery. It’s a very simple system. If you have a ‘no spark’ condition, here are the most likely causes –

• Oil sensor wire making the current flow to the ground
• Faulty Kill Switch
• Primary or secondary coil not producing enough voltage
• Spark Plug or Plug Boot isn’t working

1. Oil Sensor Wiring

The Predator 212s are made primarily for pressure washers, compressors, water pumps, and stuff similar to that, where the engine isn’t moving a whole lot in comparison to if the motor is placed in a Go-kart or a mini bike.

Therefore they have an Oil sensor in place, whose purpose is to kill the engine off when the oil is low.

As you can see from the image above, a yellow wire connects the oil sensor to a box, which then goes through to the kill switch.

Very often when you’re getting no spark, these oil sensors are the problem.

The sensor itself is present inside the engine so if you want to remove that completely, you’ll have to open the engine.

However, you can simply disconnect the wire that goes from the box to the kill wire and it will effectively do the same thing. Additionally, you can also cut the yellow wire and remove the box.

(If you disconnect the oil sensor, make sure to keep checking the oil from time to time so that you don’t run the engine on low oil)

Once the wires are removed, check again for spark. If it’s still not present, move on to the next step.

2. Kill Switch

The function of a kill switch is to break the circuit when it is moved to the ‘Off position’, which stops the engine. The switch is connected to the kill wire with a black wire (as shown in the image above), and the other part is grounded via a yellow wire (image above).

Note – The wire color in your specific model might be different, but the wires do the same job.

When it is in the ‘On’ position, there should be no current passing through the kill switch. You can easily check if that is the case with a multimeter. In case you observe current flow in the ‘on’ position, there’s probably something wrong with your kill switch.

3. Assessing the Ignition Coil

If the oil sensor and kill switch are not the issues, you will need to open up your engine to assess the ignition coil (aka coil pack). It’s not a very complicated process, you only need to open up the flywheel (side) cover and you’ll be able to spot the coil.

If you’re not interested in conducting a further diagnosis, simply replace the whole ignition coil and the spark plug, it will only cost you about $15 and will most likely solve your problem.

But if you want to know exactly which part of the coil is the issue, then keep reading.

4. Checking Resistance of Primary and Secondary Coil

The current is produced with a moving magnet (attached to the flywheel) inducing the current inside the primary coil (a few hundred turns), then the secondary coil (about 20000 turns) amplifies the voltage (like a mini transformer).

If the wires in the primary and secondary coil are not producing enough voltage, then your spark plug won’t get the required energy to produce the spark.

Testing the voltage is an easy task if you have a multimeter. Set it to detect ohm (resistance).

The Primary coil is the one that connects to the kill wire (the part which is nearer the flywheel, when the coil is bolted to the engine). The secondary coil connects to the line that goes to the spark plug.

On the ohm meter, you should get a resistance of 0.6-0.9 Ω on the primary coil and 5.6-6.9 kΩ on the secondary coil according to the GX200 specs. Note – Predator 212 is a GX200 clone, most of the parts are similar.

5. Spark Plug & Boot

If everything else is working well, either the plug or the spark plug boot is the issue. In that case, you will have to buy a new plug and boot.

Conclusion

If you have a no spark condition, these are the standard practice for diagnosis. If your engine is still not starting after following the article, it’s likely not a ‘no spark’ issue. You can check this article instead.