Most people have heard of a spark plug before, but locating spark plugs and figuring out what exactly they do requires a little bit more digging. But don’t worry, unlike a bunch of other engine parts, the spark plug is actually pretty easy to access and identify. There are a bunch of reasons why you might wonder, where is the spark plug located on a lawn mower? Usually this question comes up when the new season starts and it’s time to change the spark plug or when you need to swap out a bad lawn mower spark plug. In either case, the first step is to find your spark plug.
First of All…What Does the Spark Plug Actually Look Like?
Before solving the riddle of where is the spark plug on a lawn mower, you’ll want to be familiar with what to look for. This can be sort of tricky because the spark plug is actually covered by the spark plug wire and hood. However, the spark plug wire and hood are super easy to identify.
Spark plug cables are almost never concealed. You should be able to notice the wire sticking out of one side of the engine.
The spark plug cable will be pretty short, about a quarter of an inch thick, and usually black. One side of the cable will end at a plastic piece that is thicker than the cable itself and forms a right angle. This piece is the spark plug hood and is what covers the spark plug itself. If you pull the hood off, you’ll reveal the white ceramic body of the spark plug with its metal terminal at the end.
Where is the Spark Plug on a Lawn Mower? (Places to Look)
Now that you know what the spark plug should look like, I’ll talk a little bit about where you can look for it. Though the brand and engine type can somewhat affect where the spark plug on a lawn mower is, there is a surefire method to find them.
Where is the Spark Plug Located on a Push Lawn Mower?
On a gas powered push mower, you can almost always find the spark plug on one of the sides of the lawn mower’s engine. One end of the spark plug is connected to the spark plug cable and hood, and the other side of the spark plug will be screwed into the cylinder. Because the spark plug is used to ignite the fuel in the engine’s cylinder, you’ll always find the spark plug attached to the engine. If your brand new mower won’t start, the first thing I’d do is check the spark plug, because it could be simply a case of the hood not being properly connected.
Where is the Spark Plug on a Riding Lawn Mower?
The spark plug on a riding lawn mower serves the same purpose as one on a push mower, and you can use the same method to find them: inspect the sides of the engine and look for the spark plug cable and hood.
The only thing that makes finding spark plugs a bit harder on riding mowers is that different styles of riding mower have the engines in different places. For example, lawn tractors have engines in the front that are covered, while zero turn riding mowers have partially exposed engines in the rear. Still, once you take a look at the engine you can find the spark plug.
Does the Mower/Engine Brand Affect Spark Plug Location?
Lawn mower manufacturers use a similar but unique approach when it comes to the design of their equipment. What this means is that different mower and engine brands put their spark plugs in slightly different locations. Because of this, I’ve taken a quick look into the most common spark plug locations on a few of the most popular brands and will describe them below.
Where is the Spark Plug on a Craftsman Lawn Mower?
Craftsman tends to orient the engines on their push mowers so that spark is delivered to the cylinder from the front. I found that the spark plug is usually at the middle of the front side or just below. If you have a Craftsman lawn tractor, the spark plug will usually be on the front right side. And if you have a Craftsman zero turn mower, check the rear sides on the engine for spark plug cables.
Where is the Spark Plug on a Toro Lawn Mower?
Toro models generally place their spark plug on the side of the engine. This is especially true for their lawn tractors. To access the engine and find the spark plug on a Toro lawn tractor, you’ll first need to open the hood of the mower. After doing this, look on the sides of the engine for the spark plug hood and cable. Most of the time Toro will put their spark plugs on the right side of the engine.
Where is the Spark Plug on a Husqvarna Lawn Mower?
When it comes to Husqvarna models, I’ve found that they have pretty specific spark plug locations: the front left side of the engine on lawn tractors, the back sides of the engine on zero turn models, and front and center on their push mowers. Check these locations out first before looking elsewhere.
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