It is not a magneto problem if it works with the wire off. Is the bag attached and/or the mulch door closed? Some mowers have a switch that will not allow them to run with accessories removed. Does your mower have a zone start that kills the engine when the bail is released? The engine switch may not be properly adjusted or clogged with grass. Is the key switch turned on?

Thanks Canguy for your reply,
Mulch door does not have any sensors- Its a 6.25 hp walk behind mower.

I will be working on it more tomorrow. I have already cleaned the carb. (before i checked for spark because we have notoriously bad gas in Hawaii).
No spark so I figured it was the magneto. So replaced that, still no spark- then i thought- oh I have to take off the kill wire from the safety handle (when released the mower stops kinda handle). When i took the wire off of that switch- I got spark!
So now i just need to take it to the next level and get mowing again.
Any input?

SOmetimes the zone cables stretch (actually the outer cable compresses) and need replacement. If you have a simple tester, you'll find that the switch is grounding the coil. What mower is it on?

Its a briggs and stratton Sears walk behind mower. It is a 22'' cut.

So basically my problem is somewhere coming out of that "Kill" wire its getting grounded right,
gonna go work on it now will have more soon! Thanks

Check that skinny black wire that runs from the magneto to the switch beside the flywheel, called the flywheel brake. It passes thru and around several clips and metal parts, and might have worn thru the insulation at some place in the wire.

I'm having a similar problem also with a (different) Briggs and Stratton: 3.5 HP Engine / #92908-2055-01

Is it correct that the kill switch functions by merely grounding out the circuit?

If so, when there are no problems with the kill wire and it's operating properly, what should the results be testing using a ohmmeter?

With kill switch engaged (Stop position)
probe from wire at condenser tip to ground/casing - continuity (0 ohms), correct?

With kill switch NOT engaged (RUN position)
probe from wire at condenser tip to casing - infinity? or an actual resistance reading?

It's been awhile........Do your "run" test with the points open and you should get infinity.

"Do your "run" test with the points open and you should get infinity."

That's what I thought. So the fact that I have continuity to ground would be a pretty good sign that that could be the problem, eh?

Organic_christian,
I'm assuming you solved your problem (or the grass would, by now, be very tall!). So, wasit that the "Kill" wire was getting grounded somewhere?

Test everything separately. Remove the wires from the points and just test the ground wire by itself. It's rare, but I've seen the ground wires melt fast to the engine and ground it where it shouldn't be.