The motorized lawn mower is a 20th century marvel which has spawned an industry dependent on the quest for the perfect lawn. The riding mower, the brainchild of engineers experienced in agricultural equipment, answered the need for a quicker cut during suburbia’s growth in the 1950s. The John Deere LX255 lawn tractor was produced with a modest but reliable Kohler 15-horsepower motor with electronic ignition.
Parts and the Whole
The LX255, produced between 1999 and 2001, had a broad cutting deck and gasoline-powered engine. Like other manufacturers, John Deere utilizes a variety of components produced by other manufacturers in its own mowers and also this model housed a 15 horsepower Kohler 426cc 1-cylinder, 4-cycle engine. The digital ignition, that was common for 10 years or more when this prototype was constructed, marked an improvement over the old mechanical ignitions that contained vendors.
Ignition Facts
Modern electronic ignitions replace the vendor, which is determined by the physical movement of a flywheel to generate electric pulses to the spark plugin, using a magneto — a magnetic coil which transfer pulses produced with a solid-state switch. Electronic ignition systems generate stronger pulses more efficiently — an increasingly important consideration in a 1-cylinder engine — and also use less fuel than old ignition systems. The LX255 series used a digital ignition module using a flywheel and 15-amp “stator,” which contained magnetic coils. Parts are available for this ignition program from John Deere and from individual parts suppliers.