Outdoor Power Equipment and Small Engines - 10hp briggs & stratton won't start

i have a 10hp riding mower,looks like little tractor with head lights
at first it would start fine and run for about 45min.then it would stall and i would have to wait about 45min for it to cool and then it would restart.
now it won't start at all, it cranks only.
i noticed that if i turn the headlight switch on the engine will crank, but if i turn the headlight switch off, it will not even crack.
i took the plug out put the wire on it, laid it to ground and noticed no spark when the engine did crank.
i did disconnect the seat switch years ago.
the blade switch works
the ingear switch works.
going nuts trying to figure this out.
is there a ways to check the pickup coil, my understanding is that the points are built into it.
thanks as always.

Remove the kill wire from the coil and crank it again while checking for spark. If still no spark, and the plug is good, then you have a bad coil. Having the points built into it is one way to put it, but it has no points. The newer coils have electronic ignition that eliminates the need for points.

I have the same size engine from b+s, but it is very old; probably mid 1970s. I have not had it running and I get no spark. I'm going to replace the sparkplug, but could someone help me understand what points do? I understand their built onto the coil. The engine turns over good.

This tractor has not been run for at least a year and was stored outside uncovered. I found some sort of nest under the engine casing and a hornets nest under the hood!

If your engine is a 70's vintage then it has points, they are located underneath the flywheel. It is possible to convert an older engine to a breaker less ignition with a magnetron kit, or by replacing the coil with the new solid state designed unit.

You can go to these websites for more insight on ignition system and how they operate

http://www.briggsandstratton.com/display/router.asp?DocID=67479

http://faqs.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/faqs.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=3426

I got the flywheel off and found what must be the points. The whole area was filled with water though. If I replace the coil with a solid state design coil, do I need any of that point stuff under the flywheel?

You can just leave the points in there, just cut the wires leading in from just outside of the cover. If you remove the points you will need to plug the plunger hole to prevent oil from leaking out. I would clean the water off and dry the area to help prevent too much corrosion from setting in.

I installed a coil from a newer engine and the old engine started right up! However, the key switch will not shut off the engine. There is a small wire coming from the coil that is grounded to the engine and then goes to the key switch.

The battery does not charge; it is a new battery. There are two wires coming from the alternator which are both cut; a thicker wire (to the battery?) and another thinner wire (to the headlights?) Is there supposed to be a fuse? The lawn tractor is a Sears LT 10

The wire coming from the coil shouldn't be grounded to the engine. Most likely, it is attatched to a plastic block that is snapped in the throttle control box, and then goes to the switch. The switch should ground it to shut it off. Using an ohmmeter, you should be able to tell if the switch is bad, or if the switch isn't grounded.

The battery should charge from the red wire coming out from under the flywheel. If this wire is cut, it probably doesn't have a diode in line anymore. If battery voltage is applied to this wire, it will burn up the alternator (stator). This may already be the case. You need a diode in this red wire, with the polarity oriented so as to let current move from the alternator to the battery, but not the other way around.