I have a 7 year old Troy-bilt push mower with a B&S Quantum 6.5 HP motor.

I just did my annual maintenance which includes: new spark plug, air filter, oil change, lubrication, change to freshly sharpened blade & clean the underside of the deck.

All went well and it started on the first pull as usual.

When I reconnected the spark plug wire, I noticed that it was full of cracks. No big deal, I figured I'd pick one up at the small engine shop when I drop my spare blade off for sharpening.

I pulled out my B&S service book and looked at the diagrams. As far as I can tell, I cannot replace the spark plug wire without replacing the entire ignition armature. Is this correct?

Thanks

Chad

That is correct.

If the cracks are bad, you can wrap the wire with electrical tape.

Replacement armatures should be between $40 and $60 if you need to replace it.

Heat shrink tubing works very well.

+1 electrical tap or heat shrink tubing. unless you want to pony up for a new ignition coil.

The pics of the mouse nest i found under my engines cover, I had about an inch of wire that was nibbled on. It hadn't exposed the wire yet, just the insulation under the rubber. After looking up how much a new coil was I put electric tape on it since it was still working fine.

As long as it works, keep using it. I would tape up the chewed part though. See how long it lasts.

Is the end of that plug wire soldered to the coil or is it some kind of crimped connection? If it is soldered you can probably replace it without too much trouble.

Like everyone said, electrical tape or heatshrink will work as well. If you do heatshrink I'd slip it over the wire and connect it to the plug and only then shrink it down with a heat gun. If you shrink it while the plug wire is straightened you might find it difficult to make that fairly tight radius bend once the shrink cools.