All three of these are necessary for an engine to run.
Last Spring when the grass was high enough to cut, we rolled the old, red tractor out of the garage. She had certainly seen better days. The ignition didn’t work properly so anytime we needed to start it, we jumped it off the van. One end of the cables to the van and the other grounded out on the mower deck with the red cable sparking on the starter solenoid. Life was exciting that summer.
The first start of the year wasn’t working as planned so the troubleshooting began. It’s gotta be one of the three: air, fuel or spark. Air cleaner is removed and cleaned. Everything seems good. Next, spark plug is pulled and visually inspected. It’s not black, gooey and wet. Nor is it dry and burnt. Gap looks good. Engine is turned over while holding spark plug boot to determine if it’s trying to spark. Crack in boot goes unnoticed, shock runs through fingers and up arm. Go inside to change pants. Fuel cap checked to ensure breather hole isn’t clogged. Gas tank is checked for fuel. Gas line inspected for cracks. Carburetor is opened and inspected.
Everything is good. Apply red cable to solenoid and still no start. As a last measure, spray some WD-40 into the air intake and sure enough she starts. Hallelujah!
Once we got the engine started, it would start without any trouble whatsoever. Very strange phenomena to be sure.
But it still stands that starting is the hardest part. It’s that way in my life too. Any time I want to begin something new, it seems like everything is against me in getting it going. Not enough air, fuel or spark. Sometimes it’s not even something new, just doing what I don’t want to do can be a chore to start.
Getting started is the hardest part of the job so if you can rip that band-aid off, the rest of the job is cake.
Joel Stiff's Adventure 