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Possible ignition switch bad, or chaffed wires intermittently grounding out.

I recently had a customer call and say he thought it was a bad compression release on his mower. Had been reading online. Turns out the engine was completely hydro locked with fuel. Another Nikki carburetor o-ring caused all the problems. He couldn’t be bothered to simply remove the spark plug...

Bad weather, floods, storms, tornadoes, etc. has been happening for thousands of years, there was just no internet or 24 hour TV to report it.

That is the air/fuel mixture screw. Taking the limiter cap off sometimes will help with adjustment on carburetor. First thing I would suggest is make sure you have no air intake leaks around carburetor, then cleaning carburetor thoroughly. My question is why have you put up with this for 10 years?

The answer on how to check to see if the compression release is working was given, in this thread. You rotate the engine by hand very slowly, and watch the intake and exhaust valves as they go through the four strokes. You are looking for “the bump” of when the valve just moves slightly up and...

Not uncommon for customer mowers to have top and bottom of deck packed with grass when I service them. I scrape and clean them, remove spindle covers. I have seen a couple of mowers that sat out in high moisture situations with rusted pulleys and spindles. Had the replace some and use a wire...

Parts and labor, how much did that cost?

You are talking about the difference of about 1 horsepower either way. So no big difference. Raise cutting height to maximum and double cut it at opposite patterns.

I routinely check RPMs on push and self-propelled mowers during a service for customers. Typically the RPMs are too low. Specifically on Honda, I usually move the governor spring just like you did, to achieve higher RPM.

Unless you are in a hurry to charge the battery, 2 amp charge is the way to go. Low and slow like BBQ. Set it and walk away until tomorrow.

Is it common-no, is it rare-yes.

Wires getting really hot tells you that mower wiring has high resistance, such as corrosion on terminals, bad ground, loose connections, etc. Really study the wires visually and see if you can locate the issue.

So you have installed three new carburetors, starter, solenoid, and battery in the last few seasons? Why would you need to have the engine crank for longer than say 5 seconds? An engine that is running right typically fires right up. Have you gone through and done a complete tune up service...

A local competitor small engine shop apparently puts VP fuel in equipment (that needs it) that he works on. Customer gave him a 3 star rating in review because he was charged $50 for about a half gallon of gas. Shop owner reply is that he uses this fuel so he can “guarantee” the repair/service...

All engines start a little differently. I usually go to about 2/3 throttle and full choke. As soon as it starts, instantly take off choke.

Check all wires both visually and with a multimeter. Check stator as well. Could be that the stator heats up with the engine temperature and is just over spec and blows the fuse.

The free Google business site will no longer be offered as of March 2024. This is what I have been using now for several years with strong results. I will be making a basic one page site to replace it. Most of my business is referrals at this point. Also a professional sign posted out front...

Loncin is a Honda clone (Chonda). Loncin, LCT, Predator, Powermore, etc. are all Honda clone Chinese made engines, and have not seen any real issues with them on equipment that comes through my shop. Parts are available online. Dealers often order equipment with these engines to offer a lower...

No need to apologize whatsoever. Today’s fuels (87 ethanol, 89, 91, 93) are not what they used to be say 20 years ago. Fuel treated with stabilizer (91 no ethanol) will often not last the two years that is claimed to start and run a small engine. I am not a fuel stabilizer fan.I see lots of...

So does blaming lots of issues on 87 octane 10% ethanol fuel. All my small engines run great on it. The debate continues…

Also note: Kohler engines in particular do not seem to adapt well to aftermarket carburetors.

My experience has shown me that it is not uncommon for people to first replace the starter when there is any starting issues on a riding mower or zero turn. Now that you have replaced the starter, and that didn’t fix the issue, I would now recommend checking the battery. Is it fully charged...

What model is the engine? How old is it? How did you do the compression test? Sounds like it is a flathead engine around 20 years old. Try to remove the cylinder head and look at the valves, etc.

How many hours on mower? In this case, checking and setting the valves would be the first step.

Stop throwing parts at it, and get it to a shop that can fix it.

Switching from regular oil to synthetic oil has nothing to do with it. Regular maintenance, running engine low on oil, checking air filter, etc. does. Also, waiting 200 hours instead of 50 hours to change oil and filter is not good either.

Yep. A customer will come in with problems and as soon as they start the mower, I know it is running on one cylinder. They just can’t tell.

Did you check and confirm fuel going thru the tiny screen when carburetor is in your hands? If the screen is partially blocked or blocked, fuel delivery will be the issue. I see lots of handheld equipment with fuel delivery issues that are a result of this blocked screen.

Check the for engine mounting bolts for tightness. I see lots of loose bolts from customers and will cause lots of vibration of engine.

Life is really good, if the only issue is “thumb pads” needing replacement on a Honda self-propelled mower. I mean really good.

If it is a Nikki carburetor, more prone to have needle and seat and tiny o-ring problems, therefore leading to fuel getting into cylinder and mixing with engine oil. I hate Nikki carburetors.

Other possibilities: Battery is weak and on the way out. Voltage drop due to corrosion and bad electrical connections. Starter is borderline and on the way out.

Armor All won’t help that much. If you are storing the mower outside and the sun is beating down on it all day, the tires will suffer long term, as a result.

Yep, I change bushings to bearings also. These are reasonably priced, easy to install, seems to hold up, and better than a bushing any day.

Never heard of that Kohler model number (double check if correct). What made you use a multimeter to check ignition coils? Did you take them off of mower to check? Did you pull kill wires or spark plug boots to coils and plugs to see if any change in power? Sounds more like choke on...

On a 40 year old 3 horsepower engine, I am sure there is crankshaft play…

Sears Parts Direct-only one order from them and it was terrible. No communication, part took forever, just lousy.

Take the carburetor off and inspect it. See if you can free up the choke so it is fully opening and closing before buying a cheap Chinese carburetor.

The maintenance on a gas mower really isn’t a pain. What is painful is replacement cost of batteries in equipment after say 3 years. What is painful is people throwing out 3 year old equipment because the batteries cost too much. I could go on, but that will work for now.

Are the cops going to arrest a person for using an internal combustion engine? You act like you are happy about it.

Hunting and surging indicates lean condition. Either you have an air leak around carburetor intake, or carburetor is still dirty (most likely). Definitely drain old fuel and blow out tank, may have a little water in fuel, old fuel, debris.

Start by numbering the relays with a pen, then pulling them and swapping them around until the mower starts. If you have one that is bad, replace.

If an engine refuses to start (regardless of brand, etc.), one of the first things you can check is the spark plug. Is it wet, dry, condition, gap. Then put a little gas into the spark plug hole and put plug back in and see if it fires.

Potentially yes you damaged the transaxle. Always put hydro pump or hydro transaxle in bypass to push or tow.

Some of my customers and neighbors shut their engines off on wide open throttle, so they are not doing this correctly. They also drive the riding mowers and zero turns around when not mowing at idle or mid throttle so they are not doing this correctly. It is frustrating to watch. Sometimes I try...

If the camshaft timing mark is aligned correctly, and the flywheel key is not partially or completely sheared, then the timing on engine is spot on.

The problem with cleaning an anti-afterfire carburetor solenoid is that sometimes after cleaning (weeks or months), they gum up again and create issues.

A half acre is not a big yard. Zero turn mowers work great on hills and slopes. A self-propelled mower would be fine too for a half acre.

I have used a wire wheel on rusty pulleys and spindles more than once to minimize rough areas and therefore keeping the belt from wearing. Belts should literally last for years and many hours of run time. Rust on pulleys and spindles is not considered a manufacturer defect. How could Scag be...

He was popping a wheelie !