24HP briggs wont start without starting fluid

[scarface998]

Hello everyone, I have a 24 horsepower double cylinder briggs on my mower. Its an OHV horizontal engine. I have been having an issue with it since i bought it from the owner and i'm not sure if maybe its just a carb problem or if there is something different going on. No matter what i do, the engine will not start without some kind of starting fluid to start combustion. After it fires, it starts pulling in gas on its own just fine. The guy i bought it from said he changed a wire but i cant remember what wire he said he changed. There's a little wiring box that's open and spliced on the side of the engine. Ive checked the fuel pump and its working, I've checked the air intake and its working fine, and once the engine is running, it runs flawless. All spark plugs and coils are working fine. It's just getting annoying to have to use starter fluid every time i want to start the engine. Any ideas why it wont pull fuel from the carb until the engine starts? Maybe a vacuum leak? Does this carb even use vacuum? Thanks for any help!

 

[ILENGINE]

Make sure the choke is closing all the way. Can be a common issue on mowers with the single throttle/choke control with the cable slipping in the clamp or for other reasons doesn't allow the choke to close all the way. A few thousands from complete close is all it takes. Also make sure if it has the fuel solenoid on the bottom of the carb that is has 12v with the key in the start position. sometimes due to either incorrect key switch or faulty key switch they don't supply power to the solenoid in the start position only the run position.

 

[mechanic mark]

post all numbers from Briggs & Stratton engine, model xxxxxx, type xxxx, code xx, i believe you need to adjust your valves.

 

[Neo7]

I've checked the air intake and its working fine, and once the engine is running, it runs flawless.

When you remove the spark plugs what colour are they?
Is it a single or twin barrel carb?
Do you have a plastic inlet manifold?
Are you sure it's running smooth when idling?

All the best.
Neo

 

[scarface998]

When you remove the spark plugs what colour are they?
Is it a single or twin barrel carb?
Do you have a plastic inlet manifold?
Are you sure it's running smooth when idling?

All the best.
Neo

im not sure what kind of carb it is to be honest,
the inlet manifold is plastic
i have not removed the spark plugs and checked that,
it does run very smooth, especially after its warmed up.

Another symptom however is that when i shut the engine off, even after idling the engine down almost completely, it diesels. It will continue running even with the engine shut off. it only runs for a few seconds before dying. Idk if that means anything but ya know. Another guy said something about the valves needing adjusted which sounds like it might be plausible??

thanks

 

[Neo7]

One of the ali rocker covers will have the Model number stamped on it ... Please share that number.

Checking the spark plugs is a "must do!"

Yes valves are worth doing (not a hard job) and my guess is your engine is running real hot .... Is it all clear around those cylinder cooling fins?