B&S 17hp LT1000 rider.

[MikeH62]

Hi, Needs some guidance here. I have a 2000 LT1000 Craftsman with the B&S 17hp. It runs well for about 10 minutes under load then starts running rough, let it sit for awhile because it will not restart put a charger on it then after about 30 minutes it'll restart, sometimes it's good for the rest of the day and sometimes, it'll do the rough running all over again and die. doesn't burn any oil but I did find signs of oil in the intake. I've pulled the carb apart and cleaned it, but it wasn't dirty or gunked up. I tried pulling the air filter, but that makes no difference whether it starts or not. I've cleaned all electrical connections and plugs Any ideas would be deeply appreciated.

It seems that it will run balls out until until I engage the blades then it will only run about 1 minute before it dies and will not restart until cooled down.

Thank you,
Mike

 

[Rivets]

To me it sound like you have a bad battery. Remove the battery, charge over night, then take it to someone who has a load tester, not just a meter. I recommend going to your small local auto repair shop with a dozen donuts in hand. If the battery tests good, check your charging system.

 

[MikeH62]

Thanks for the input. It's a brand new battery, fully charged and I load tested it, it's fine. I did check the voltage back in the fall of last year and it was 13.7V but I haven't checked it this year. I just assumed it was the same. I'll check it in the morning...

 

[bertsmobile1]

A good fully charged battery will get about 10 hours of mowing before the battery is drained so much that the clutch slips or the carb solenoid closes & starves the engine.
Also when the blades are spinning the engine is under load so the throttle will be open wide so it could be electrical or it could be fuel supply.
In the workshop I would put a volt meter on the battery & check the voltage , everything turned off . engine running , engine running & blades engaged .
To do the latter you will need to clamp the seat switch to simulate you being on the seat.

 

[MikeH62]

I figured it out. The seat sensor is coming loose at the plug, maybe only a 64th to a 32nd of an inch but it's enough to cause it to start missing and chocking down. I'll probably just zip tie it real tight unless there's a better way to keep it tight?
Mike