Brand New B&S Intek 8230

[Fish]

He said it shuts off when the battery runs down totally, which is why I think that he should address that problem first, as the
pto switch is draining his battery, and the fuel shutoff solenoid is likely shutting it down. I agree, pulling the kill wire to the coils would help narrow things down a bit, but I doubt that his coils [both] are the problem, as having both of them die
at the same moment each time is very, very unlikely.

Testing the charging circuit is extremely simple. I think he will find his trouble there. free and easy, that is always my next choice, instead of wasting money.

 

[Carscw]

He said it shuts off when the battery runs down totally, which is why I think that he should address that problem first, as the pto switch is draining his battery, and the fuel shutoff solenoid is likely shutting it down. I agree, pulling the kill wire to the coils would help narrow things down a bit, but I doubt that his coils [both] are the problem, as having both of them die at the same moment each time is very, very unlikely. Testing the charging circuit is extremely simple. I think he will find his trouble there. free and easy, that is always my next choice, instead of wasting money.

Ok now I get what's going on.

 

[keychange]

NO SORRY correction I did not say it shuts of when the battery runs down. I said " an intermittent but regular fault - it stops and won't start again - which results in a flat battery then when recharged starts first kick. "

My wife is very small and so when she reaches forward for the deck height pedal the engine may splutter because her weight is insufficient for the seat relay ( all our ride ons have done this ) and occasionally the engine will die. However most times it will immediately restart. Likewise since there is strict procedure for moving the PTO, steering arms and engaging the brake any failure in this procedure will result in the engine cutting out. But often it restarts instantly.

In other words on occasions the engine cuts ( which may be legitimate), however once it has cut out then it will not restart. This may be 5 minutes or 20 minutes in the mow - it often happens after an hour and as my wife approaches the shed to park the mower. It is not the battery's fault that it stops - it is just not a strong battery so flattens quickly when going through the process of trying to restart ie: maybe 30 seconds of turning the engine over will kill the battery. Even using a jumper lead from the car the mower will not kick and I have tested and at these times there is no spark. There is fuel and the fuel pump is working but no spark.

When this happens I need to recharge and over this period the mower cools or resets or whatever ( I don't know ) but after a rest it will restart first kick.

Since the failure to restart is always associated with being on a slope I assumed it was an oil cut out switch not sensing sufficient oil when the engine is not level, however that theory is dead as Fish points out there is no oil cut out.

So we have to assume that the the slope maybe is a coincidence. So I now assume that a relay is faulty but I can't understand how it corrects itself after a time. The switches are closed for go and open for stop.

 

[keychange]

youre saying since your wife is light enough to trigger the seat switch,does this occur when you mow also?..if you let this mower run on a flat surface does this problem still happen?dont go replacing relays just yet,lets investigate a little further

tybilly your question raises an interesting point. It has happened once when I have used the mower ( my wife does almost all mowing ) but that was approaching the shed which is steepish slope and I may have got off the mower to move something and invoked the cut off - which with a new mower it is easy to get the procedure wrong.

However thinking further it may be that this is an intermittent short or something and could be happening all the time but unnoticed by the operator as our garden is not bowling green smooth and quite steep in places. This problem never manifests as a cut out when the mower is in motion ie: never happens half way along a stretch of grass. The problem ( I think ) always manifests when the mower is stationary or near stationary. In which case the short does not get bumped loose by the movement over the ground but the short is corrected by giving it time to cool off.....

 

[keychange]

So no now I am brain storming - amazing how trying to explain the symptoms in writing force you to think more clearly.

So here is my new theory I think I have a fault in the PTO switch. You cannot place the steering bars to the side with the PTO engaged - it will immediately cut out AND you cannot start the mower unless the steering bars are placed on the side .... so if the switch on the PTO is sticking in the On position even though the PTO button on the control deck is depressed and the PTO has actually disengaged if this is the case the unit can't start - as per above until the switch cools and becomes Off.

 

[Deerlane]

I have a read all post. Is your PTO on when the tractor shuts off? I thinking you have two issues.

 

[keychange]

Is your PTO on when the tractor shuts off? [/QUOTE

Not always sometimes the PTO would be on when it cuts out but often it is off ie: the PTO button on the control deck is down and the PTO is off -but if I am right the switch on the PTO unit may still be reading as On.

 

[Deerlane]

First I would meter check battery voltage with a full charge battery, 12 volts. Next check at battery with engine running with a meter. Should have 13.5 volts. Next with engine off, Remove the negative ground from battery and then just touch the wire to the post. Is there a large voltage spark?. If you had battery voltage going to PTO switch down to PTO clutch even with it off, you should be turning the blades when starting.
.
Second, it sounds like a loose or bare ground wire that is going to ground. This would explain the shutting off.

This is a Zero Steer unit? If PTO is on and you both handles pulled back, does it kill the PTO?

 

[keychange]

I am very confident that there is NO issue with the charging system, input voltage is fine - the problem with the battery is simply that it does not hold full charge - I need to replace it. But I repeat the issue persists ie: no spark even when turning over with jumper leads to the car battery with car engine running.

I have just obtained a copy of the circuit diagram - see attached. There is no relay on the PTO clutch so another theory bites the dust.

Looking at the diagram the issue appears to revolve around KA2 and/or the pink/black wire although the PTO clutch is also in the picture.

However keep in mind the basic point - the problem does NOT cause the engine to cut out - the problem stops the engine from re-starting until a period of time has passed and then all is well.

The mower is a zero steer pulling back does not kill the engine it reverses the mower.

 

[keychange]

I finally tracked down the manufacturer this is the unit Lanrui

I have asked them for help ... not very confident though