CH23 bogs down and dies when engaging pto

mackmanj1

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I have a kohler CH23-76591. When the mower came to me it wasnt running. I cleaned the carb, replaced all fuel lines and fuel pump and got it running. I then found i had spark on one cylinder only. Because it was in a Grasshopper 223 zero turn mower and you have to pull the motor to get the shroud off, i decided to replace both coils and now have good spark on both cylinders. I pulled the carb off again and cleaned it again. Checked the compression on both cylinders (120psi on both). I checked to make sure the fuel solonoid wasnt loosing current during pto engagement and that it wasnt excessive load from mower deck. I found that if I move the choke to half on the pto will engage without the engine dying. Im not sure what to look for now. I forgot to add that i did a complete service with new air filters and spark plugs. i even put another set of spark plugs in to make sure they were good. Thanks in advance for any help.
 

graydog

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I have a kohler CH23-76591. When the mower came to me it wasnt running. I cleaned the carb, replaced all fuel lines and fuel pump and got it running. I then found i had spark on one cylinder only. Because it was in a Grasshopper 223 zero turn mower and you have to pull the motor to get the shroud off, i decided to replace both coils and now have good spark on both cylinders. I pulled the carb off again and cleaned it again. Checked the compression on both cylinders (120psi on both). I checked to make sure the fuel solonoid wasnt loosing current during pto engagement and that it wasnt excessive load from mower deck. I found that if I move the choke to half on the pto will engage without the engine dying. Im not sure what to look for now. I forgot to add that i did a complete service with new air filters and spark plugs. i even put another set of spark plugs in to make sure they were good. Thanks in advance for any help.
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I have a kohler CH23-76591. When the mower came to me it wasnt running. I cleaned the carb, replaced all fuel lines and fuel pump and got it running. I then found i had spark on one cylinder only. Because it was in a Grasshopper 223 zero turn mower and you have to pull the motor to get the shroud off, i decided to replace both coils and now have good spark on both cylinders. I pulled the carb off again and cleaned it again. Checked the compression on both cylinders (120psi on both). I checked to make sure the fuel solonoid wasnt loosing current during pto engagement and that it wasnt excessive load from mower deck. I found that if I move the choke to half on the pto will engage without the engine dying. Im not sure what to look for now. I forgot to add that i did a complete service with new air filters and spark plugs. i even put another set of spark plugs in to make sure they were good. Thanks in advance for any help.
Make sure belt & all the belt pulleys are turning freely.
 

mackmanj1

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Belt and all pulleys are free as well as the spindles.
 

StarTech

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Try doing a cylinder balance test to see if it is running on cylinders equally without the added choke.
 

cpurvis

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The carburetors on small engines do not have anything like the accelerator pump found on carbureted auto engines. Theh purpose of that pump was to increase the mixture richness when the throttle is opened suddenly.

When you engage the PTO, this places a load on the engine that the governor instantly senses and abruptly opens the throttle to produce the additional power needed to keep the engine from losing RPM. But there is no accelerator pump to enrich the mixture to keep the engine from stumbling and the additional air admitted by the throttle opening causes a lean condition. The is most apparent when the engine is not thoroughly warmed up.

The Cub Cadet shown in my avatar has had this problem since the day it was new. My 'solution' to this problem is to pull the choke out at the same time I engage the PTO, then push it back in when the blades can be heard spinning. Once it's warmed up, I don't have to do this.
 

bertsmobile1

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Start by isolating the problem between the mower & the engine.
Reach in and manually move the governor .
At idle you should be able to push the governor arm and make the engine run faster.
If you can not reset the governor.
People regularly set them up backwards because they forget the governor WORK to slow the engine down not speed the engine up.
Do you have manual for this engine ?
 

ILENGINE

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The carburetors on small engines do not have anything like the accelerator pump found on carbureted auto engines. Theh purpose of that pump was to increase the mixture richness when the throttle is opened suddenly.

When you engage the PTO, this places a load on the engine that the governor instantly senses and abruptly opens the throttle to produce the additional power needed to keep the engine from losing RPM. But there is no accelerator pump to enrich the mixture to keep the engine from stumbling and the additional air admitted by the throttle opening causes a lean condition. The is most apparent when the engine is not thoroughly warmed up.

The Cub Cadet shown in my avatar has had this problem since the day it was new. My 'solution' to this problem is to pull the choke out at the same time I engage the PTO, then push it back in when the blades can be heard spinning. Once it's warmed up, I don't have to do this.
Some of the Command engines do have an accelerator pump. Most do not and I suspect that may be part of his issue. The compression readings on his engine are low ,( below 160 psi) which could be a factor
 

mackmanj1

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Start by isolating the problem between the mower & the engine.
Reach in and manually move the governor .
At idle you should be able to push the governor arm and make the engine run faster.
If you can not reset the governor.
People regularly set them up backwards because they forget the governor WORK to slow the engine down not speed the engine up.
Do you have manual for this engine ?
Yes, downloaded from Kohler. Governor is working properly
 

mackmanj1

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Hey Guys.
Thanks for the responses!!! I believe my problem is low compression and age of motor. Im going double check everything today and see what happens.
 
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