Craftsman Rider dies

TobyU

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 1, 2014
Threads
0
Messages
430
As a couple of people have said, you need to back up to the basic diagnosing when it does this.
It could be any of the things others have mentioned and it could have been the bad coil from the beginning like you thought of but normally a bad coil will go 12 to 15 minutes minimum before it breaks down. Anything shorter than that it's probably not a coil and they also typically won't restart even in 15 or 20 minutes but if they do the only run for maybe a minute or so much much shorter than the first time.
They usually have to cool off for hours or overnight before they repeat the process.

But at this point you need to get it to mess up again, which seems like that won't be a problem, and then do the same basic troubleshooting you should do anytime an engine doesn't run or dies.

Always start with fuel!
This is because well over 80% of the issues do boil down to fuel and most of those end up being not enough fuel so don't worry about spark first thing as it's usually a waste of time despite the fact that everybody's go to is to check for spark or replace the spark plug which is typically just a waste of a few dollars for a plug.. yes, I'm opinionated but I'm right. Lol customers call me every single day talking about they try to plug but.. you know the rest of the sentence so my theory is that replacing a new spark plug is usually just a waste of four or five bucks. Also it literally boils my blood on how many engines come in with damaged threads or cross threaded spark plugs only screwed in three threads because the people screwed it up and the process of trying to change it. Step away from the toolbox sir, step away from the toolbox.... Is normally what I'm thinking.

So, when yours messes up be ready with a spray bottle of gas or a can of carb cleaner to spray into the intake to see if it instantly fires back up if it doesn't when you crank it right then which I think is the case in it's normal failure mode.
If it fires right up and runs as long as you spray the external fuel source into it then you know it's not a mechanical engine problem or a coil ignition issue.

You'll probably find this is the case and now it takes more intense troubleshooting because fuel issues can be tricky and you've already done so much that should have fixed it but.. yet here we are.
This is another thing in this world, no matter how many things aren't supposed to happen, if you do it long enough you'll see things that just do..

The gas cap not being vented causes this from time to time as does debris in the outlet of the fuel tank where the fuel line presses on where grass and even ladybugs, insects, etc gets down in there and you can't see it.
Inner fuel line delamination and internal prolapse of the fuel lines also cause flow issues.. but probably more common than this would be the inlet seats swelling up but most riding lawn mowers don't have inlet seats that can swell up because that's typically a push mower thing with the solid metal needle and then the rubber inlet seed and most riders have a rubber tipped inlet needle and that rarely swells up.

But debris can get there at the inlet of the carburetor and I have seen it three times on a brand new machine where it would not run properly because of this and what came out was a very small packed-in piece of cellulose or cotton looking wadding I would estimate 1/4 the size of a small pea.
I have a picture somewhere of the last one I pulled out.

It could also be the carburetor solenoid which is a common problem too if you have one on the bottom of the carburetor, which most do.
These things get hot and break down or the ones with the rubber tip will have the rubber get hard and lose its Bond or stickiness cohesion to the metal and it will vibrate up on the actual shaft but it won't fall off.
I have had several of these occur like this which were very intermittent but they would repeatedly do this over and over.

Very rarely will a certain brand, even the cheapest fuel filter cause a problem..
There was a TSB for Kohler on the command I think it was just a singles but maybe both years ago about this and so a lot of people are still saying you have to use OEM filters but I think this is one of the least likely possibilities of the problem.
Some cheap filters though do you have two or three different sizes that are stair stepped as you push the fuel line in and that's kind of bad because most the time the smallest hole of the end is smaller than the OEM so it would probably be a good idea to cut that filter off further up to where it actually matches your fuel line but I still think most will flow enough with the smallest hole and that's probably the thought process. These mowers don't need that fast of a flow to keep the bowl full but once you hit the bare minimum even slightly below it will cause running problems.

Be very careful when you're blowing things out around your gas tank. Never have the cap on when you're blowing backwards through it because it will overpressurize the tank and you can split the seams right out of them!
I had to replace a fuel tank for a man one time on a craftsman that went underneath the seat and he purchased the tank himself at the tune of almost $100 from Craftsman because he blew air backwards through it.

Testing flow though is a good idea and it sounds like you have a gravity-fed system so you should have a good strong steady flow when you remove the fuel line from the carburetor.
If you do then the next place would be to take the bowl off and work the float with your fingertip to see if you have a good flow coming out of the inlet and while you're there you can inspect the solenoid if it has one.

Now if nothing shows up from here it's time to do a test by removing your factory gas tank and fuel line from the equation.
Rig up a small external test tank.
You can use any old gas tank even when you take off of a push mower.
Just make sure it's clean inside and blow it out good with compressed air.
Get you a couple of foot piece of fuel line etc and stick on that and to the carburetor and fill the tank fairly full so you'll have some gravity and pressure working to your benefit. Either hold it or rig away to wedge it by the seat or whatever or tape it or bungee cord it or rig you a rod that you can stick up in the air a little bit and tape it or zip tie it to and start it and run it off this auxiliary tank.
This shouldn't take over 10 or 15 minutes to set up and if you get perfect results from this then you can start looking towards your fuel tank and the fuel line getting to the carb.

I have personally witnessed the gas caps not venting causing them to stumble and shut off, I have also personally pulled three ladybugs out of the gas tank fuel line exit, and I have also pulled multiple over 3-in pieces of grass out of a Cub cadet zero turn that exhibited the same fuel starvation issues but randomly. I may or may not have witnessed a Kohler command on an older LT John Deere that had an aftermarket fuel filter that was causing problems.
The machine did mess up but I believe the fuel cap vent had more to do with it than the fuel filter but it did mess up and it did straighten out but I didn't use a scientific procedural method to determine exactly which one was the cause when I did them both at the same time or disturb the cap in any way while I changed the fuel filter.
Oh, and on fuel filters, they are almost never full of fuel!
So many people think there's a problem because they only see like a quarter to a half in there but that's what most of them look like and they run just fine.
 

CWatters

Active Member
Joined
Apr 25, 2017
Threads
7
Messages
56
I had an issue with my B&S stopping after after 45 - 60 min running. That turned out to be the remains of insects that had got into the tank. Despite bouncing around over rough ground they would somehow settle out and restrict the outlet. They were bleached the same colour as the tank so v.hard to see. I dried and vacuumed out the tank.

Turned out they were living in the nozzle of my fuel can. Now keep that in a bag.
 

toolboxhero

Member
Joined
Jul 19, 2013
Threads
1
Messages
13
Have a small craftsman riding mower with a problem that is beyond me....

Problem: It runs for 10 or 15 minutes then stops running then it wont start. I let it sit for 15 or 20 minutes and it will strat but will only run for another 10 or 15 minutes then stops running

What I did to try to fix? I had thought it must be the coil going bad seemed when it warms up it quits, sits for a bit cools down and it will start again. So I replaced the coil and spark plug still same problem so I turned my attention to the fuel system. Next time it quit I looked at the fuel filter and it was empty. I thought ok must be fuel tank outlet, fuel line plugged, or vent for tank plugged. I drained tank (it looked clean inside tank bottom). I ran a wire down the tank outlet then blew air through the fuel line into the tank. I also thought it may be a vent problem just to be sure I drilled a small hole in the tank cap and put a new fuel filter on. I then put new gas back in and disconnected the fuel line from the carb. Fuel flowed through the fuel line and filter, flow looked good so reattached the fuel line to carb started it up and could see fuel in the filter was dropping, looked like it was sucking gas faster than the fuel from the tank refilled the filter. Sure enough the filter emptied and the motor stopped. Once again I disconnected the fuel line from the carb and gas immediately came pouring out. So no signs of anything plugged.

I thought about this and thought maybe a vent in the carb is plugged and stopping the flow of gas from the tank. So I put a brand new carb on, lower the fuel line to let the filter fill and connected it back to the carb. But this did not help once the fuel filter got empty it died. So I have been through the electrical with new coil, spark plug and fuel system with new carb, fuel filter, blowing fuel line out all the way from just before fuel filter into tank, made sure tank is venting, and verified fuel moves freely through gas line and fuel filter by disconnecting fuel line from carb.

I don't have a clue what else I can do and why fuel does not flow through the line when connected to the carb. After the fuel filter empties out and it dies, by letting it sit fuel drips very slowly from the tank into the filter and it will start till the fuel filter is empty. Any ideas?
Does the model number on the nameplate start with 247? Loosen the fuel cap 1/4 turn. Go out and mow. Did that fix the issue? To fix this, replace the fuel cap with a new one. The fuel cap vent clogging is the most common problem for your fuel issue with Craftsman riding mowers and lawn tractors made by MTD.
 

brown91

Forum Newbie
Joined
May 7, 2023
Threads
0
Messages
2
I sure would like to know what you find. I have a neighbor that has one of these craftsman mowers with an identical issue.
 

Joed756

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2013
Threads
2
Messages
162
This statement jumped out at me: "lowered the fuel line to let the filter fill and connected it back to the carb". Are you certain that your fuel line isn't routed such that it's higher than your tank level?
 

bluesky

Forum Newbie
Joined
Apr 2, 2017
Threads
0
Messages
6
I had the same problems as the op in the first post. After a lot of looking, we found two problems with our X500 John Deere.
1) filter in tank filter was clogged- replaced the filter inside the tank; not the inline filter that you can see.
2) Had a bad "Electronic Control Unit" (also called an "Ignition Module")
This ECU was damaged by charging the battery. I do not know if Craftsman has this device or not; but John Deere does. Always disconnect the battery before charging. I sure "jumping the battery" could cause the same trouble.
A new ECU is $80. On my X500 JD, the ECU is located under the dash near the Ignition switch.
 

bertsmobile1

Lawn Royalty
Joined
Nov 29, 2014
Threads
64
Messages
24,647
I sure would like to know what you find. I have a neighbor that has one of these craftsman mowers with an identical issue.
It almost never is but the diagnosis process of using an inline spark tester and a can of carb cleaner is always the best place to start as that knocks out one 1/2 of the equation
So once you know if it is fuel or electrical then you can start narrowing down the exact cause
 

bertsmobile1

Lawn Royalty
Joined
Nov 29, 2014
Threads
64
Messages
24,647
This statement jumped out at me: "lowered the fuel line to let the filter fill and connected it back to the carb". Are you certain that your fuel line isn't routed such that it's higher than your tank level?
Some fuel lilters have their inlets & outlets at the very ends of the outer case and these are needed for gravity flow systems and usually a coasrse filter medium around 100µ to 200µ
Otheres have the inlet at one end but the outlet is 1/2 along the filer inside the paper cone
These really only work with pump systems and even then they can get an air lock if the outlet side is pointing up.
In that case I fit them backwards.
It makes absolutely no difference to the operation apart from you not being able the see the crud because it will now be on the inside of the paper element .
 

Freddie21

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 1, 2021
Threads
20
Messages
213
I have a similar problem, runs for a short time and dies, can't get restarted unless gas sprayed in carb throat. I did the things you did. I got an idea and took another gas tank and a length of new clear line and connected it to the carb. No shut off and no filter. Machine runs great. I will connect the clear line from the old tank to the carb and see what happens. I think it's a cheap paper filter that may be causing the problem as I have two engines doing almost the same thins and they have filters from the same supplier.
 
Top