Craftsman T2400 Kohler won't start

[Air4Dave]

Craftsman T2400 Kohler engine (24 hrs on the guage) purchased from Lowes May 2022. It has been doing great. Wife can never remember to choke before cranking OR to take it off choke once it is cranked. Yesterday she jumped on the tractor, cranked it up and took off with the choke engaged. I started running toward her to take the choke off - but before I got there it died. She drove it about 20'. Now it will not fire and run. I put the battery charger on it so the battery is good. It had fresh gas in it. Starter turns it over but no fire. Any ideas what I should do to get it going?

I'd pull the spark plug, it's probably fouled! If not, clean it up with brass or steel brush, check the gap, and then try again. If that doesn't do it, spray a very small burst of starting fluid into the air intake and turn it over. Once it starts keep the throttle full on until it runs smoothly. Be very careful with the starting fluid amount!

 

[Thomp]

Well for what seems like the millionth time we the need real model number from the serial number tag and in this case the engine model and spec numbers. Personally I am getting tired of having try explain to folks that every mower and engine is usually different and have their own set of problems. Posters seems to think every mower and engine are the same. THey are not as complex as automobiles but are still an assembly of different manufactures parts.

My wife didn't come with a serial number tag. Maybe I can return her and get a cash refund.

 

[closecut]

Try this:Open the throttle wide open.Crank over engine and see if raw fuel comes out of spark plug hole.If not there is definitely a fuel supply problem.Did you change the fuel filter? Sometimes they will clog inside the tank,so remove the fuel line fitting at the tank and check if it is clogged.Sometimes this happens if it sits with fuel in it over the winter.Also check all the safety switches,seat(seat is prone to switch failure.),deck,clutch,forward,etc.if you have no a spark.Feeling a shock does not necessarily mean a good spark.

The new fuel anti;knock compounds in gas foul a plug very easily,and is almost impossible to remove the fouling by normal means,wire brush,etc.The fouling is not visible.
I have found that using a propane torch to burn off the tip and ceramic parts of the plug cleans and restores the new condition.Do not hold the flame on the tip too long,it will crack the porcelain.About 5 seconds is enough.If you do not get a blue spark or white spark from the plug,repeat this procedure. An orange spark is a weak spark. It took a bit of trial and error for me to come up with this method,and it works for me.

 

[DinosaurMike]

1. It would be good if Admin could request that the posting form include a statement listing all the required information. Better still would be boxes for the info with the poster receiving a warning if the boxes are left blank.
2. I don't know much other than what I have experienced. My 1940 Ford truck and two lawn tractors all need some choke to start. I can ease it off on the tractors pretty quickly. I don't recall OP-Mike stating that he partially choked the engine on subsequent tries. The first few he stated that the choke was off. Maybe the engine needs some choke to start and run.
3. I don't think I saw a statement from OP-Mike about what gasoline he uses and whether he uses a stabilizer. He stated in one post that he used fresh gas. Could ethanol gas have destroyed the fuel line (if there is one) in the two years he has owned the tractor? I know he said that he replaced the carb.
4. Did anyone explain how to check the fuel shutoff solenoid? I know someone suggested that OP-Mike verify that the electrical connection was made and someone said that he should listen for a click. What about disconnecting the solenoid wires, key off, and applying 12 volts to the solenoid connections, bypassing the entire electrical system? Wouldn't that show whether or not the solenoid is working?
5. Everyone seems to agrees that an engine that starts on starter fluid and then dies is not getting gasoline. Can someone guide OP-Mike on how to check for gas at every point after the fuel pump. That appears to be the last point he knows there is gas flow.
Good luck Mikendebbie.

 

[TobyU]

Here is what I have done so far...spark plugs were wet and dark, so I put new Champion spark plugs in. I replaced the fuel filter and the air filter. Cleaned up everything. Initially I thought the battery was bad but it tested good at Advanced Auto Parts. The battery terminals were loose so I put in some new nuts and bolts to tighten them up. First crank attempt (no choke) - got no fire. I sprayed some starting fluid in the intake, again no choke and it fired up for about 3 seconds and died. Repeated the starter spray two more times with same result. What next?

This is for experience and seeing thousands of plugs comes in. You described the plugs as being wet and dark but ever used plug that comes out of a mower is dark if not black and wet is a matter of opinion.
It obviously wasn't actually wet or not wet enough and not fouled or it wouldn't have run when you gave it starting fluid.
Note that I recommend you throw the can of starting fluid away because it's very hard on engines. Get a can of spray carb cleaner because you can run one all day on that stuff without hurting them.

Someone mentioned something earlier about trying a spark plug and one won't start but in the thousands upon thousands of mowers I have done I have found that that is not the most efficient way.

Anytime a mower presents itself to you that will not start, the very first thing to do is to give it a separate fuel source straight into the intake.
If it runs, you can forget about the plug and everything else because you know it's mechanically sound.
You can be 98% certain probably 99, that it simply isn't feeding fuel on its own for whatever reason..
There is that rare pedantic comment that someone will make where it could have fuel that is mostly water or just straight water in its fuel system so the plug could be wet etc and it can still run on an external fuel source but not technically be anything wrong with it but those cases are few and very far between so I don't worry about those.

Point is, don't waste time worrying about the plug. Give it a fuel source into the intake and if it runs for a couple seconds and dies, the plug is fine.
Then move on to the carburetor because normally it's stuff floating around in the ball, gelled up or rusted up, or the Jets are clogged or the small solenoid on the bottom of the carburetor is not allowing fuel to flow up into it if it has one of those.
These are all common problems.

 

[Combat_Pyro]

Wait for the fuel to gas off, it’s probably flooded. If you can’t wait, put it on full throttle with no choke and crank it for 15 seconds. If it fires, great. If not, wait a minute for the starter to cool then try to crank it that way again for 15 seconds. If that fails, you probably have a fouled plug or something deeper wrong in the carb. You’ll have to check for air, fuel, and spark to see where the triangle is broken.

 

[Midnight_Rider]

Grab a known working spark plug from whatever you have currently running.Doesnt matter what it is,and place it into spark plug boot,ground to head or bolt and spin it over looking for a bright blue spark... If it sparks well,then remove the one in cylinder head and try it..If weak or non existent then replace plug with new,correct number plug.. Once you have good fire at plug,pour a teaspoon full of gas into plug hole,install plug(s) and try starting...If it fires off and runs a few revolutions then check carb jets and bowl for trash.. clean,reinstall. Should then run as long as blades aren't engaged,seat switch either works or is bypassed... Running with choke or enrichener for a few feet shouldn't have harmed anything unless it fuel fouled the plug..

 

[Always Learning]

Craftsman T2400 Kohler engine (24 hrs on the guage) purchased from Lowes May 2022. It has been doing great. Wife can never remember to choke before cranking OR to take it off choke once it is cranked. Yesterday she jumped on the tractor, cranked it up and took off with the choke engaged. I started running toward her to take the choke off - but before I got there it died. She drove it about 20'. Now it will not fire and run. I put the battery charger on it so the battery is good. It had fresh gas in it. Starter turns it over but no fire. Any ideas what I should do to get it going?

Check your plug(s). Ran rich then died. Probably all Carboned up. Clean or change them as your skill level fits if you find they're black and/or wet. Good luck.

 

[LawnWizard]

Craftsman T2400 Kohler engine (24 hrs on the guage) purchased from Lowes May 2022. It has been doing great. Wife can never remember to choke before cranking OR to take it off choke once it is cranked. Yesterday she jumped on the tractor, cranked it up and took off with the choke engaged. I started running toward her to take the choke off - but before I got there it died. She drove it about 20'. Now it will not fire and run. I put the battery charger on it so the battery is good. It had fresh gas in it. Starter turns it over but no fire. Any ideas what I should do to get it going?

 

[LawnWizard]

My wife didn't come with a serial number tag. Maybe I can return her and get a cash refund.

Without a receipt, it will just be store credit!