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I`ve own a 2000 series Cub Cadet since new for over 20 years. One, maybe two problems in that time, but this has me baffled? Mowing the lawn, mower just shut down. I checked for spark first and there was none. Bad plug? Changed it out for a new one after gapping the speced .040. Had spark and she fired right back up and continued to cut grass. Then after 10 - 15 minutes, mower deck belt blew off and seen the spring had come off (can`t remember but the motor may have shut down?). Never happened before, so put everything back and mower would not start again. Checked for spark and there was none. Blew a brand new spark plug? Never heard of such a thing but I`m a carpenter by trade. Can something be doing this?
I should mention, I recently put a Cub Cadet OEM mulching blade assembly I used just once prior for about 1 hour. When I first used it, I noticed the extra strain on the machine with the extra blade on each spindle. Wondering if this is having an adverse effect on the motor system? Geez, This Is New. Has Me Baffled.

Spark plugs rarely go out , a fouled plug will look like new sort of shiny , a firing plug will be a bit gray and dry
older plugs my look a little black but if they're firing the electrode will be dry and gray looking ,
Pull the plug hook the wire up and ground the threaded area while spinning it over, it will turn freely and you'll see the spark there - if no spark you'll need to work back from there and look at the wire , coil etc.
I usually stick a screw driver into the plug wire if there is no spark at the plug , grab with my hand while touching ground somewhere and spin it over------- it should and will shock the fire out of your hand but that is a sure fire way to know the magneto and coil is working as designed.
Hope this gets you moving in the right direction

Extra blade on each spindle ? two per spindle ?
Sounds like one of the safety switches is not working as it should
The silly mistake is trying to restart a mower that cut out while you were mowing without shutting down the blade switch because with it still in the on position there will be no spark .
The landlord runs a fleet of 2000 series Cubs and we spent a full season chasing down a random cut out problem
Ended up being floating debris in the fuel tank choking off the fuel supply .
To check if you have a bad safety switch ( most likely the brake ) you need to remove the kill wire(s) from the coil(s)
Not easy to do on the single and even harder with the twin but you can get to them through the cleaning ports in the blower housing using long tweezers . long pliers or hemeostats .

bertsmobile1 said:

Extra blade on each spindle ? two per spindle ?
Sounds like one of the safety switches is not working as it should
The silly mistake is trying to restart a mower that cut out while you were mowing without shutting down the blade switch because with it still in the on position there will be no spark .
The landlord runs a fleet of 2000 series Cubs and we spent a full season chasing down a random cut out problem
Ended up being floating debris in the fuel tank choking off the fuel supply .
To check if you have a bad safety switch ( most likely the brake ) you need to remove the kill wire(s) from the coil(s)
Not easy to do on the single and even harder with the twin but you can get to them through the cleaning ports in the blower housing using long tweezers . long pliers or hemeostats .

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The OEM New In Cub Cadet Box for my model year had a slightly smaller main upper blade, plus a blade that went below (perpendicular), it`s maybe half the width and length in size. A large, heavy spacer was not used from the original set up eliminating some weight, but over all, Im guessing this muching set up is a bit heavier and creating more torque? My new plug has no spark now. Can something damage the plug? Blade switch is off, that should not stop the motor being on anyway. About 3 years ago, I believe I changed all the safety switches.
Major puzzle!

Spark plugs do not produce spark they put it in the cylinder to fire the compressed air fuel mixture at the right time.

hlw49 said:

Spark plugs do not produce spark

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I have one or two that do.

Extra blades, hi lift kits like Snapper's use and such create more of a blade load and drink more fuel.

Did your mower have that mulching accessory when you bought your mower? Same year?

Or did you find some new mulching kit and it supposedly fits your mower?

Without knowing, I would guess at your mulching part is not OEM to your model.

Usually safety switches will keep the machine from engaging the starter. Why let the starter turn over and interrupt the ignition ? Cub may be different though

slomo said:

Extra blades, hi lift kits like Snapper's use and such create more of a blade load and drink more fuel.

Did your mower have that mulching accessory when you bought your mower? Same year?

Or did you find some new mulching kit and it supposedly fits your mower?

Without knowing, I would guess at your mulching part is not OEM to your model.

Click to expand...

Definitely OEM to my Cub Year and model. I researched this extensively from all my original manuals and the Cub Cadet website. Plus, the component that blocks the opening of the clippings is a custom fit to my deck. (mounting holes and shape will not fit any other deck). It is a model 2130. Small 38" deck. Fit perfectly. Found a new old stock in original box with proper part number on eBay. But my first use, the component that starts the deck belt at the front of the mower (forget what it is called, clutch?), did not want to engage. But once it did, it seemed ok engaging and disengaging.
Hope to get to the bottom of this soon?

Looking at my owner`s material. I bought this in `95, for $2770. Smallest model as I recall. Made in USA though! Nearly 30 years later and things have changed a bit. Amazingly that $2770 buys a bigger machine. Love to keep it going.

SloMo Lawn Addict! I very well may owe you a beer or two? I believe I do.

Reading your posts, and noticing the message you have at the end in RED (part of your signature?), at the very least had me thinking. My motor did seem a bit excessively hot. Started wondering if that extra heat stopped the electrical system to energize the spark plug, and when it cooled off, allowed a spark again? Just a thought. So this morning, with thorough determination, remove that upper shroud and gave everything a good cleaning. I`d post a before picture, but I am too embarrassed to. Nothing short of horrible. Shop vac, brushes, rags and 2 hrs later I have a clean engine again.
Before I tried starting, checked for spark, with plug out of the cylinder. Yes, got spark again. Put back in and fired up in 1/2 a second. Don`t remember it doing that, that quick in years. Immediately felt the cool breeze of the fan coming up thru the top of the motor. Damn! What the hell was I thinking? And, finnished cutting for the long weekend.
Though I always do simple maintenance and keep records of hrs and dates for oil, filters, tires, repairs, ....... This air flow maintenance check is essential. Just stupid of me not to realizing it until I read your message. I won`t forget the lesson I learned. Just hope nothing got damaged from this.
Thanks again!

You dirty bastard LOL. Just kidding, playing with words. 2 hours cleaning the block? I want pictures damn it. No I DEMAND them LOL. Would of loved to see it before you spent all that time cleaning. WOW...... Glad to hear she is slaying grass again.

In your first post you said you gaped a plug out at 0.040"? Is that the factory gap? Just checking. Sounds rather wide for a mower.

Again on the cooling fins. For an engine THAT filthy, power washing the block and head/s gets a pass in my book. Then and only then though. Water gets were it doesn't belong. I would spray all the electrical parts and connections with WD-40 (water displacing). Definitely hit it with compressed air, blow nozzle and SAFETY GLASSES. Clean the block and fins like a new engine, down to bare metal. I'm not really a fan of painting the engine either.

Remember this goes for ALL air cooled engines.

If your engine is really working, you might of dodged tossed valves, valve guides walking out, rockers falling from home and such. Shows how tough these little engines are. This is real when I said engine damage. Dump the oil a couple times and you should be good.

I would double check the head bolt torque. Thanks for coming back and letting us all know your resolution.

1st pic right side - after cleaning / 2nd pic right side - after cleaning. air shroud tight to cooling fins / 3rd pic right side - before picture with loosened shroud.
Well, in my meager defense, after reviewing all my original manuals and owner`s documents, I found nothing in there about cleaning out the back end of the motor (I gotta check again). But something I noticed only after I cleaned and reassembled everything and felt the strong breeze of the cooling fan coming up thru the top side of the motor. This `Shroud` that inevitably is holding in all the debris, abuts the motor very tightly (1st & 2nd pic). The design is obviously to allow the fan to blast the backside of the motor without any escape of air until it hits the motor and is channeled up and around the cooling fins.
There was little evidence of this clogged air flow due to the tight shroud. But once I loosened the top part of it (3rd pic), I new I had to take a bunch more of it completely off. I have kept my mower garaged for the 28 years I have had it. Since moving to PA 12 years ago, sometime in the last couple years, stored in my basement, guessing a mouse made a nest in there. Plus, had dirt caked on the cooling fins. Hence, 2 hour cleaning. I got a huge percentage of dirt off the fins with multiple brushes. But may dig deeper at another point as I did not remove the actual fan enclosure. But, I didn`t see anything in there from my view point.
Nevertheless, the machine ran better than it has in a long time. Gonna change the oils/filters next go around on schedule.

But if it were`nt for that warning signature of yours, I ??MAY?? not have discovered the problem behind that `SHROUD` ! And yes, everyone must be aware of it, whether in the manual or not.
Thanks again!
PS - The spark plug gap is .040 per my manual. It does seem excessive as it is the thickest on my gap tool.