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Hi..I own a Honda H4514 mower. I bought it used a few years ago, and had minor problems with it. Nothing major. I've only had to change spark plugs from time to time when it would not fire correctly. I recently had to replace deck bearings, and the deck belts, and choke. Here's the problem, and I've had 4 men look at it, and no one can tell me what the problem is.

The engine runs great.
When I lower the throttle, and the blades are ready to engage, it coughs and sputters, then dies unless I raise the throttle.
At times, it spits black smoke.

The last guy that put a belt on the deck evidently put a too small one, and it was too tight. My neighbor adjusted the belt, and the burning smell went away, but continues to sputter.
Does anyone have any idea what it could be? Thanks!

lawnmower WVwoman said:

Hi..I own a Honda H4514 mower. I bought it used a few years ago, and had minor problems with it. Nothing major. I've only had to change spark plugs from time to time when it would not fire correctly. I recently had to replace deck bearings, and the deck belts, and choke. Here's the problem, and I've had 4 men look at it, and no one can tell me what the problem is.

The engine runs great.
When I lower the throttle, and the blades are ready to engage, it coughs and sputters, then dies unless I raise the throttle.
At times, it spits black smoke.

The last guy that put a belt on the deck evidently put a too small one, and it was too tight. My neighbor adjusted the belt, and the burning smell went away, but continues to sputter.
Does anyone have any idea what it could be? Thanks!

Click to expand...

(1) A bit of smoke from the NEW belts is not a big deal. If the smoke continues, something is not right. Rubbing, too tight, friction of some kind is causing the smoke.

(2) The PTO/Blades should only be engaged with the throttle is all the way in FAST. This means the engine is putting out maximum power, and will have enough torque/energy to get the blades, belt, pulleys, etc. all moving up to speed from a dead stop. If you put the throttle in ANY position besides FAST, you run the risk of damaging some parts or at the very least, causing the engine to stall and die.

The H4514 has a number of belts, pulleys, guards, guides, etc. and they all most be adjusted perfectly. Any one or more out of alignment will cause problem. Do any of the four guys who looked at it have a genuine Honda shop manual? Unless that have experience working on this exact tractor, it's possible they may have missed one of the parts that could still be causing the problem. Ideally, I'd get it to an authorized Honda dealer and insist they go over it part by part to ensure all the individual bits of the mower deck are perfect.

An owner's manual (free) can be downloaded here:Honda H4514 Owner's Manual
A shop manual (paper, $45) can be purchased here: Honda H4514H Lawn-Tractor Service Repair Shop Manual