Honda HRX217HYA - Pushing throttle lever further than "FAST' Indent position?

[robert@honda]

Re: Honda HRX217HYA - Pushing throttle lever further than "FAST' Indent position?

The bending of the arm is the part I don't like!

While it is not an elegant method, it is rarely needed but is effective. Some Honda dealer techs tell me it is "better" than previous spring-loaded, set-screw-type designs, as it won't change as easily (no screws to come loose), and deters a casual customer from fiddling with the settings. I know the emissions rule groups have some regulations that require engine manufacturers to discourage what is seen as "tampering" with parts of the engine that change the emissions profile, and max speed (and idle) adjustments are probably in that group.

 

[Nitrohawk]

Re: Honda HRX217HYA - Pushing throttle lever further than "FAST' Indent position?

While it is not an elegant method, it is rarely needed but is effective. Some Honda dealer techs tell me it is "better" than previous spring-loaded, set-screw-type designs, as it won't change as easily (no screws to come loose), and deters a casual customer from fiddling with the settings. I know the emissions rule groups have some regulations that require engine manufacturers to discourage what is seen as "tampering" with parts of the engine that change the emissions profile, and max speed (and idle) adjustments are probably in that group.

The tach showed the rpm at 'fast' indent to be 2940-3060. So, I followed the shop manual instructions (p. 2-22, or p. 3-14) to adjust the throttle cable and linkage which to summarize says:

1. Move throttle to 'fast"
2. Loosen cable locking clamp and move cable backward until control lever A stops moving but no more.
3. tighten the cable locking clamp.
4. Start the engine, warm up, engage Roto-Stop, and measure the rpm.

Well, after doing this rpm improved slightly but not enough. But worse, the engine would not stop when moving the throttle lever to 'stop'! I repeated the above steps EXACTLY, twice more. Same results, could not stop the engine! So, I reversed all the steps back to the original positions and of course the engine stops fine now but the rpm is still below specs (about 3000).

So, the next step according to shop manual, and as Robert also mentioned is to bend the governor spring arm ever so slightly to get the correct rpm. I haven't bent it yet but I played with it a bit by hand and sure enough it changes the rpm! Now I just have to bite the bullet and bend it for good and leave all of the above adjustments as it was originally. Only problem is, the bend on the spring arm tab is NOT on the thickness side of the tab but rather on the wide side (I hope this makes sense!). Very awkward indeed! I hope I'm doing this correctly.

Here is the tab I'm I'm talking about:

 

[bertsmobile1]

Re: Honda HRX217HYA - Pushing throttle lever further than "FAST' Indent position?

have a real close look.
behind the throttle plate is a small microswitch.
This is the ignition switch so if you move the outer so far back that the throttle lever does not make contact with the ignition switch, it will not stop.
On some mowers there is some adjustment in the switch and some throttle levers have a tab that pushes the ignition switch which could be bent a little to vary the on : off positions.

Briggs have been using the "bend the lever" method of adjustment for over 60 years so it is not new.
About 2/3 of the "my mower dosn't run properly any more " repairs are simply bending the lever back to original position after the owner has pushed it into some bushes and a branch bends the throttle lever backwards.

At least Honda put theirs where it can not be bent during normal mowing.
Victa realised this was a problem back in 1960 so designed a carburettor that couls not be damaged in normal use and ran the throttle cable down the snorkel so it could not get caught on bushes.
Honda will eventually catch up ( they have finally started to fit snorkels ) but I doubt Briggs ever will.

 

[Nitrohawk]

Re: Honda HRX217HYA - Pushing throttle lever further than "FAST' Indent position?

have a real close look.
behind the throttle plate is a small microswitch.
This is the ignition switch so if you move the outer so far back that the throttle lever does not make contact with the ignition switch, it will not stop.
On some mowers there is some adjustment in the switch and some throttle levers have a tab that pushes the ignition switch which could be bent a little to vary the on : off positions.

Briggs have been using the "bend the lever" method of adjustment for over 60 years so it is not new.
About 2/3 of the "my mower dosn't run properly any more " repairs are simply bending the lever back to original position after the owner has pushed it into some bushes and a branch bends the throttle lever backwards.

At least Honda put theirs where it can not be bent during normal mowing.
Victa realised this was a problem back in 1960 so designed a carburettor that couls not be damaged in normal use and ran the throttle cable down the snorkel so it could not get caught on bushes.
Honda will eventually catch up ( they have finally started to fit snorkels ) but I doubt Briggs ever will.

Sounds like I have to take a closer look to find the micro ignition switch. Also sounds like it may be difficult to locate/see. So, if I understand correctly, I should make the cable linkage adjustment to make sure it still makes contact with the micro switch.

Still, I hate having to to bend the governor spring arm/tab the way it is oriented!