Export thread

Hey everyone, I'm new to the forum and I'm really hoping y'all can help me. I have a YTA24v48 that I bought used last season, it needed a couple things here and there but it was running fine. Over the winter I cleaned it up, changed the oil, oil filter, spark plugs, air filter, and started to rebuild the carburetor because I have no idea what the previous owner had run through it (I only use ethanol free premium gasoline in all of my small engines) but ran into issues getting a couple parts, so I threw a cheap amazon carb on it for the first couple runs this season, but put the rebuilt carb back on a couple months ago.
Everything is going smoothly, then I begin to notice the carb (the one I rebuilt) seems to be losing its prime, this started about 3 weeks ago. When I'd try to start it, it would take a good 15-20 seconds (maybe longer) of holding that key down before it would finally crank up. Once running it was fine, I could shut it off for a few and start it back up no problem, but if it sat overnight, it was back to the long cranking session before it would start. Well, this past week I went out to start it and its just a flat out crank but wont start now.

Here's my troubleshooting steps to this point:
1.Pulled and tested both spark plugs with a stand alone tester that plugs into a regular wall outlet, as well as using an inline tester to verify the coils were firing. All tested good.
2. Checked the fuel pump by disconnecting the hose from the output side and turning it over. it spits fuel out but not a steady stream... I'm not sure if that's normal or not.
3. I checked all hoses going to and from the carburetor and engine, found one broken and replaced it.
4. I tried swapping out the carburetor with the aftermarket one I picked up on amazon, while I'm not confident in its quality, it was working just fine, but still made no change with my starting issue.

At this point I'm starting to wonder if it might be a safety switch? Bad fuel pump? The gas is fresh and is being used in my weed eater with no issues.

This favors the fuel anti-backfire valve being sticky. It's easy to overlook. That is the electrical device at the bottom of the fuel bowl. Usually, the plunger and tip portion need to be cleaned well with carb spray, then tested with a 12V battery to make sure it opens and closes freely. Power applied the plunger will pull it back, no power the plunger springs out.

Auto Doc's said:

This favors the fuel anti-backfire valve being sticky. It's easy to overlook. That is the electrical device at the bottom of the fuel bowl. Usually, the plunger and tip portion need to be cleaned well with carb spray, then tested with a 12V battery to make sure it opens and closes freely. Power applied the plunger will pull it back, no power the plunger springs out.

Click to expand...

I did make sure to clean it and I made sure it moved freely, BUT I never thought to apply power and check it, or even check to make sure I have power coming to it once it's on the mower. That's going to be the next item on my checklist!

Thank You!