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Hi all. This problem is killing me. I'm a mechanic by trade (industrial equipment) but this has me stumped. It starts up fine, runs fine, but as soon as it either runs for about 10 seconds or I open the choke it dies.

I first drained all the gas and replaced it with new gas. Then I replaced the fuel filter and fuel pump. Then I replaced the spark plugs. Then I replaced the fuel filter and pump again with real John Deere brand since I got the first ones from Amazon.

Nothing has worked at all. No improvement or change in symptoms.

Any help would be incredibly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

JD did a pretty good hiding the fact that the engine is Briggs and Stratton V-twin but it appears to be the 445577-0110-E1. And JD real branded parts are just rebranded Briggs parts; therefore, you are paying more just for the JD name and packaging. You should buying OEM Briggs parts, although, the vacuum fuel is usually a generic one anyways.

The Oregon 07-700, Rotary 10875, and Stens 520-590 fuel pumps are just as good and costs less than the JD UC18349 that is marked up Briggs 808656 fuel pump or a cheap after market part. Now the Stens is usually listed just as high as the JD one which is why I use the Oregon pump.

Most likely the carburetor needs a good cleaning and new related gaskets. Also maybe loose electrical connection to the carburetor fuel solenoid.

You are a mechanic so runs with choke & dies without should scream fuel supply
The twin cylinder B & S engines with plastic manifolds are very prone to warping thus sucking air
So pull the blower housing off and use your prefferred method for checking for air leaks in the induction system.
If that makes no difference then it is time to pull the carb & do a rebuild
While the housing is off check the head gaskets for leaks.
Not particularly common as they generally leak internally into the push rod tube.
I expect your carb fuel jets will be blocked by corrosion
Get a rebuild kit that has all the O rings for your carb as once the jets are removed for cleaning the O rings are damaged & require replacing

This model is early enough to still have the light colored fuel tank that you see through to check the fuel level. The fuel line routes out the back of it between the tank and frame. They were known to pinch off the fuel line if it got out of its groove. Also, make sure your pickup tube in the tank didn't suck up debris or a spider body and shut off the fuel flow. There is a 90 degree fitting on top of the tank. That is where the debris usually collects.

Bert just because he is an industrial mechanic doesn't mean know engine gasoline powered engines. It really depends what type industrial mechanic he is. I a young diesel mechanic to tell one my customers that he know everything. Well the customer him work on his mower deck which the young diesel proceeded to screw up royally and I had to straighten it out. Who in heck put six bearing in place of two and then leave the spacer washer.

I have to assume he has very little knowledge what he is currently working on so I need to start with the basics first until I find out what level he is at.

Just I use to work on automobiles didn't mean I knew how to work two cycle engines. It whole set different troubleshooting skills that were needed for me to get good at working them.

It is like those mower engine mechanics may not have the electrical repair knowledge they need to be confidant overall mower repair tech.

It takes a combination of learned skills just to repair equipment of any kind. Plus if you operate an one person shop then you got learn accounting and procurement methods on top of learning new repair methods. This why many people that have only work for others just don't understand why I have to put in up 18hrs a day running my shop but I try keep it closer to 10hrs now that I got things learned.

Just night I was up at 1 am hunting parts. And back on the computer again at 5 am this morning starting up this week's business activities. But I am not going out and work in 18F temps with the wind blowing. I just get paperwork and new price files loaded this morning and then maybe this afternoon it be warm enough to work outdoors.

Thank you to each of you for the time you took to help me with this. I am an industrial maintenance mechanic, but this is my first riding mower and I've never had a push mower that I've had to work on, so I don't have any experience with things like these vacuum fuel pumps or whatever they are, and I can't even tell where the carb is on this thing, as I've not had it apart more than taking the "cowling" or whatever the top piece is called, and pulling the valve covers off. I will do take the carb apart and replace the gaskets and all, and I'm also going to do what Will suggested and check the fuel lines the whole way up because I just went and looked in the fuel tank and saw some junk in there (pieces of leaves and dead bugs). It looks like it sucks the fuel up through the 90 mentioned by Will, and the debris looks like it collects around that line, because some engineer thought it was a good idea to design the fuel pickup line to be directly over top of the lowest spot in the tank so there is a nice little bowl of debris right there for it. I'm thinking I might should attach something to the end of the line to keep it a couple inches one way or the other. Anyone have any thoughts on that?

StarTech, you're right, I didn't put the engine model. The only reason I can think of for me not even thinking about whether I should or not is that I guess I was hoping it would be a common or simple problem that didn't require that information. But it's never something simple is it? If it was I wouldn't be on here asking for help. But yes you're absolutely right. When I went to put the JD branded fuel pump in, it was the exact same as the one I get from Amazon for a quarter of the price. Same manufacturer and model #. I'm going to do some work on it today after reading your suggestions and we'll see what happens. I'll let you know.

It always seems to be something we don't think of at times. But it is the simplest thing that get overlooked easily too. I couldn't find that wrench yesterday. Looked everywhere but right in from of me. If it was a snake it could bitten me.

And it is a vacuum operated pump. Crankcase impulse vacuum impulses is what operates it.

Oh don't want to think about the snakes, done ran into two snakes this year in mowers. Luckily they were the non-poisonous ones but still got my heart racing especially that one that went up my pants leg.

Dan,
Do yourself a big favour, go to the JD web page and buy the JD technical manual .
It costs between 1 to 2 charge out hours for a shop mechanic so pays for itself the first time you use it .
They are written in very simple terms so a non technician can understand them and include descriptions about how each bit works not just how to test & replace parts .
You will need the model numbers from the tag on the frame rail or the back of the mower .
I bought this repair run 11 years ago and while very familiar with engines ( vintage motorcycle rider ) the rest of the mower was all new to me .
About 3 years in I had to work on a JD 345 so bought the JD manual which finally gave me the information I needed to become a competiant technician
I bought the 100 series one after than for general background and since then have not looked back
When I taught Metallurgy at TAFE some of the prescribed text books were way less useful than the JD manuals
So now I have no problems buying the relevant manual for each of my customers mowers .

For petrol tanks I empty them then leave the tank to vent for a couple of hours
Then I use a 3' long high volume air duster inserted through the filler hole and played around the bottom of the tank to blow the debris out the filler hole.
Some times it is necessary to remove the tank completely & invert it to blow the crud out .
What is missing from mower tanks is a strainer in the filler hole to prevent crud falling in when you refil because no one ever bothers to clean around the filler neck before they refuel

Hmmm you could pay 184 USD or 24 USD. Your choice. Actually can be gotten for a little as 15 USD if you know where to find it. So I kinda doubt there is many shops working for $12 /hr in the USA

https://www.greenpartstore.com/John-Deere-Technical-Service-Manual-TM2328.html

https://erepairinfo.com/p/john-deer...45-155c-190c-technical-manual-tractor-tm2328/

danstarks said:

Hi all. This problem is killing me. I'm a mechanic by trade (industrial equipment) but this has me stumped. It starts up fine, runs fine, but as soon as it either runs for about 10 seconds or I open the choke it dies.

I first drained all the gas and replaced it with new gas. Then I replaced the fuel filter and fuel pump. Then I replaced the spark plugs. Then I replaced the fuel filter and pump again with real John Deere brand since I got the first ones from Amazon.

Nothing has worked at all. No improvement or change in symptoms.

Any help would be incredibly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Click to expand...

Think about what your machine is telling you. Runs on choke, but dies when throttle opens means it has spark, but the fuel mixture becomes too lean when more air becomes available when the choke is opened. I would have started by disconnecting the fuel line at the carburetor and cranking the engine, looking for fuel flow. If present, the carburetor probably has a plugged jet that is restricting fuel flow, making the mixture too lean. Get a can of carb cleaner, remove the carb and try cleaning all of the various orifices. You should be able to get cleaner to flow through every path.