I was given a JD 165 with a Kawasaki FB460V engine. The mower is little hard to start but runs fine until it gets hot and you shut it off. Yesterday was mowing for 25 minutes and the fuel light came on. I filled the tank and the mower would not restart. Also a month ago ran out of fuel and mower would not restart after refueling.
I do not know the history of the mower. I suspect it has set idle for many years.
I suspect the coil is getting heat soaked and breaks down. Is there anything else I should look for? I have heard of rusted magnets not giving the magnetic force needed to create spark.
I thought of vapor lock but carb did not seem to get hot to touch, plus fuel pump was working fine. You let it cool down and it restarts fine. Mower will run fine until you shut it off.
I am going to replace spark plug because I do not think it is the right one. I will get a spark tester and see if I am losing spark. Any other thoughts before I start to work on it?
That is an old motor so no surprise that it does not start easily
When it stops give the carb a SHORT SHOT ( yes I was shouting ) of carb cleaner or starting fluid down the carb throat .
If it does not start instantly then you have a spark problem
Let us know what you find for more instructions
I have already tried starting fluid when the motor was hot and would not start. It made no difference. First is a new plug, then I am going to look at coil, igniter and flywheel. I will try to troubleshoot electrical components with an Ohm meter,
I watched a video on a guy with a 170 that would not start. He replaced igniter, coil and spark plug connector before he got the engine to run. The old components checked OK with a meter, but new OEM parts made the difference. He walked away scratching his head, not knowing what fixed the problem.
Check the valve lash first.
You can check the coil but on that model the coil almost never fails .
In fact no coil on a magneto ignition fails
It is the timing chip that fails
I looked at everything and found two disturbing things.
1.) there was a raw place in the wire that goes from the coil to the igniter. Where the wire goes by the engine shroud it was raw. There was a grommet there but no room for the igniter wire. I put heat shrink and tape over the bare place. I also snipped away the metal shroud to allow room. Could have been when the shroud got hot it grounded the wire. I dont know
2.) the igniter was not bolted(grounded)to the engine block. It was just hanging by there by the wire. Does anyone know the screw size? Part number is M70184.
If this is the cause I will report back.
I know the engine was easy started the only time I tried to start it after the work.
Maybe one of the others can help here. Several can pull up awesome parts info. If it was me, in a pinch, it would get "converted" to 1/4 20 for example. At times I get tired of looking for metric bolts and retap the suckers.
The area I took out for the wire was about 1/4 sq. inch so I don't think it will affect cooling. Just enough area to allow for the wire and tape.
I spent an hour or so looking for the screw size with no success. I bought some M6 screws in hope they would fit have not tried them yet.
