John Deere LX188 with Kawasaki FD501V Stalls Out

[Intl_Explorer]

I have a John Deere LX188 lawn tractor with a Kawasaki FD501V water-cooled engine. It starts OK after a little cranking and appears to run fine for a while before it just stalls out. If I wait for a minute or so, I can start it again, but it will stall again after very little cutting. I have replaced the ignition coils that had some cracks. It has a new fuel filter. I have blown out the breather hole in the gas cap. I have replaced the fuel solenoid with a small bolt hoping that was the problem, but to no avail. It has been to two John Deere dealers for service, twice to the first one and once to the local LandPro dealer. Both said that they ran the mower for hours and cut grass with no failures. If I can find one, I could replace the carburetor, but that may be more wasted money. Does anyone have some first hand knowledge and a fix? Thank you.

 

[bertsmobile1]

The workshops probably put it in a corner of the flat lever car park and turned it on
So if it is a loose wire or chaffed wire there is no movement to make them contact the frame
In some cases they may not ever have the blades running so no deck vibrations either .

In these situations I put a pair of orange in line spark testers on the plugs and take the hood off then go mow so I can watch them
If they continue to glow then flash after the engine starts to slow down then I know I am chasing a fuel problem
If they stop flashing before the engine stops turning then I know I have an electrical problem.

Now you can do that and get back to us with the results.
If with the testers in place the problem never reoccurs then the coils are weak, or you have the wrong spark plugs fitted

 

[Intl_Explorer]

Thank you for your quick response. These are new ignition coils. I forgot to mention that new plugs were supposedly installed by the John Deere dealer during my last "winter tune up". I have just ordered two in line spark testers that should arrive on Thursday. I will install both and try to mow the lawn again. I will keep you updated on my progress.

 

[slomo]

These are new ignition coils.

Any and all new parts, require testing. New doesn't mean new these days.

 

[Intl_Explorer]

I have not done so, buy will do. Thank you.

 

[Intl_Explorer]

The workshops probably put it in a corner of the flat lever car park and turned it on
So if it is a loose wire or chaffed wire there is no movement to make them contact the frame
In some cases they may not ever have the blades running so no deck vibrations either .

In these situations I put a pair of orange in line spark testers on the plugs and take the hood off then go mow so I can watch them
If they continue to glow then flash after the engine starts to slow down then I know I am chasing a fuel problem
If they stop flashing before the engine stops turning then I know I have an electrical problem.

Now you can do that and get back to us with the results.
If with the testers in place the problem never reoccurs then the coils are weak, or you have the wrong spark plugs fitted

 

[Intl_Explorer]

I got a couple of in-line spark testers and installed them. I didn't get the bright white light that some reference, but a steady red glow. The engine did not fail during my test, but did falter when on a slight incline near the edge of my lawn. I saw no significant decrease in the red glow. I have since purchased a cheap replacement carburetor ($25 vs. $300+ for John Deere) and will install it tomorrow to see if that helps.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Well that seems to point to a fuel problem
If it happens the instant it is on the incline then probably in the carb
If it happens after a few minutes on the incline then probably in the fuel delivery system or tank .
Those red testers are what I use because you can not see a blue spark in daylight .
Also they offer almost no extra resistance which is important

 

[Intl_Explorer]

I installed the cheap carburetor and, while I haven't mowed for an extended period of time, the engine has not yet quit on me. I may be noticing a very little "throbbing" and I question whether I have connected the spring that surrounds the governor linkage properly. The young service guy at the John Deere dealer said it goes in the same two holes as the linkage, but that doesn't make sense to me. If it is in the same two holes, surrounding a solid wire linkage (fixed distance between those two holes), how is it ever going to experience any tension? I don't see a second, smaller hole on the governor arm or on the carburetor. If anyone has any suggestions, they would be much appreciated.

 

[bertsmobile1]

The anti hysteresis spring is these to keep the two levers tight against the rod.
It takes up the wear
Without it the wear in the holes causes the throttle butterfly to overshoot so then the governor over corrects then the throttle over shoots so you get a situation exactly the same as surging but it happens at all engine speeds and only over a small range of revs, say 200 or so , rather than almost stopping then racing away then almost stopping .