Wasn't "hy-jacking " this thread since I am messing around with the fuel system like the guy in the first post did ! also with the same issue , a J D X324 just suddenly dying . I might find mine has the little black box problem too , who knows ? I'm just relaying what I discovered , so far , with this miserable issue . ( I don't need to be immediately jumped on ! )TourNut.
Please do not hy-jack another thread it just s get confusing.
TRy an alternaive fuel tank
Most common reason for this happening is debris that is floating in the fuel tank forming a plug blocking off the fuel tank outlet.
Next comes a faulty fuel cap not allowing air to enter the tank.
No air in = no fuel out .
TourNut,I also have a X324 , 2010 yr. . mine also dies seemingly for no reason , but early on I noticed the fuel filter having gotten empty some how & like the fuel pump had lost it's prime & was only sucking air . I replaced the pump with a better quality one ( metal , re - buildable ) & repositioned filter in a vertical position so exit , " to the pump " hose was at the filter bottom . That was working all this season until today , when It died 3 times , filter empty all 3 times . I have a "T' above the filter with a small vertical hose with a cap , to fill filter with gas again . I am going out , in a while , to see if I can determine a better route for the gas line to gravity-feed the filter . I don't know WHY the pump had to be mounted so high , it's like it has to constantly fight gravity & losing it's prime ? ! Might mount it lower somehow , ( I know it's getting crankcase air pulses to work a diaphragm )
I just looked for a ECM up by the hour meter - was not there or anywhere I could look , maybe mine being 2010 is a difference . I do see fuel line coming out the top of the tank instead of the bottom , I am going to create a bottom feed , like a motorcycle or simple lawnmower , that will be the same level as I can re-mount the filter so gravity can help for a change , without an air lock in the high gas line to the filter , if the filter stays filled that way , the pump can then handle the vertical hose from the filter , my filter refill tests prove that .TourNut,
OK, here goes and bear with me. I have lived this problem you are having and I can see how easy one can get sidetracked. When the fuel filter is on the vacuum side, there will only be enough fuel in the filter to keep it running. But it is ENOUGH fuel, trust me. I put a new fuel pump on my mower...same thing...electric pump...it still would die. I did manage to isolate by problem to losing the "spark". I would try isolating that part of it first.
If you have indeed lost "spark" when it dies, you can eliminate all the other things fuel related you had thought of. It is possible it is a safety switch but, you might just consider removing the Electronic Control Unit...just one 10mm bolt holds it in up by the hour meter. bout half as big as a pack of cigarettes and 8-10 wires going to it. Mine had a DATE on a sticker (along with the part #) and it was the original.
You can go ahead and test the ignition transformers while you are troubleshooting but I would suggest a careful approach. I spent a ton of money trying to figure out the same problem, even a trip to the John Deere shop and let them work on it, I just knew they would be able to get it going. Not! So, tread slowly, isolate the problem when it dies again, if it is the spark, you can eliminate half of your possibilities right there.
Good Luck
smalltowntex
On mine it , the filter clearly gets empty so the fuel pump is sucking air only , which it is too weak to pull gas all the way from the tank when it has lost the fluid prime . If I add gas just above the filter , ( to fill it up again , with a gas line "T" & a cap ) that primes the pump for a while , until the trapped air in the fuel line , above the tank , ends up emptying the filter again . - BAD DESIGN !The easiest way to work out if it is a fuel or spark problem is to remove the hood ( it is basically ornamental ) .
Fit a pair of red in line spark testers ( so you can see them in the daylight ) then go mow.
If they keep on glowing while the engine is dieing then your problem is fuel related .
OTOH if they flash irratically or stop glowing all together when the engine is playing up then you have an electrical problem .
On the particular filter you are using the outlet tube extends almost to the end of the paper element.
Thus when hung vertical you trap air in the dead end of the filter.
They are designed to be used horizontal .
You can install it backwards and it will fill completely.
Backwards or forwards makes no difference to the filter except that the crud collected will be inside the paper element so you can not see how much crud has been pulled out of the fuel .
If you look like your spark is the problem, first check that the fuel shut off solenoid is working properly
Then pull the kill wires off the coils and repeat the test mow.
Problem goes away = short or bad switch in the safety circuit
Problem remains = bad coils .
I don't want to sound preachy here but anyone who owns a JD that is giving them grief who has not bought the JD Technical Manual for their mower is smacking their head against a brick wall.
Not only do they have the most comprehensive trouble shooting section that has ever been published but they also have illustrations showing you exactly where every switch plug & even the ECU ( when fitted ) is hidden on the mower.
But yet this 10 year old one has been having intermittent fuel delivery problems for over half it's life so far , thus making it not fine ; I'll go with a more common motorcycle setup which I know works , since 1971 .There are thousands of them out there that are all running fine so the design is fine .