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Replaced ignition switch and fuel filter. Ignition switch had dirt in the key hole (dirt dabber), replaced fuel filter and rechecked fuel to pump and carburetor, all ok. Jumped seat switch no joy. Still testing other switches but thought I might get suggestions to follow.

My best guesses is possible water in bowl of carb, fuel line has liner waded up inside of it, pickup tube clogged, primer bulb has hole in it causing it to suck air, kill wire making contact somewhere. I've had every one of these problems in the past.

why is it cutting off is it fuel or fire? Check for fire when it dies. Will it start right back or not. Spray gumout carb cleaner in the throat of the carb and see if it will run on it. Check tip over switch.

RandyJ said:

My best guesses is possible water in bowl of carb, fuel line has liner waded up inside of it, pickup tube clogged, primer bulb has hole in it causing it to suck air, kill wire making contact somewhere. I've had every one of these problems in the past.

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To Randyj and hlw49

Getting fuel to carb. Primer bulb? Is that integrated into the pump on the side of the engine. Jumped the the seat switch and no joy there. How do you know which mercury switch it is and is it supposed to lay flat or straight up. Got more than one or at least they look the same. Have not tried the spray in the carb yet but that will be the next test.

Thanks guys

Fairly sure you will have an electrical problem.
Not sure if that model has the seat switch delay module on it , but your problem sounds like one that is failing.
The most used tool in my tool box is the red in line spark testers .
In your case I would put oneon each spark plug & start the engine while wtching them
IF the stop flashing, before the engine starts to shut down that tells me it is an electrical fault
If they continue to flash till the engine stops turning then that tells me it is a fuel problem
Either way, it eliminates 50% of the potential problems .
Slightly longer to do is to pull the blower housing off and remove the kill wires from both of the coils in which case
engine runs fine = electrical fault
problem repains = fuel supply problem ( includes valves )
Dixie are allover the place with their wiring diagrams some are in the parts books & others are inthe owners manuals but get your self one .
Do one or the other tests above & get back to us with the results .

Jaxondaweb said:

To Randyj and hlw49

Getting fuel to carb. Primer bulb? Is that integrated into the pump on the side of the engine. Jumped the the seat switch and no joy there. How do you know which mercury switch it is and is it supposed to lay flat or straight up. Got more than one or at least they look the same. Have not tried the spray in the carb yet but that will be the next test.

Thanks guys

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Does not have but one tip over switch. The other three are weather proof relays. There is weather proof time delay under the bracket where the switch mounts. It is designed to give you a three second delay so it won't kill the engine if you bounce off the seat. The tip over switch is the round thing mounted in the same area. It is pencil shaped about the size of your little fingure with two wires sticking out the top if it is mounted right as mounts with the wires up. The are not a mercury switch anymore. They are a hollow tube with a steel ball inside that will contact the two ends of the wire to ground out the ignition. There are two different time delays of this type mower 500088 that mounts directly to the main wiring harness and 500097 that has a junper harness between the delay and the main harness. They are the same delay other than the jumper harness on the 500097.

I can crank and start the mower and keep it running with parts cleaner / starter spray. I did get it running and it lasted about 30 to 45 minutes cutting grass and then it stopped again. I was able to get it to run enough to get it back to the shed. Checked the fuel pump and it pumps fuel to the carburetor. I am going to take the bowl off the carb and see what I find there. Will try to clean the jets etc then. Oh by the way this is a Generac engine if that makes a difference. Where is the best place to get a new carburetor? Seen prices all over the place but most don't have the switch on the bottom of the bowl.

Jaxondaweb said:

I can crank and start the mower and keep it running with parts cleaner / starter spray. I did get it running and it lasted about 30 to 45 minutes cutting grass and then it stopped again. I was able to get it to run enough to get it back to the shed. Checked the fuel pump and it pumps fuel to the carburetor. I am going to take the bowl off the carb and see what I find there. Will try to clean the jets etc then. Oh by the way this is a Generac engine if that makes a difference. Where is the best place to get a new carburetor? Seen prices all over the place but most don't have the switch on the bottom of the bowl.

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Stop trying to buy new parts and fix what you have. Most likely it's a fuel system clean out or install new items minus the carb for now. You can tell she is thirsty when you spray starter spray and she runs. Clean drain and flush the tank/s. New fuel lines and filter. Boil clean the carb. Pressure test the carb needle at 7psi for 30 minutes minimum.