LX 255 stalling

[Bob1944]

Lx 255 starts fine but then stalls after about 30 minutes. I replaced the spark plug, air filter, and fuel filter but did not help. It has a kohler cv15 engine. Only other thing I noticed was that the battery light stays on which that never did before. Do not know if battery would cause this or not, but I checked the voltage when cranking and it did not drop down much at all. I downloaded the cv15 manual, but that was way over my head. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Forgot to mention that problem started after we moved, and I had to drain as much gasoline as possible out of the tank before loading it on the van. Could that cause this?

 

[bertsmobile1]

check the battery voltage engine off and battery voltage engine running
Let us know what you find.

Little steps. one at a time.

 

[Bob1944]

Thanks for the reply, but I must have something wrong as I did not get an email saying there was a reply?

Anyway I took a chance and ordered a coil which should be here today. Mower is currently apart waiting for the part so can't test voltages now, but will post back after installing either way.

Thanks!

 

[Bob1944]

Gmail got me by classifying the email as Spam. My Bad!

Well the coil was not the problem. Same problem: stalled after about 30 minutes of cutting. Orange battery light still on whole time.

Voltage off: 12.54
Voltage running: 13.78

Since I ran this time with the hood off, I could see that the fuel filter looked like not much gasoline in it. Is that normal? What should I try next?

TIA,
Bob L.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Next step is to run the mower till it stalls then spray some starter fluid down the carb.
Fire right up = fuel delivery problem
Next loosen the fuel cap
Fires right up = tank vent blocked
Next step pull the fuel line off the carb & crank the engine a few times then pull the fuel filter off and do the same.
There should be a little difference between the two but not much.
Some like to crank into a cup for a fixed time or measure the time for a fixed volume.
Big difference = blocked fuel filter
Assuming they are the same blow backwards into the fuel tank ( cap loose or removed ) from the fuel ile before the pump as the pump has a one way valve in it.
Fires right up = blockage in fuel line of debris in fuel tank blocking outlet.

All of these make no difference then you are left with the fuel solenoid or a valve problem

 

[Bob1944]

Actually when it stalls, I can start it back up without doing anything and it will then run for a while again. Where is the fuel solenoid and what does it do? Any thoughts on the battery light staying on?

 

[bertsmobile1]

Well that makes a big difference
by stall do you mean slows down then stops or just stops like you turned it off or stutters a little like it is running out of fuel.

Sounds electrical.

Fuel solenoid is the thing hanging off the carb with 1 or 2 wires.
It jambs a ram into the end of the main jet to stop fuel flowing through the carb when you shut off the engine.
If the plug is loose or the wires are loose or shorting out then it will close & the engine stops dead .

Charging lamp is controlled by a relay or a bridge switch in the rectifier, I do not have the service manual for your mower

 

[Bob1944]

It slows down and then stops. I can tell it is going to happen. If I choke it will do better though eventually still dies.

I put on a new fuel solenoid but problem remains. Tried pulling fuel line from carb etc. but gas flow seemed strong and the same wherever I tested. I also read another thread somewhere saying to clean the magnet on the flywheel, so also did that!

Really frustrating, in that you would think the same behavior over and over again would point to the problem!

I have gotten 17 years out of this puppy so maybe it's time to move on?

 

[bertsmobile1]

Little by little you are spoon feeding us information that is vital to proper diagnosis.
If choking the engine helps a little then it is definately a fuel problem.
Can be as simple as the fuel tank vent being blocked or some floating debris blocking the fuel outlet or a duff fuel pump or a cracked impulse line.

After it stalls out pull off the fuel cap.
Runs OK for another 30 minutes = fuel cap vent blocked

Makes no difference , pull fuel line off at the tank side of the pump , remove the fuel cap & blow backwards down the fuel line.
Runs fine for another 30 minutes = floating debris in fuel tank.

 

[Bob1944]

My apologies for spoon feeding, but I am just reporting what I am finding when I find it.

I know this was the wrong way to test, but I had convinced myself the problem was the fuel cap, and I wanted to not get stranded. So I ran today holding the cap just over the opening so it was open but fuel wouldn't slosh out. I did that expecting it would never fail and I could therefore get my drain field cut with no problem. However after about 30 minutes it failed while open. Since it was open I immediately screwed it back on and as I did so it stopped failing and returned to running ok. Did not make sense to me so I kept running with the cap on and it failed agin. So this time I pulled the line at the fuel pump and blew back into the tank. Started right up and kept running with the fuel cap on tight.

So sounds like debris in the tank or maybe the fuel line? What I don't understand is why it always takes about the same time to occur. Why is that? Also what is an impulse line?

I really appreciate your staying with me on this as this is all new to me!