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I bought a used Mastercraft Yard Beetle,guy said it needs solenoid and shift cable but runs by direct jumping the starter.
Got it home and does not fire up,direct jump to starter and turns over.I got a new solenoid and nothing on the key??? I direct jump the starter and it turns over but not getting spark.
I pulled the carb and cleaning it but don't know why I'm not getting spark or turning over by the key.
It also will not go into neutral and I have pulled the 2 shift cables that are bad,won't shift to neutral by hand?The shifter moves by hand back and forth?
So no crank on key,no spark and no neutral????

lawnbugger said:

I bought a used Craftsman Yard Beetle,guy said it needs solenoid and shift cable but runs by direct jumping the starter.
Got it home and does not fire up,direct jump to starter and turns over.I got a new solenoid and nothing on the key??? I direct jump the starter and it turns over but not getting spark.
I pulled the carb and cleaning it but don't know why I'm not getting spark or turning over by the key.
It also will not go into neutral and I have pulled the 2 shift cables that are bad,won't shift to neutral by hand?The shifter moves by hand back and forth?
So no crank on key,no spark and no neutral????

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It probably needs to be in neutral for it it have spark and crank over, without jumping the starter. What does cleaning the carburetor have to do with a no start/no spark issue? You need to get the shift linkage right and be able to shift it before going any farther.

Ya I found a site and got the pdf's last night. I learned about all these safety switches that may stop the spark and key,but will be testing the magneto today to see if it's any good. The guy who sold this lied,he said he had it fired up and did his lawn last week,I pulled the fuel tank and the gas was years old,then pulled the carb and the bowl was full packed with gel and gunk thick crammed up the jets, I cleaned it all as thorough as I could so hope it will work, I have the 2 shift cables on order,put on a new solenoid yesterday. Only thing stopping spark could be the safety switches or the magneto I guess, I know it turns over however the starter gear does not go up and down on it's own,maybe needs some grease????? I can't get it into neutral by hand shifting,the shift lever moves and clicks but stays in gear,I seen a guy talk about how lawn tractors get the break stuck,but when it's jacked up the wheels spin opposite of each other so it's in gear and breaks are not binding it??? Do I need to crack open the rear end????

Well I bypassed the electrical and direct jumped it to the magneto and it fired up so the magneto is good and I know the solenoid is new,next I need to see if it will fire up with the carb back on it and start working backwards with the electrical. Either the key is shot,the safety switches are the issue or not going into neutral.

I messed with the safety switches and got it fire up by the key with quick start through the carb,next to put fresh gas in and see if the carb cleaned up ok. I still need to figure out why no neutral though.

To keep the things updated cause I hate when these just stop and no one reports the end fix. I got it firing from the key and quick start into the carb. It won't run from the carb,I drained old gas,put in fresh gas,and cleaned massive amounts of gel and dirt out of the carb. I get gas flowing from the gas lines but pulled the carb again and the bowl is dry, the pump must not be getting gas into the carb,I'm not sure if the main port is plugged,I get the bread tie wire as far into the port as it can go but it won't bend through to poke the other side, at this point I'm not getting the carb pumping and still no neutral.

If the bowl is dry, do you get gas out of the line running to the carb? If you remove the float(is there a float?) and the needle valve, can you blow through the fuel line? It sounds like one of those is stopped. I use canned carb cleaner to blow out the passages with pretty good results.

Yes gas is flowing from the tank down the line to the carb,the float is in and no cracks,the needle is in. I cleaned out all the passages and they are clear. I had it out twice,the first time the bowl was full with gel,so I cleaned it well. After putting it back I found no gas in entering the bowl when run with quick start. Perhaps I need to keep hitting it with quick start till the pump draws the fuel or soak the carb a few days in cleaner. Or just a get another carb. My biggest frustraion with this unit is the no neutral issue.

lawnbugger said:

Yes gas is flowing from the tank down the line to the carb,the float is in and no cracks,the needle is in. I cleaned out all the passages and they are clear. I had it out twice,the first time the bowl was full with gel,so I cleaned it well. After putting it back I found no gas in entering the bowl when run with quick start. Perhaps I need to keep hitting it with quick start till the pump draws the fuel or soak the carb a few days in cleaner. Or just a get another carb. My biggest frustraion with this unit is the no neutral issue.

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Your biggest frustration should be with the seller who lied. Buyer beware. When I sell equipment I do a full tune up and repair any issues it has. I see and hear it all the time on Facebook or from customers about people selling equipment and either lie, or lie by omission by not disclosing problems. When a reputable seller has taken the time to get the equipment right, the cost will be fair, because you have a running and usable piece of equipment.

The seller told me it just needs a solenoid and shift cable. I asked how many hours are on it,he never knew,then I asked when it was run last,he said a couple weeks ago to do his lawn,I said how did you run it if it doesn't run,he said jump straight to the starter but never had jump cables and battery and said it's out of gas or he would fire it up to show me. He listed for $100 so I said I will give you $50 and he jumped at it. I got it home and the gas in it was years old and the carb bowl was jammed full of gel,not some,but packed,no way anyone had the thing running a few weeks ago,it was last run years ago. The guy probably got free in a scrap metal pile on someones curb. Thankfully at $50 bucks and few more bucks and some time on it it will be worth a few hundred running. I want it cause it's more compact to store and it's getting harder every year for me to walk my lawnmower around the yard. So far I have $38 into it for a new solenoid and not sure when the cables get here. After a battery and cables I should have over hundred something more into it. Not sure what the no neutral issue will run me at this point. I may have to pull the axel and check the gears and fork inside,but I need to get it running and see if moves in forward and reverse right now,the neutral is a hard spot to get by hand in the middle of forward and revers,so it may just need to move a bit again to get fork into place???? Don't know this is the first I've ever worked on one of these models.

The seller told me it just needs a solenoid and shift cable. I asked how many hours are on it,he never knew,then I asked when it was run last,he said a couple weeks ago to do his lawn,I said how did you run it if it doesn't run,he said jump straight to the starter but never had jump cables and battery and said it's out of gas or he would fire it up to show me. He listed for $100 so I said I will give you $50 and he jumped at it. I got it home and the gas in it was years old and the carb bowl was jammed full of gel,not some,but packed,no way anyone had the thing running a few weeks ago,it was last run years ago. The guy probably got it for free in a scrap metal pile on someones curb. Thankfully at $50 bucks and few more bucks and some time on it it will be worth a few hundred running. I want it cause it's more compact to store and it's getting harder every year for me to walk my lawnmower around the yard. So far I have $38 into it for a new solenoid and not sure when the cables get here. After a battery and cables I should have over hundred something more into it. Not sure what the no neutral issue will run me at this point. I may have to pull the axel and check the gears and fork inside,but I need to get it running and see if moves in forward and reverse right now,the neutral is a hard spot to get by hand in the middle of forward and revers,so it may just need to move a bit again to get fork into place???? Don't know this is the first I've ever worked on one of these models.

I got the carb soaking in a can of seafoam now. Hopping it will clean it out and get the carb working again,I will probably toss some in the gas to clean out the engine after also.

Update,I found neutral. In my case I took a slot screwdriver and placed it on the shift linkage and lightly hammered it back and forth about 7 times and in between pushed the machine back and forth,rocked it as hard as I could and tapped the srewdriver with a hammer light,seems the shift fork and or gear was froze from sitting for years and not for weeks as the seller said, anyway the shift fork now moves into Neutral,reverse and forward. So no neutral is solved also. To recap,I can now turn it over by the key and start it with quick start and it stalls and I have neutral. The sad set back is the starter gear shaft broke off,seems the seller 3D printed a new starter gear and it was tight and needed to be slid up by flathead to the flywheel to spin. Now I have to order a new starter gear assembly. In the meantime,I shaved down the 3D printed gear so it slides properly and put the gear spline back together with JB weld,so far it's holding but I have not tried to put the starter back on yet. The carb has been soaking since yesterday afternoon in seafaom,all the seafoam has turned to yellow and the gelled gas that was stuck inside the chambers is floating around and the trash that has come out is thick,mass amounts of dirt,rust and particulate's have filled the bowl. I filtered out what I could and stuck the carb back in the seafaom to soak more. At this point I have not got it running on other than fire it with quick start and I need new shift cables and now new starter gear assembly. I might just order a new carb also. At least I know what I'm dealing with now. I will update after more progress is made,I will try to run it with the starter fix and carb cleaned tomorrow and fill anyone in.

K today I got new starter gear and had the carb soaking in seafoam for 3 days and sprayed the carb good with carb cleaner after,it fired up no problem on the key,goes into neutral from me monkeying the shift lever to get the fork free. I still need new shift cables and those are the expensive ones at $62.00 a piece but I'm looking online to order them cheaper. Now this seems to race pretty high when I open the carb up and idles slow with a bit of low popping,is that normal????

Working backwards now. I got it running and found neutral. I wanted to see if it drives,I put a cable on it to pull the shift lever into gear when it's running,it doesn't move and began to stall and won't start again,it turns over but nothing and I can't get it out of whatever gear it's in and it won't go back into neutral???????? I will try to fiddle again to get the fork to move,I hope the transmission isn't pooched??????

Ok I will keep posting whats going on. I hate people who post and never give the final fix and every post on this model and issue has gone into limbo years ago and not one person posted the final fix,just left the threads open ended and dead. I found out why It wouldn't start again wink lol it was out of gas hahaha. Ok I got running again then fiddled the link the same way I did in my upper comments and found neutral again. I suspect the fork has not moved anything in some years and needs to be told again. Now what the issue is right now,it doesn't move in gear,it idles but when I speed up the throttle it runs way fast and loud like it's gonna fly into space and blow up lol,not sure why its racing high and won't move in gear??? I seen some talk on belt or pulley miss-placement and same issue,but of coarse the thread just dies and left dead without the final fix. Can anyone shed some light into why it would not move in gear? Now when I jack the rear end up,in gear I can move the wheels and both spin opposite of each other as they should in forward or reverse,so I can't say the break is binding. I can only figure something with the belts or pulleys. The gear splines are working in the transmission/rear end as I can tell when I spin the tires. So right now,I'm working on getting it move by the engine and why it's racing high when I throttle up?????

Had a moment after work to look under the carriage and see there is a belt that has rolled off the pulleys,so it should start moving in gear when I rout the belt back on right. I will see if I can get it back on right tomorrow and hope it's right belt,but I think it's obvious why it would move in gear. Will give update tomorrow.

With the carb installed and the bowl off, turn the gas on and it should run out of the bottom of the carb until you lift the float. If it doesn't, you have a restriction in the fuel line or a bad pump, if it has one. There must be a fuel filter. You should see gas in it. If gas is not present and there is a pump, you may have to crank until it primes. You could also take a small bottle of gas and connect a short fuel line to the carb and see if it runs gravity fed.

lawnbugger said:

I bought a used Mastercraft Yard Beetle,guy said it needs solenoid and shift cable but runs by direct jumping the starter.
Got it home and does not fire up,direct jump to starter and turns over.I got a new solenoid and nothing on the key??? I direct jump the starter and it turns over but not getting spark.
I pulled the carb and cleaning it but don't know why I'm not getting spark or turning over by the key.
It also will not go into neutral and I have pulled the 2 shift cables that are bad,won't shift to neutral by hand?The shifter moves by hand back and forth?
So no crank on key,no spark and no neutral????

Click to expand...

No spark is probably because there is no neutral. There is likely a safety switch that allows spark when it's in neutral.

To recap. I got spark,got it tuned over by key,bought a new solenoid,new starer gear,soaked the carb in seafoam for 3 days and cleaned out the gunk and gel,waiting on the shift cables to be delivered,found neutral and both gears,replaced the belts and it moves in reverse and forward.
Right now it runs very low and pops a bit switched on rabbit and as soon as I drag the lever down a little it races really high and still races high on turtle. I tried adjusting the carb screws and nothing changes,the cables are fine and the carb rods and thin line,I have no idea what is up with the racing and low idle. Anyone have anything on these carbs to troubleshoot these brigs & Straton carbs?

Well I moved the linkage rods a bit,sprayed carb cleaner over the governor arm and spring and kept running it. It is smoothing out a bit the more I run it. The thing has not run in probably ten years or more,the seller said it was running and he cut his lawn with it a few weeks ago lmfao,good thing I only gave him $50 for it,at this point I have replaced half the unit and cleaned out the carb that was filled,jammed packed with old thick gelled gas,not just a bit of gelling from sitting year,but packed full. I got most issues straightened up,I think I might do a full seafoam treatment on this beetle and see how much better the Brigs & Straton will run. The shift cables are arriving on the 10th I hope and I should be able to run it through some grass and test it out by then. I have no idea if this thread will help anyone else out with troubleshooting there Lawn bug or not, but I took this from full out broke down to running and moving from start to finish. I will update after some seafoam then when them shift cables come in and I cut some grass.

This is the end of this fix up I hope. I got it to idle and rev up and down alright,got the new shifter cables delivered and installed,and it runs and drives in forward and reverse,I seem to have lost the neutral again,but I suspect it's the fork from sitting for years and should start to come back from being used,I can find it by moving it with my finger on the shift ink most times. Now I need to get the tires off to get the beads cleaned up and of course they are rusted on and will take some manual persuasion and pb blaster on this now lol. Just need get the bead leaks dealt with and this is back in service.

I filled the tires again and drove it a bit,maybe the tires will hold air if it moves to keep the beads reset. I can't get the rims off,loaded up pb blaster and hit it with the torch a while and them rims are stuck,no holes to put eye rings through and use my gear puller,just no room to get a good smack with the sledge,but I don't want to crack the trans housing or snap the axel shafts. I looked into that foam stop leak goop, it says won't work on bead leaks,they are just for tread leaks and make a mess. I'm thinking on just popping the tread beads open and cleaning the rims and beads while the rims are still on and might fix it that way???? I will see if there is air in the tires tomorrow. I want the rims off so I can either put new on or get these fixed properly though. Other than that. This $50 buck scrap buy is back running and moving.

I still have not gotten the tires off,but they hold air long enough,I cut lawn today with the Yard beetle,maybe the tires will hold from being used. It cut nice and ran good,seems to be a belt slipping,I can hear it squeal some times and then it loses drive some moments,I put it in reverse then back to drive and it grabs. I bought new belts from the auto parts store,so they may not be the exact fit.