Mastercraft Yard Beetle issues

[lawnbugger]

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????

 

[Tiger Small Engine]

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????

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.

 

[lawnbugger]

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????

 

[lawnbugger]

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.

 

[lawnbugger]

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.

 

[lawnbugger]

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.

 

[Mark H_NO]

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.

 

[lawnbugger]

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.

 

[Tiger Small Engine]

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.

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.

 

[lawnbugger]

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.