Mower runs then dies

[Hotrod stang]

Is the fuel solenoid there to cut off the fuel or?

 

[Crustycracker]

Is the fuel solenoid there to cut off the fuel or?

Hi guys, bit of a late entry I know.

I had a problem with a 15 mth old 22HP Briggs & Stratton engine in a McCulloch lawn tractor that kept cutting out after a short while. After weeks of pulling my hair out and asking various experts I was just staring hopelessly at it and noticed that a black rubber 'O' ring was sitting in the bottom of the petrol tank. I hooked it out and checked to see where it should be, noticing that there was an place for it inside the petrol cap. I also noticed that there where 2 little flutes inside the seal and they are designed to let air into the tank while fuel is being sucked out. You try sucking a the contents out of a bottle of Pepsi without letting any air into the bottle, you'll get mighty thirsty. I fitted the rubber seal back into the petrol cap, correct way round.
Another thing I remember was that each time I opened the petrol cap there was a little hiss as air was drawn into the petrol tank. It all made perfect sense now, the mower was being starved of fuel, even though the tank was full up, air could not replace the fuel being drawn into the engine so created a vacuum effect thus the engine would cut out after a while, the time various depending on the air gap you had left in the tank. So simple but not obvious enough.
Never had the problem since.

 

[goldacres]

Crusty; good suggestion. I might try this as well on my mower since it is having a similar problem.
I wanted to throw in my two cents worth on another potential solution to the dying motor (and maybe this is a too simple solution but it helped me): be sure to clean or blow off all the contacts that kill the engine for safety reasons; such as the seat contacts, blade engage, brake, emergency brake, etc. I found that my motor would not crank but cleaned all points and started up.

 

[DaveTN]

I've been working on a 17.5 Kohler single cylinder riding mower. This thing will let gasoline fill up the carburetor bowl, then keep on until you can see a puddle of gas in the air intake / filter area. Sometimes it gets down into the cylinder area, but not every time. I drained it out of the bowl and had almost a small teacup full. I checked the needle and float by hand and it seemed to be working fine. You can then start the mower and it will mow for 30 minutes and not a bit of trouble. Let it sit over night and it will flood out again. It has the brass type needle seat. I ordered a new needle for it even though the old one seems to be working. Sprayed out the needle and seat area with carburetor cleaner, but still does the same thing. I told the customer to get a fuel shut off valve for it and that would stop the problem if the new needle didn't help. People have used them for years with a leaky float and needle problem mower. That might solve your problem with a quick, easy fix!