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How do I set the governor so my mower doesn't run at high RPMS and lockup on me?
It did stop the other day and I could not pull the starter cord to restart it until it cooled down. I have not tried to restart it and will await some guidance. It's a Silver Series Lawnboy built around 1997 or so.
I had the carb off and cleaned it and it started right away but really reved much too fast and I couldn't get it to stop. It has a plastic toothed wheel & flag type mechanism that clicks when I push it clockwise or counter clockwise but it does not seem to matter which way I push it, the speed stays the same. It something stuck? Is the white plastic flag supposed to move freely or stay in whatever position you click it to.
It seems pretty solid now. There is a spring around the plastic tooth wheel that I cleaned up but did not remove. Could I have damaged something? It been a great mower and I'd hate to have to junk it.
I read about some sort of tach to help set the RPMS but have never seen or used such a device nor would know where to buy one. I have no service manual to follow and am just trying to read up on what to do and am just a person who likes to tinker with these sort of things. Any advice out there as to what I might try next, assuming it has not locked up or froze up with my last attempt?

Yes, that was a problem with those mowers the "flag" needs to spin freely and when you move it over the spring should move it back and each "click" of
the wheel is supposed to adjust the rpms @ 10 rpms or so.

Take it back apart and see if you can free up the throttle shaft/flag thingy. Otherwise you will need to buy a new carb.

Fish said:

Yes, that was a problem with those mowers the "flag" needs to spin freely and when you move it over the spring should move it back and each "click" of
the wheel is supposed to adjust the rpms @ 10 rpms or so.

Take it back apart and see if you can free up the throttle shaft/flag thingy. Otherwise you will need to buy a new carb.

Click to expand...

Why would I need to buy a new carb? I mowed once with it but the engine was running way too fast but there didn't seem to be a problem with the carb giving it gas - it was just too much gas, I would think!

The rotation of the "flag" is the top of the throttle, which controls/governs the speed. If that don't work, then you will overspeed and "blowup"....

Fish said:

The rotation of the "flag" is the top of the throttle, which controls/governs the speed. If that don't work, then you will overspeed and "blowup"....

Click to expand...

Problem solved!
Thanks for the advice in telling me to take it apart and try freeing up the flag "thingy". As reluctant as I was to do it I did just that and discovered that I had made an error when I put the carb back on. The error was I had the metal plate that is sort of a shield between the carb and the engine in upside down and as soon as I took it off and turned it around the flag was free. It was binding because of my reassembly mistake. I could then set the governor by clicking the little plastic tooth wheel so many clicks. I did not have a tach so I spent a little time setting it then trying it by ear, Where can I get a tach so I can set it to what it's actually supposed to be? It ran fine and I mowed the whole yard and it purred like a kitten. I'd just be curious if it might be purring still too loud. Anyway, thanks for the help!

Just swing by any mower shop, and tell them to set your rpms with a tach. They shouldn't charge too much, if that is all it needs....

I freed it up and it runs fine. I just don 't know how to set the RPMS accurately. All I have is my ear to go by.
Tachs seem to cost more than I'm willing to give for little use.


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Fish said:

Yes, that was a problem with those mowers the "flag" needs to spin freely and when you move it over the spring should move it back and each "click" of
the wheel is supposed to adjust the rpms @ 10 rpms or so.

Take it back apart and see if you can free up the throttle shaft/flag thingy. Otherwise you will need to buy a new carb.

Click to expand...

Fish said:

Just swing by any mower shop, and tell them to set your rpms with a tach. They shouldn't charge too much, if that is all it needs....

Click to expand...

Yeah, go by a shop.