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Hello! First post here so sorry if this has been discussed before, but my Kawasaki FC150V-ES11 on a Snapper CP21500KWV is about 20 years old and I am trying to revive it. I finally got around to replacing the carburetor, spark plug, air filter, fuel lines, throttle cable and engine oil but it is having the same issues I had years ago which is why I ended up buying a new one. It will start after a couple pulls and then fire up really nicely. I can get about 4 passes done on my lawn (anywhere from 1-4 minutes) before it just completely dies out. I'll let the mower rest for about another 5-10 minutes and it'll start back up perfectly fine, only to do the same thing a couple minutes later. Now I have done some research into the causes behind this, and everyone says its the fuel cap. So I cleaned up the vent port, and even performed the fuel test (drain the tank with the cap on to see if the vent isn't letting fuel down the line as suction pressure builds) and it'll empty the entire tank everytime. The only thing I've been holding out on is buying a new fuel cap, but with it having no issues and even suffering from the same issues with the fuel cap off the tank, I'm leaning towards the conclusion its not as simple as getting a new cap. I'm kind of scratching my head and wondering if this issue is more of an internal component issue that would be more extensive of a repair. Just wondering if anyone had any issues with this and could provide some direction. Thanks for any help!

You said new carb. Was it the OEM Kawasaki or Ebay Chinese?

Wondering if the dead man lever is borderline on the mark of grounding out the coil? Say you bounce around the yard and the dead man lever stretches just enough to kill the engine?? Start the engine. Slowly release the dead man lever on the handlebar till it kills the engine. See how far you have to release the lever till the engine dies. You should have an easy inch or two until the engine sputters and dies, away from the bar. If you have say two inches of cable travel until sputtering then check for the single kill wire grounding out some other place. The Harley motorbike guys have those spark plug wires that blink when the coil fires. Might be good for you on a cloudy day. There are other visual spark testers out there like this. See if it runs say sitting on your patio for 30 minutes straight.

I have a similar mower. It's a series 1 with this same Kawasaki FC150V engine. I can't remember if when I got it, didn't have a throttle cable?? Anyway I just ground a wire connected to the carb area to kill mine. Ghetto stile for sure LOL. Guess I need to hook it up proper. Great another project LOL.

When you remove the top starter/blower cover, clean out all the dirt, grass and oil on the block cooling fins. Check the gap on the ignition coil. Simple business card will set the gap. Some junk mail will also.

I'm sure you got the fuel valve full open. There is a filter inside the fuel tank. You stated you have good fuel flow from the tank. Just typing out loud here. Air filter clean? Valves adjusted proper spec? Plug in good shape with visible strong spark?

slomo

Here's some goodies for you. You can download all of them to your computer.

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/156480/Snapper-C21400r2.html#product-CP21500KWV

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/156484/Snapper-C21500kwv-Cp21500kwv.html

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/1155876/Kawasaki-Fc150v.html

This is from Kawasaki. Has your troubleshooting guide, spec sheet, service data and owners manuals you can download. Look for the gray bars below.

https://www.kawasaki-engines.eu/en/...FC&f_model=FC150V&f_specification=FC150V-AA53


slomo

That fuel cap "trick" is for some Briggs engines I think. Never heard about it on a Kawi. Sounds like the fuel is percolating. Like back in the old car engine days where the fuel lines got hot and stuff. Some vehicles were hard starters in the summer because of this after the engine was ran. Your issue is different though. Your mower fuel line just hangs down in free air mostly. Sounds like the ignition coil is getting hot??? Once the internal wire heats up causing excessive resistance??

Go to page 33 of the workshop engine manual. Has all about the ignition system on that little guy. There's a few tests to run with a multi-meter and a couple cold beers.

Go back to the basics. Air, fuel, spark and compression. Let us know what you find. More than glad to help.

slomo

Could be the coil failing after it heats up, Get an inline spark tester and fit it inline and start the mower, when it dies, pull the engine over and look for spark.

Engine has a control unit and a coil. Testing procedures again start on page 33 of the FC150V workshop manual. Good luck and let us know.



slomo

Hey guys! First off THANKS A TON. Carb is chinese, becasue I didn't want to invest $130 if it wasn't going to work out. SLOMO, the mower dies out whether I am mowing or just leave it running on flat ground. Doesn't seem to behave differently at all. The ground cable was severed when I began taking a look at it, so I re-attached it with a simple wire splice fitting. As for the coil, I never moved it when I was cleaning out the entire engine so the spacing should be stock, but I can check for re-allignment if needed. Sounds like I might need to test the viability of the coil as it is running, with an inline spark tester. Only other thing I haven't done that you mentioned was any valve adjustments. I'll flip through those manuals tomorrow and see if I can't mess around with the volt meter to determine any abnormalities with the coil. Thanks again.

Kawi parts are high but worth it. Back in the day you could of bought a 4 barrel Holley for the price of a Kawi push mower carb today.

Check out the page above I added for your coil and control unit.

slomo

Just finished testing resistance with my multimeter on the ignition coil and here were the values I consistently got:

referring to the image SLOMO posted, the control unit kept giving a value of 7.89 k no matter which lead was where, as for the ignition coil
Primary Coil - 1.5K
Secondary Coil - 13.03K

I’m not trying to jump to conclusions but it appears the coil has too much resistance. Not sure why it’ll start but then fail after 2 minutes if the resistance is that high the entire time. Should I consider getting an in-line spark tester or has this determined that the coil is in fact bad?

sprovencio said:

Just finished testing resistance with my multimeter on the ignition coil and here were the values I consistently got:

referring to the image SLOMO posted, the control unit kept giving a value of 7.89 k no matter which lead was where, as for the ignition coil
Primary Coil - 1.5K
Secondary Coil - 13.03K

I’m not trying to jump to conclusions but it appears the coil has too much resistance. Not sure why it’ll start but then fail after 2 minutes if the resistance is that high the entire time. Should I consider getting an in-line spark tester or has this determined that the coil is in fact bad?

Click to expand...

Make sure when you test the control unit, you pay attention to what polarity probe you are using on what terminal. See the meter + and -? But you said didn't matter which way the leads were so you are good on that.

So from your results, get out the credit card. Time for a new control unit and coil. 1500 Ohms on the coil primary side is way high. Your secondary side is high but should work alone if the primary side was in spec. Double check your self again before buying the parts. Just saying, we are all human. Man those results are foul. Also remove BOTH parts from the mower. Just to make sure they are not in any circuit what so ever. Bench test both units again.

slomo

What type meter did you use? Model number please. Is it an auto ranging meter or do you have to manually range it with the knob?

A coil with 1500 Ohms on the primary side wouldn't generate enough spark to do anything. Surely not enough to spark jump the plug gap with the engine under load. Something is up. Think you would be pulling your arm out trying to get that little guy started.

slomo

I'll have to take a look at the meter again, its a radioshack "auto ranging" meter. It certainly takes 2-5 pulls before the engine turns over. Also, I had the ignition coil straight off the mower, but will test again after removing the control unit too. If these don't fix it, then perhaps its just too old to get going perfectly again. I'll reply with the model number of the meter here shortly.

The multimeter I'm using is a "RadioShack 35-range Auto Ranging Digital Multimeter". Model/product number might be 22-801. But like I mentioned, I'll pull the control unit off the mower tomorrow and test the resistance. I've already put in an order for a new ignition coil.

Auto ranging should of given you accurate measurements. I was wondering if you had the meter on the wrong scale setting. You should be golden.

How much was the coil? And if you do, let me know the price on the control box. I have one of these Kawasaki FC150V's. Has the torque of a larger Honda GXV160 Commercial engine.

slomo

Coil was about $70 with shipping. Just pulled the control unit off the motor and re-tested the ohms. Still sitting at a 7.89K, regardless of the polarity of the meter. Seems like some odd results compared to the what the shop manual shows as normal range. Might try throwing the new coil on to see if it will run with the control unit as is, since the control unit was ~$90 or so.

sprovencio said:

Coil was about $70 with shipping. Just pulled the control unit off the motor and re-tested the ohms. Still sitting at a 7.89K, regardless of the polarity of the meter. Seems like some odd results compared to the what the shop manual shows as normal range. Might try throwing the new coil on to see if it will run with the control unit as is, since the control unit was ~$90 or so.

Click to expand...

Forgot to ask. You do have a fresh battery in your meter? If you have a weak battery it can show low or high readings.

slomo

Not sure if anyone is still monitoring, but just replaced the new ignition coil today. Lawn Mower fired up and ran for a solid 5 or 6 minutes, but then reverted back to the same thing. I tried again multiple times after it cooled down and now we are back to only running for 2-3 minutes. Battery in the multimeter was fresh, yes. The only other electrical problem that we've mentioned is the control unit but quite frankly, I'm not sure its worth any more repairs for this engine. Not sure if there's a way to adjust the valves you were talking about, and how much that would make a difference, but seems like we've tried the main components.

Valve clearance out of spec would make it a hard starting engine. Unless they were way off, might not start at all.

Still sounds like you have either a fuel or spark issue. Get one of those lighted inline spark tester deals. Start it and let it run. See if the spark fades out.

Here's a link to one.

Just ordered a spark tester, should be here Friday. What am I looking for though, shouldn’t I see the spark stop as the engine stops anyways? Or would I notice the spark ceasing and then the engine stopping? Is the order of those events the important factor?

Also just looking into buying a used engine to swap onto the lawn mower but doesn’t appear like they make the FC series of Kawasaki’s anymore. Is the newer model The FJ180’s? Or any other Kawasaki models that would fit with similar specs?

The spark tester should light when the coil fires the plug. You will see a pulsing of light when it is running. If you see no light, coil is bad or kill wire needs looked at.

The FJ180V is the king of all push mower engines. Only the Briggs 8.50 and 8.75 ft lbs of torque can give it a run for it's money.

slomo

Per your diagnosis, you still have a bad ignition control unit.

Is your carb linkage hooked up correct? Are you mowing with the choke on? Is the carb pilot jet set proper? You put a new China carb on it. Is the idle set to 1750rpm and max revs like 3200? Once the engine is running, can you make the choke come on and audibly HEAR the engine stumble? If you can that means the choke is working. Valve clearance set to OEM specs? You said you have good fuel flow to the carb. Was that China carb proper for YOUR engine? Is the engine block breather tube clear and connected to the carb inlet? Flywheel key in proper shape? Fuel valve ON? If you have it off, it will still run for a few seconds and sputter then die. On the top engine cover, you should see a fuel can and a fuel can with a line through it. Fuel valve is between those. Make sure you turn the valve towards the fuel can only. Ignition kill lever on handlebar set proper?

On this engine you can tell when it tries to start up. It will make a grunting sound like it's trying to fire off.

slomo