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Thermowax Change Out

#1

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bill18163

I have a Honda HRX2174VKA that I bought in September 2013. I am waiting for a new thermowax replacement and also the choke control. I took the air cleaner off to remove the parts and to get a look to see if I needed any gaskets. The gaskets will be OK but while I was in there I noticed that the original wax module was inserted with the pin side facing in towards the engine in it's bore. All the parts drawings I have seen show the pin side facing out in the direction of the carb. This mower has never been worked on for any problem and I am the original owner. It had to have been assembled like that when it was built, right? Which way would you put the new one in???


#2

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HurstGN

Pin facing out. The pin pushes on a small metal piece the actuates the choke. You can see it when disassembled. If it was like that from the factory, that means your choke never worked properly.


#3

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Rich M.

Never heard this happening before. Perhaps the Honda factory installer was a little bit under the weather.


#4

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bill18163

My wife just came in the house and told me the lawn mower would not start. I went out and held the choke open with a screw driver while she started it. It started with no problem. But why is it doing this? Why do I have to hold the choke open to get it started? I am still waiting for the new thermowax module and choke control. I should have them early this week. I bought this mower in 2013 and it always started. Usually on the first pull. Why is it doing this eight years later?


#5

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bertsmobile1

The auto chokes go bad over time


#6

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bill18163

Well I replaced the thermowax module and the choke control. Mower started right up first time after this work was done. It even started for my wife. Same a few more times and I thought I had it licked. My wife said she tried to start it today and it would not start. I went out to check it out and it would not start for me either. It's flooding. If I take a screw driver and poke it in past the air filter housing and hold the choke open it will start and runs just fine. You can even shut it down and it will restart with no problem. It's only doing this on a cold start. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to look for or what to do?


#7

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Rich M.

Interesting. My generator (manual choke) needs to have the choke wide open on a very warm day for it start.

Honda mowers with auto choke systems work well, even in warm temperatures. So it does not cold start with the choke door closed but will start with the door open. If this is the case, is too much gas going through the carburetor at initial start up and when the choke door is manually opened the gas and air mixture is now balanced? If this is true, would this point to a sticking float?

Before we go off in too many directions, have you ever checked the choke door on your mower after it has sat over night? The door should be closed. Is it?

Why I ask, is sometimes the choke door can stick open and the mower will be difficult to start. Howerver, after a number of pulls, the cord pulling motion frees the stuck door, slamming it shut. By this time flooding can occur. Had this happen on K7 version.

The cheap fix, tap the air filter with an open hand prior starting and listen for the click sound of the carburetor door closing and it starts on first pull every time. I have the parts on hand to do the repair, just waiting for something else to go wrong and do everything at the same time.


#8

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bill18163

I just went out to check out the suggestion of the last post. The engine is cold, it has been sitting overnight. Opened the air filter housing and noted that the choke plate is closed. There is gas puddled at the bottom of the choke plate and there is a wet trail of gas running down the air filter housing coming from the choke opening. I closed the air filter back up and tried to start the mower. Will not start. What do you guys think??


#9

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Rich M.

As part of my earlier post, I mentioned about a sticking float and/or add the possibility that the needle is not seating correctly. This would fit the leaking gas.

I would order a new carburetor ( just put one on my HRR) which was $18 and change. Not worth trying to find out if any part is not working correctly or if any of the holes are clogged, etc. before you order I would check to make sure the various gaskets are okay. Mine were fine, but had spares on hand. You know, the just in case. Hate to stop a project because of a $2 part. Plus, some parts are taking a little longer to get.


#10

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bill18163

Just a quick question on the carb. When you put a new carb on this mower, is it a simple bolt on replacement and your ready to go or are there adjustments to make after you replace it?


#11

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olgeezershonda

In the meantime maybe this will help:


#12

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Rich M.

bill18163 said:
Just a quick question on the carb. When you put a new carb on this mower, is it a simple bolt on replacement and your ready to go or are there adjustments to make after you replace it?
Click to expand...
Quick bolt on. Takes about 20 minutes. Take picture before so you know where to reconnect the governor rod and spring. No big deal.


#13

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bill18163

I have a question about my service manual. I don't know where I downloaded this manual from but it is a full Honda service manual and I have been using it for my HRX217VKA K4 mower. The manual I have is for a HRX217VKA K6 mower. Does anyone know if there is much of a difference in the information between the two manuals as far as making adjustments or repairs?


#14

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Rich M.

I do not have the HRX manual, mine is for HRR and covers three versions. Not much difference between the three version in the manual, but one difference is the carburetor and gaskets needed. The other difference is the transmission and some related parts are slightly different and some differences in removing the transmission between the K7 and K9.


#15

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bill18163

I think I finally have the mower repaired. I should explain what went on. As I said in the beginning of this post I replaced the thermowax module and the choke control. That did not cure the problem of not starting. I mentioned somewhere that it looked like there was a flooding condition because every time I opened the air filter housing there was raw gas laying in there and weeping down the housing. I ordered a new carb because parts for the carb were more costly than just getting a new one. I got the new carb and it was damaged. They sent me another one. This all took time and by the time I got around to installing the new carb a few weeks had passed. By the way. I ordered the new carb from "Boats.net". They treated me like a king. Two days from when I notified them I had a replacement carb. They didn't even want the damaged carb back. I would not be afraid to purchase anything from them in the future. I installed the carb and the mower starts on the first pull and there is no flooding condition evident. As I think this through, I think that there could have been a problem with the float valve leaking in the carb which would have allowed fuel to leak by and flow down and cause the flooding problem when trying to start the mower. That's just my own opinion of what might have happened. Thanks for all the input from everyone on this issue.


#16

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olgeezershonda

bill18163 said:
I think I finally have the mower repaired. I should explain what went on. As I said in the beginning of this post I replaced the thermowax module and the choke control. That did not cure the problem of not starting. I mentioned somewhere that it looked like there was a flooding condition because every time I opened the air filter housing there was raw gas laying in there and weeping down the housing. I ordered a new carb because parts for the carb were more costly than just getting a new one. I got the new carb and it was damaged. They sent me another one. This all took time and by the time I got around to installing the new carb a few weeks had passed. By the way. I ordered the new carb from "Boats.net". They treated me like a king. Two days from when I notified them I had a replacement carb. They didn't even want the damaged carb back. I would not be afraid to purchase anything from them in the future. I installed the carb and the mower starts on the first pull and there is no flooding condition evident. As I think this through, I think that there could have been a problem with the float valve leaking in the carb which would have allowed fuel to leak by and flow down and cause the flooding problem when trying to start the mower. That's just my own opinion of what might have happened. Thanks for all the input from everyone on this issue.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the update. It will help others looking to solve a similar problem. As for your diagnosis you could be right.


#17

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Rich M.

Glad it worked out and the various suggestions put you on the right path.


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