My LX 460 ran well for a couple of years but the battery died during the second summer. Continued to have problems starting until it finally quit. The starter works and the engine turns over, but there is no fire.
First I had to jump start the mower because the battery seems not to hold a charge any more. This is the 2nd or 3rd battery I have put in the mower which is about 4 years old. The mower started but quit after running for about 2 minutes. When it quit, it did not sputter but just slowly ran down. I tried to restart but the battery was still not strong enough, so I tried to jump it again. The starter would crank the engine but no fire. I pulled the plug and saw that it looked ok - dirty but not caked up, but I replaced it anyway. Nothing. No fire. I have not yet actually checked the new plug to make sure it's sparking, so I still need to do that.
I would like you to do two things. First, let's see if you have spark. Set the parking brake, make sure the PTO is off. Remove the plug, hook the spark plug wire back on, hold it against the block, crank the engine and look to see if you have a spark. If you have spark, spray some carb cleaner into the cylinder put the plug back in and try to start the engine. If you have no spark you probably have a bad coil. Let me know what happens.
The first thing I did after writing the last post was to check the spark - none. So I guess it's the coil. Would that also explain why the battery won't hold a charge?
No I'm sorry to say the coil is just for spark. The stator and voltage regulator. We'll tackle that after we get the engine running. Before you replace the coil let's do one more test, I'll need to know the model numbers off the engine. Then I tell you what to do.
I have reviewed the manual and I don't think I see a specific situation like mine listed in the troubleshooting. My problem is that about a year after I got the mower, the battery started losing power and I had to jump start the machine. It would start periodically, but there was always a problem keeping the battery charged. I got a new battery and it was ok for a while, but then the electrical problem started showing up as just hard to start - no consistent spark I think - and the engine would flood while I was trying to get it started. I took it to the local Toro shop and told them there was an electrical problem, but they just did a generic clean up and tune up without ever telling me there was anything specific wrong. It started once, and then went back to its old behavior. I was able to jump it one time, and it ran for about 30 seconds after I disconnected the jumper cables, and then it slowly died. I have not been able to even jump start it again since. I replaced the plug, which was in fact a new one anyway, and that did nothing. The battery won't even muster enough juice to crank it, but it will crank if I hook up the jumper cables. Just no spark to burn the fuel. I'm not sure what to replace.
I reread you entire post and I don't think it is an engine problem, but a tractor problem. If you jumped it and it ran until you disconnected the jumpers, that is an indication that tlhe battery is bad. A bad battery will suck all the available juice from your jumper battery. Try disconnecting the unit battery and try jumping directly to the + & - leads. It should start.
