I have a Husqvarna, YTH1542XP, Kawasaki FH430V and have been having various problems with it.
Here is the history: It would continue to run after turning the key off.
I rebuilt the carb, no change.
Replaced the carb and was really hard to start & it would stall.
I replaced the spark plugs, coils, & fuel pump.
Then it would start and would run about 15 minutes and stall as if it ran out of gas.
Loosened the fuel cap with no change.
I cleaned the carb and when I tried to start it, it would crank but then it wouldn't stop when I turned ignition key off and I had to disconnect negative battery cable to get it to stop.
The engine not shutting off is a bad ignition switch.
Three things happen when you turn the ignition off
1) power supply to the fuel solenoid is cut = stops the engine
2) magneto is grounded = stops the engine
3) alternator is disconnected ( on some )
So your original problem was in the ignition switch .
Starter spinning all the time can be the ignition switch and can be the solenoid itself.
As you have done so much, thus introduced many potential problems we must take this one step at a time.
So we will start with the not starting.
Take the blower housing off , remove the kill wires and try to start the engine .
If it starts right up then you have a problem in the safety circuit.
Verify this by measuring the kill wire.
It should be open ( ignition on ) or ground ignition off.
If it is always open you have a problem with the ignition circuit.
There are 3 switches in the kill circuit, the ignition switch the PTO switch & the brake switch + the wires between them.
Because this is a ground circuit, there will be no indication of a bare wire shorting out other than no spark.
If the kill wire shows voltage the magneto coils will be dead as battery voltage fries the control chip embeded in the magneto coil.
If the kill wire shows voltage you might have the wrong ignition switch.
When we get this sorted we will worry about the cutting out.
However if it ends up being a bad switch or short that might be the only problem.
The kill wire(s) on the Tractor schematic is the one attached to the left side of the Ignition Unit labeled black/white in color. It connects to the M terminal on the Ign switch.
The kill wire on the Engine schematic is labeled "B" and you see it goes up to one of the coils and a jumper over to the other coil. It is connected to the "b" terminal on the Ign switch on this schematic.
In both cases, if you look at the table which shows what is connected to what in each key position, you'll note that the "kill" wire is connected to ground when the key is in the Off position.
Okay, so let me make sure I understand. Remove black/white (kill) wire going to the ignition unit & wire B going to the spark plugs or are they one & the same? See if it starts.
I don't understand when you say the kill wire should be open with the ignition on or the ground ignition off. Do you mean I should read infinity when the ignition switch is off and in the run position?
And, what do you mean by always open means a problem with the ignition circuit? If black/white wire reads infinity in the run position?
Those "kill" wires are grounded when you turn the ignition OFF. You remove them and that will 'allow' your engine to start. However, IF it starts, it will NOT stop unless they are reconnected. Said another way, when those ignition coils are grounded via the kill wire connected to ground(when key is in OFF position), NO SPARK is produced. So, when Berts suggests disconnecting them, that's how we determine where to head next. If engine starts and runs, we know the "kill" circuit is the problem. If the engine doesn't start, we suspect the Ign coils. Highly unlikely though that both Ign coils would be bad at the same time. Again, keep in mind that if you disconnect both and get the engine started, you'll have to ground both to get the engine to stop!
Yes, I understand that but trying to figure out what I need to do physically.
Do I remove black/white (kill) wire going to the ignition unit & wire B going to the spark plugs or are they one & the same? Then see if it starts.
Should it read infinity when the ignition switch is off and in the run position?
Is the black/white wire supposed to read infinity in the run position?
Did nothing & tried to start it. It started for a second and then died. I disconnected wire B (engine schematic) & tried to start it. Engine never turned over. What next? Thank you!
Ignore the Kawakasi diagram as they use a different numbering system and it will get confusing.
Because mower mechanics like me are only one step away from swinging in the trees & dragging our knuckles the mower companies make things simple
On the back of the ignition switch.
G = Ground
B = Battery
M = Magneto
S = Starter
A = Alternator
L = lights
Your magneto coils have 2 wires on them
1 thick one which goes to the spark plug
1 thin one which is the kill wire and goes to the M terminal on the switch
Because you have 2 magneto coils the thin wire goes from one coil to the other.
Sometimes this is a single wire and some times the coil has a second tab for the kill wire that connects both coils together.
AS there is no national standard wire colours are a bit hit & miss but it is the black & white wire in the Husky diagram .
when that wire, the small one on the coils is removed from both coils and you do a continuity test between the wire & ground you should see 0 ohms ignition off and infinity- over limit- out of range ( whatever your meter reads with the probes touching nothing ) with the ignition on.
If you don't get those readings the wires or the switch are bad.
With the thin wires on the coil removed the engine should crank and spark and hopefully run
Note you need to remove the blower housing and remove the wires at the coil, not just unplug at the joint outside the engine.
If you removed the B wire at the ignition switch then the switch gets no power so the engine can not crank.
If you are still lost take a nice clear photo of the top of your engine, blower housing removed and post it so we can mark it up for you.
Excellent.
Check again with the ignition in the start position, result should be the same
Then do the same tests, brake on /brake off & Blades on / Blades off.
Then repeat the above with some one sitting in the seat.
What you should see is continuity when ,
brake off & seat empty - O & S
blades off and seat empty - O only
blades on seat occupied - S only
All other combinations should be infinity as they are normal run or start conditions.
bertsmobile1, thank you for your help. Sorry it has taken me so long to reply; I had other pressing issues I had to take care of.
Below are the readings in the attached thumbnails.
When I was not sitting on the seat, blades off, brake on, the engine did start but died
shortly thereafter. I've included a picture of my fuel filter. Does this seem like there is no
gas being pumped to carb? I've already replaced the fuel pump.
From those it looks like the PTO switch is giving you grief.
Pull it out soak with WD 40 work the switch to clean up the contacts the repeat the two tests when you got numbers
The line should be either infinity or 0 nothing in between
AS for the fuel filter, the outlet is a tube inside the paper element so air gets trapped in the filter.
If it worries you hook it up backwards, filter works exactly the same way in both directions but when backwards you can not see the crud because it is inside the paper.
I went ahead and replaced the PTO switch ($10). Got correct readings. Tractor started, carb hunted, and then tractor shut off. Any other ideas?
Thank you for all of your help, Bertsmobile1.
What we need is an exact description of what happens when you try to start it.
Did it stall out after you changed something or just fire up then die out ?
That is classic blocked main jet.
Mower starts on the idle circuit then as it picks up speed it flips over to the main jet.
A defective fuel solenoid can present the same symptoms.
There's no fuel shut-off solenoid on the carb. First rebuilt/cleaned carb and then replaced carb with a new one. Saw no change. Should I clean the new carb? Replace gas cap? Crack in gas tank? Thanks again.:smile:
Trouble when we come in on the tail end of a problem as you have done so much already so have introduced too many potential causes of multiple problems.
Back in your first post you mentioned you replaced the carb & it was hard to start & stalled out.
So we have fixed the electrical problems making it hard to start and you are left with the stalls out problem.
For me I would clean the old carb very carefully then put it back on.
you did not mention where you got the new carb from and if you got it on line cheap there is a better than average chance it was a defective carb.
Everything that the factories reject as being substandard ends up on the internet.
A daily occurence down here.
Pull it down completely and spary carb cleaner through all the holes making sure it comes out of every hole in the carb throat.
Do not do this with the float needle in place as they do not take kindly to carb cleaners.
Blow dry and rebuild.
Hopefully we will get there before the lions & tigers hiding in the tall grass get you.
If by "turning over" you mean rotate, that had nothing to do with the carb.
Try popping it back on and give the engine a little whiff of starter fluid or a dash of fuel down the carb throat to help it get going without draining the battery.
Because of the auto compression release, a mower that is turning over too slow will not start as all of the fuel escapes during decompression.
I sprayed starting fluid in the carb and it started for about 2 seconds. The fuel filter now looks completely empty. I removed the fuel line coming from the tank & no fuel comes out. Unscrewing the fuel cap changes nothing. I'm thinking might be sediment in the tank that is causing a clog?
me think you think right.
take the cap off then blow back up the pipe
If fuel starts to flow you are not out of the woods, just in a clearing.
The only way to solve the problem is off with the tank and lots of washing.
It is a very common problem.
The fuel line was almost fused together coming out of the fuel tank and replacing the fuel line fixed it. My guess is it was caused by ethanol gas gumming up the line. Thank you so much, bertsmobile1, for taking the time to help me figure this out! :thumbsup: I've attached some pictures
Thanks for the update.
Get some good quality fuel line fro a mower shop.
There is a lot of trash out there.
Ethanol can cause the lines to soften but mostly it is trash solvents that get added to fuel because modern fuel injected cars can burn anything.
Bad news is you probably have some sticky rubber goo in your carb so you might need to give it another tub.
Carb cleaner will also soften a lot of rubber blends which is why you fully dissasemble a carb before spraying cleaner through them.
Glad to have been of help.
When I am looking for information I find long posts where 1 problem was addressed at a time to be the most helpful.
Now get some tum & go mow.
