Lawnmower Stalls when I engage the blades

[Harlan^Man]

I have a problem, I was mowing the yard the other day, all of the sudden the mower quits. When I put everything in normal start position the mower starts fine, It runs great too, until you engage the blades, it bogs and stalls. I have check the deck and pulleys for twigs or grass clumps... nothing there.

The mower is a Lowes brand, 14hp Briggs 42 inch cut, early to mid 90's I reckon.

I checked the gas cap to see if it was clogged, not a problem. To be sure tried all this with the gas cap off too.

Any suggestions would be appreciated as my wife is pissed about the yard becoming a jungle.

Thanks! Harlan

[Srgnt Billko]

Does this beast have it's normal power without the blades engaged or is it running but underpowered ?

If it has normal power you probably have seized the bearings in one of the spindles.

If it is underpowered it could be any number of problems with the motor.

[Jim Ledford]

given the available information that's a pretty good diagnoses.

[Willshak]

I had the same problem in my Murray tractor about the same vintage as yours. It even had a hard time going up hills without sputtering and stalling, even if the blades were engaged or not. In my case, it was the carburetor. I had a mower shop rebuild it.

[Stubby]

Sounds to me like a problem with the throttle control. As the speed decreases, its supposed to increase the throttle. This provides the additional power needed. Without knowing what kind of carburetor you have, I can only suggest clearing off the rods and springs on the sides of the carb to be certain they are free. Wildly tightening the carb adjustments probably won't help because something is wrong and needs to be repaired.

Harlan^Man wrote:

[Srgnt Billko]

I think you are refering to the "governor". Good point.

[Harlan^Man]

"Srgnt Billko" wrote in news:MdiHg.297307$ [e-mail]:

Thanks to all! I just took it outside and tried to have it climb my driveway, it is a pretty high incline. The mower was VERY sluggish climbing that hill, in the highest gear too! So is the best option to rebuild the carb? or do ya'll think there is something more seriously wrong.

The mower idles same as always, whether in Turtle or Rabbit (lol) so I dunno, let me know and thanks for all the fast responses! If ya'll think its the carb, I have a guy that can rebuild it for me this weekend more than likely.

Thanks! Harlan

[Eric in North Texas]

Have you checked the fuel filter? rule of thumb: start cheap work up to expensive. It no doubt needs a filter change anyhow.

[Srgnt Billko]

Excellent plan of attack (start cheap ...)

But he did say "in high gear" as if he thought that was the more powerful option.

[Tomes]

This may not be it but it might as you say it stalls when you engage the power attachment. (Does it just cut out or does it lose power still running but weak?) When this happened to me (cutting out) it was the switch under my seat that went bad. It thought I was trying to engage the blades when my buttocks was not on the seat. A way to check this is to bridge those contacts and engage the blades. I was pretty sure of this recommendation until I read the followup posts that indicate some other power loss issues. Worth a look tho. Tomes