my 42" MTD mower with a 17hp. motor won't turn over..new starter, new battery. when i turn the key it seems like the battery doesnt have enough 'umph' to get the motor spinning...i have the correct cold cranking amps for the size motor.also, am i correct in assuming that when the motor is running that the battery is getting charged. the mower is about 4 years old.. thanks, cj
I would put the battery on a charger. While I was waiting for the battery to charge I would clean all connections. Is there a starting solenoid?
Maybe dead battery, or bad starter. Try jumping it, or pull the plug and see if it will turn over without compression
It has a fairly low center of gravity by design. Get a neighbor or two to help you lift one side and you can get it over. If you can park sideways on a hill, it is much easier.
"RBM" wrote in news:4aa3ee1e$0$22516$ snipped-for-privacy@cv.net:
And if when you crank it with the plug out, it cranks fine and gas shoots out of the plug hole then the carb is hosed up. Fluids don't compress easily.
My thoughts exactly. Thats what happened to my Agway ride-on mower. The motor would not even crank. When I pulled the plug it was all flooded with gas. let it dry a bit, put the plug back and it fired up.
Did you try to jump it? Getting a spark? Spark plug clean and gapped to spec? Inspect spark plug wires? Check/change oil? Bad gas? Following the recommended maintenance schedule?
Called a "flooded cylinder" (my learning). Generally it means the carb float has "sunk" (tiny hole) or is stuck open. With the plug out, piston top dead center, strike a match from a distance and ignite the fumes in the cylinder. Dry's the flood right up. Fix the float.
YMMV
But if it flooded from the carb often oil level is up because its full of gas, then oil is worthless a motor can be ruined with gas diluted oil, gasolene doesnt lubricate.
Insert hands under edge and lift. You should be able to flip it. If it's real heavy, get some help.
Really. Eliminate things as suggested, except the match and gas thing. When checking the plug, I have always engaged the help of a relative to hold the plug wire, but I'm running out of ones who want to help me.
Steve
They learned fast.
"My mower won't shut off, just piss on the spark plug ". Damn how fast people can run!
I bought a nice 20 horse riding mower with snowblower dirt cheap because the owner did not realize the cowling around the fly wheel was dented into it preventing starting. He also replaced the battery and starter to no avail. He gave up and it sat in his field for a couple years then sold it to me. Runs real nice and is almost new. I like a nice bargain.
I saw someone piss on an electric fence, that was funny.
ransley wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@g31g2000yqc.googlegroups.com:
Yea well, let's not depress the hell out of the OP. Hopefully something simple.
Hey, I had a bad motor in an old pickup once. Good news was it then got
400 miles to the gallon...of oil.
Yep, my old Ryobi (rebadged MTD) flooded teh cylinder with enought to hydrolock plus filled crankcase with gas.
Harry K
A friends gen did that, I pulled the plug, pulled the cord and I swear gas shot out 10ft out the plug hole, the crankcase was about completely full of gas, a 1$ inline fuel filter probably would have avoided this. Im suprised how most equipment lack inline filters as standard.
i pulled the plug a a ton of gas shot out when i cranked it over...so that means a bad float? what do you mean when you say the carb is hosed up? on the bottom of my float there is some sort of sensor two wire, one black one white thanks, cj
A carburetor float is NOT visible. It has no wires of any type. What I believe you are seeing is a low oil cutoff switch.
You need to remove the sediment bowl on the bottom of the carburetor. The float is inside. If the float has a hole in it, it cannot float and must be replaced. More likely, the needle that the float pushes up is hung up in some way with grit, varnish, or some other problem. The best approach is to replace the carburetor if you don't know anything about them. If old gas was left in the unit, there can well be sediment in many of the passages which need to be cleared with carb cleaner, pipe cleaners, and wire probes, with a judicious blast of air.
A good friend could not get his Honda mower to turn over this spring and called me over to take a look. He had never cleaned out the deck, and a "wad" of dried chewed up grass had flaked loose from the deck, jamming the blade. A few minutes with a dull stich had the deck cleaned out and it has started and run just fine ever since.
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