JD X360 KAWASAKI engine backfires and dies, will not start back

Hello all. My brother-in-law's X360 began backfiring and died while mowing the grass. Tractor has 54 hours on the clock. It's a 2011 model bought spring of 2012. The air filter looks brand new. I removed the air filter and did not help. Engine will start and backfire and dies again within 30 seconds to a minute. I noticed when I crack the throttle to 1/2 and the choke to 1/2, the mower will rev higher and run longer but will not run any smoother. Smokes black heavily when choke is open or closed. Appears it flooding out. I thought initially the choke cable may have came off and it was choking but that is not the issue. Where do I start to TS it? The float has an electrical solenoid and I don't know how to TS it.
NEW Today. after sitting for 2 hours it starts, runs, smokes heavily still, snorts and backfires until I got it into the shed.

4acres said:

Hello all. My brother-in-law's X360 began backfiring and died while mowing the grass. Tractor has 54 hours on the clock. It's a 2011 model bought spring of 2012.

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Did he buy it new? Still under any kind of warranty.
Smell the gas... Does it smell normal?

Look at the plugs and inspect the plug wires good. Both look the same, burning clean?

Yes bought new. Gasoline is fresh 1 week old from a clean jug. (10% ethanol) The mower was mowing on flat ground when it sputtered a time or two, then straightened out for a min, then coughed and died. Did not run out of fuel, had several inches in the tank and the fuel in the tank appears clean. The fuel filter pours freely when dropped below tank level. The engine oil was changed 5 hours ago, 30HD Oil.

Haven't pulled the plugs yet, will Monday. Yes it is under warranty, So I won't go too deep before I take it to the shop. Are they going to tell me it's the fuel?

4acres said:

Haven't pulled the plugs yet, will Monday. Yes it is under warranty, So I won't go too deep before I take it to the shop. Are they going to tell me it's the fuel?

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Probably, because that's what everyone says.:ashamed:
It may be trash in the carb someplace, float sticking up, or 1 cylinder is not firing properly to burn the gas.

After you get it running you might need to change the oil again, especially if you smell gas on the dipstick.

80% of no start and pooting is water in the gas. Maybe 15% is old gas over 30 days old.When you last mowed there was enough gas in the carb to start it. Then the water gets in and starts the pooting. Partial choking helps suck out some of the water but if you had a lot of water then even the pooting quit cause there was more water than gas when you tried to crank up. . You gotta get rid of the water.
Maybe by now you got it motivating.

Here is the killer. During the day the gas tank gets hot, heats up, expands, and expels gas fumes and air.
At night -Tank cools, contracts and sucks in air With this high humididity these months that moist air condenses out and settles on the bottom of the gas which floats on water and is then first in line at the hose hole to the carburetor. If it was out the rain , it is doubly wet.

#1 got where I put cutoff valves on my gas tank hoses if none there and spring clamps on the carb hose end. It's just a small routine matter now to get the gas tank outlet in a low attitude, loose the hose and drain the water into a glass jar. I can clearly see water in the bottom. I pour most of the gas back in it.

#2 Most of my carbs have a 1/2" nut on the bottom of the float bowl so I just loose the nut a smidgen until the water begins to drain out plus open the shut off valve. I collect that water/gas also until gas is coming out and tighten nut back up.
Things are are somuch better now that I identified the problem. NEXT?

Invention #349 - Paint all exposed small engine gas tanks with brilliant gloss white paint to reduce heating and expansion due to exposure to sun light.
Invention#350 - Remove gas tank cap, (small engines) Spread small used plastic shopping bag side over opening. Use three fingers to poke bag down in hole to make a bowl. Place cap back over plastic and screw it down bout half tight. Next time you cut grass remove cap and dump out collected water that didn't get into the gas. Don't forget to reinstall the /some plastic after you finish work. I no longer have to spend half day trying to crank gas powered tools.

Hint for pressure washers- The pumps hate not being wanted or used with the engine running. The reason is they are subject to die early due to the extreme pressures when the wand is not being used. That pump cost more than the engine so treat it like your baby. Shut the engine down if you gotta take a 1 or 2 minute break. LOL

BBO said:

Probably, because that's what everyone says.:ashamed:
It may be trash in the carb someplace, float sticking up, or 1 cylinder is not firing properly to burn the gas.

After you get it running you might need to change the oil again, especially if you smell gas on the dipstick.

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Into a glass jar for reuse!

I thought this was an old post. Maybe you can use my experiences to track down your culprit.
Main thing is to pull tank hose off carburetor, stick it in a jar and drain some gas and maybe water. If you can make the outlet end of the tank be lowest then it don't take much to get the water. The water comes out first. If you got a nut on the bottom of the carb float - loosen it enough for it begin leaking out. Drain it and
Catching it to see if it has water is helpful because you will know that it's yur problem or not. Oh! Put it back together before you try to crank it!

The picture is of gas floating on water that came out of one of my yard machines. I small use pieces of .50c plumbers dye pills in my gas tanks. The pills won't mix with gas but sure make unwanted water stand out like Madonna. LOL