JD 185 wont start

JD185 said:

It has spark, but im not sure if its enough. Would this make sense, that it is getting spark, enough to run "normal" If it can get started, but has a very difficult time starting? The coil is old and rusty, so I am trying to decide if I should even bother buying a spark tester, or just buy the coil, since it seems like this or the ignitor is the most common part to fail on this engine, according to everything im reading anyways.

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Rust on the coil should not make much difference, is it the Kawasaki FC540V engine. It maybe the control unit and not the coil...! and I wouldn't have thought that 1986 - 1990 was too old to be able to get hold of parts, you should be able to find a after market part somewhere.

EngineMan said:

Rust on the coil should not make much difference, is it the Kawasaki FC540V engine. It maybe the control unit and not the coil...! and I wouldn't have thought that 1986 - 1990 was too old to be able to get hold of parts, you should be able to find a after market part somewhere.

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Yes, that's the engine. I called the dealer, but naturally he wouldn't give me the part #, its top secret/classified, such that I have to buy theirs, that they do have in stock... I too thought there would/should be an aftermarket part for it, but cross referencing it is difficult. I called another non john deere dealership and they told me that john deere had Kawasaki build this engine "special" for them, so Im sure there are aftermarket parts out there for basically the same engine, but without trial and error, could be difficult. I have No intentions of buying a few aftermarket coils that "should" work. So if I think its the coil, its $67 from the John deere dealer. wish I could just try it and see, but that's a $$$ gamble without knowing for sure, but Im considering it.

By control unit, are you referring to the black board under the dash? The reason I am so confused is that I did get it started , and it ran fine since all of this non starting issue began. and it turns over and basically starts, but doesn't, if that makes sense. and I really appreciate your input, Thanks! Not giving up yet

Try choking the carb by holding your hand over the opening.

So I ended up buying the new coil from the dealer. A gamble at $67+tax. Got it home and installed it, sounded no different. Let it set for a few more minutes, tried it again, and Bam, she started right up!!! Not to be fooled, I let it run for a while, re adjusted all of the carb screws that I had messed with, and shut her down. Big test was to see if it would restart, as this occurrence has happened before, shut it off, then no restart. This time, it restarted right up. Too late to mow my much overgrown lawn covered with leaves now, but assuming it starts again tomorrow, I hope the problem is solved! So at this point, I am just guessing that the spark was present, but just not strong enough to get it started, but if by chance it did start, was fine. and now my next tool on the list is going to be a spark tester! Thanks to everyone for all the feedback, and to anyone else that might have a similar issue, perhaps this may help you as well.

Glad you got it going its nice to get lucky once in awhile.

Carscw said:

Glad you got it going its nice to get lucky once in awhile.

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No kidding, and thanks!

JD185 said:

So I ended up buying the new coil from the dealer. A gamble at $67+tax. Got it home and installed it, sounded no different. Let it set for a few more minutes, tried it again, and Bam, she started right up!!! Not to be fooled, I let it run for a while, re adjusted all of the carb screws that I had messed with, and shut her down. Big test was to see if it would restart, as this occurrence has happened before, shut it off, then no restart. This time, it restarted right up. Too late to mow my much overgrown lawn covered with leaves now, but assuming it starts again tomorrow, I hope the problem is solved! So at this point, I am just guessing that the spark was present, but just not strong enough to get it started, but if by chance it did start, was fine. and now my next tool on the list is going to be a spark tester! Thanks to everyone for all the feedback, and to anyone else that might have a similar issue, perhaps this may help you as well.

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Very happy for you, good to know you didn't waste the $67+tax on the coil...!:thumbsup:

EngineMan said:

Very happy for you, good to know you didn't waste the $67+tax on the coil...!:thumbsup:

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Believe me, after it didn't start "instantly", my head just sank...I guess I got to the point of where it didn't seem like there was any other feasible problems that I could think of, and decided to try this, as it made the most sense. and Thanks, me too. Thanks for your help!

Ok, so I had a little difficult time starting it up today, but am thinking that perhaps that was because the battery was not fully charged from obvious reasons. Once started, it ran good, and I got a few acres mowed with it. During the course of this, 2 times, it just flat cut out and shut down. It would immediately fire back up though, no issues. There was no sputtering or anything, so I am fairly confident its not a fuel issue, but very likely one of the safety switches. I rechecked the oil, that was fine, and the oil light didn't light up. Im just curious if this sounds like anything other then the seat safety switch? I will check it when I get time, but my daughters were getting cold, and I wasn't too worried about it, because it did start right back up, just a minor inconvenience. Just figured I would throw this out there to see if there is any other recommendations to check when I do get time to go mess with it again...

Yes check and clean all safety switches, that would be my next step..! and any wiring connections.