craftsman starts and runs fine, then dies?

gray squirrel

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craftsman riding mower with a 17 hp kohler engine. It starts and runs fine, mows for about 20 minutes then starts to miss. If I keep feathering the throttle it will continue to run, but then there is no throttle control, just wide open. It then eventually dies. I took the carburator off, cleaned the bowl and put it back on. It has new oil, filter, plug, and air cleaner. I hit it with a shot of starting fluid and it starts back up and ran for about 5 minutes then died again. What the heck? Carb, bad fuel, coil, ? thanks for any information.
 

ILENGINE

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is the fuel solenoid clicking when you turn on the key. you may need to quickly turn off and then the ignition key shortly after is dies to see if it is failing
 

taxidermist

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I have seen where the spark plugs heats up then starts to miss. Let cool down and the miss goes away.
 

gray squirrel

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update, went to my local mower shop to buy a new fuel filter. The tech guy said it is more likely the carb. went back home took carb apart again, cleaned it again, and notice the butterfly valve closest to the engine was missing a screw, and not letting the valve open fully. replaced the screw, put everything back together, fired right up. mowed for a good while, then started miss again, it has two adjustment screws, messed with them a bit, seemed to help, then died again. crap, I'm going to run some good carb cleaner through it next, and good gas, to see what happens, but that will be tomorrow.
 

KennyV

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...butterfly valve ... was missing a screw, and not letting the valve open fully. replaced the screw,

started miss again,

Those screws are usually staked down so they dont back out ... check if you lost the screw you replaced... :smile:KennyV
 

Joe A

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I have 2 Craftsman mowers, LT1000's. One culprit is the Anti Backfire Solenoid ( A.B.S. ) located on the bottom of the carburetor. It screws up into the float bowl and cuts the flow of fuel ( stalling ) to the carburetor float bowl. 2 wires plug into the bottom of the A.B.S. to provide 12 VDC to activate the solenoid when the ignition is in the ON postion. These solenoids are prone to failure. If you are experiencing stalling, try tapping ( lightly ) on the A.B.S. as the motor is stalling. If it comes back to life you may have a bad solenoid. You can replace it but my preference is unscrewing the solenoid with a 1/2 open-end wrench and replacing it with an 8mm 1.0 pitch bolt about 1/2" long. OK, I just mixed a metric bolt description with a SAE inch size, my apologies! Be sure to reuse the small sealing washer that is on the solenoid when it is removed. Be sure to either tape up the ends of the power wires or simply clip the positive wire on the opposite side of the mower and seal the end with shrink wrap. Remove the ground which is screwed to the engine heat protector and remove the 2 wires entirely. This will solve the solenoid problem permanently. One other thing to check is gas cap venting. Sometimes the small vent hole is clogged on the gas cap. Check it too. Worked for me.
 

KennyV

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Hello Joe... &
WELCOME to LMF...

I like your fix...
You might add an in line fuel shut off, to keep fuel from getting past the float needle valve when the mower is not running.... :smile:KennyV
 

SONOFADOCKER

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We put fuel shut off on every machine that comes into the shop....tired of carbs going bad .
 
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