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B&S Fuel solenoid

#1

G

grassman

Hello,

I just tested my fuel solenoid on my Briggs Vanguard V-Twin engine (12.5hp) It does not seem to be working. I was just told that the part is $130!

Do I absolutely need the solenoid, and are there any other options.


#2

Briana

Briana

Hey there - WELCOME to LMF!

I moved your thread to the Small Engine & Mower Repair Forum. :smile:


#3

B

BO2

I have seen the solenoid with sticking needle and have at times sprayed with carb cleaner and freed up the needle..Might be worth a try..I'd never pay $130 for that part..


#4

G

grassman

Thanks for moving this where it belongs. BO2 I have tried WD40 and that didn't work, but maybe I'll get more aggressive with carb cleaner as you suggested. And I agree, $130 is a hell of a price for the part.


#5

reddragon

reddragon

what do you mean by not working?.....usually these things retract to allow fuel flow when voltage is applied and plug the main jet when there's no voltage..


#6

B

BO2

Solenoid was working but needle was gummed and would not move..Freed it up with carb cleaner--still working...


#7

G

grassman

Hi reddragon,

Yes, you've got it right. I've got gas going into the carb, the bowl is full but the solenoid isn't opening up to let it through. My engine is a Briggs Vanguard V-twin, and the wire from the solenoid goes directly to an oil pressure switch at the oil filter. I'm not even sure how a voltage goes from this switch to the solenoid.

There is only the one wire, I guess the solenoid case is the ground/return. I tested the solenoid by putting a 9 volt charge as per the manual, to the wire and ground the case but the solenoid did not open. I don't know if it is because it is jammed or broken.


#8

B

BO2

grassman said:
Hi reddragon,

Yes, you've got it right. I've got gas going into the carb, the bowl is full but the solenoid isn't opening up to let it through. My engine is a Briggs Vanguard V-twin, and the wire from the solenoid goes directly to an oil pressure switch at the oil filter. I'm not even sure how a voltage goes from this switch to the solenoid.

There is only the one wire, I guess the solenoid case is the ground/return. I tested the solenoid by putting a 9 volt charge as per the manual, to the wire and ground the case but the solenoid did not open. I don't know if it is because it is jammed or broken.
Click to expand...

With the solenoid in hand have you tried pushing /pulling/twisting the needle that protrudes out of it..I remember being able to push/pull them before but they had resistance(gummed up)..Sprayed with carb cleaner and loosened the needle up where it could move freely.
..Of course if the solenoid itself is bad it will need replaced.


#9

reddragon

reddragon

yeah....i think im going to try and find a way to disable these damn things so they work without the solenoid...they were primarily designed to stop a backfire after shutoff and some dieseling.....not crucial to function!:thumbdown:......have you tried partstree?....Partstree.com - Genuine replacement parts for Toro, Echo, Husqvarna, Cub Cadet, Troy Bilt, Lawn Boy (Lawnboy), lawn equipment (lawn mowers, saws, blowers, trimmers, snow blowers) and Tecumseh, Kohler and Briggs and Stratton Engines.


#10

G

grassman

Fuel solenoid disabled!

Well, I tried to save it, I soaked it in carb cleaner, I talked to it nicely, but it didn't work. No more Mr. Nice Guy.

I took a small drill bit and drilled down through the top port and then through the four side ports, and I can say that my solenoid is now completely open!

Now of course it will never close, but at least I'll be able to get the damn tractor started. I guess I was less worried about backfire than I was about spending $130 bucks for a 'just-in-case-this-happens-this-will-prevent-it-from-happening' part:laughing:


#11

reddragon

reddragon

you gotta take pictures of this!:laughing:


#12

G

grassman

Wait 'til I get up to the cottage where the tractor is. Once I've installed it ...and works, I'll send a picture for sure!


#13

L

linwoodcampbell

You can always clip the needle. It is for safety purposes but not necessary for the carb to work.


#14

G

grassman

Re: Three cheers, the damn things running- except....

Well everyone, I finally go00t the #$%& thing running. Drilling out the plunger on the solenoid allowed the fuel to go through and the engine purrs like a kitten.

BUT NOW THE THING WON'T SHUT OFF!:ashamed:

When you shut the key off, the solenoid cuts off the gas flow quick and the engine dies out to prevent backfire, as we all know I guess; however, when I disabled the plunger, the engine wouldn't shut off even when I shut the key off, and throttled down.

I had to find some pliers and pinch the gas-line until I starved the carb bowl of it's fuel.

I may have to pay the $130 for the damn solenoid after all!


#15

reddragon

reddragon

its electrical!...what did you do to the plug wiring?


#16

G

grassman

As I've described before, my solenoid is the single wire variety, that gets an electrical signal from a oil pressure switch beside the oil filter. Some solenoids have two wires. The solenoid was defective so the signal didn't cause it to open when the key was turned on.

All I did was disconnect the wire from the oil pressure switch and then I actually cut off the useless dangling wire (not mine, the one on the solenoid), so that it wouldn't be in the way. Then i drilled out the piston as I've mentioned before down through the top hole, and then through the side ports. Now the gas was free to flow into the carb.


#17

L

linwoodcampbell

That's a ground / kill wire issue


#18

G

grassman

Well I wondered that myself, however, I got this tractor from a neighbor and so I'm not sure if it was doing this before I did the solenoid work. My neighbor can't remember either.

If this is in fact a ground/kill switch problem, any suggestions as to how I would go about fixing it?

(note: I will be away from the computer for a week, so if I don't respond back, it's not that I'm ignoring you. Please leave your suggestions, and I'll look forward to reading them in one week from now.

PHil


#19

G

grassman

the tractor that just won't die!

Yes folks, after disabling my solenoid switch, cleaning the carb, and making a few turns of screws here and there, I've got my Columbia with a V-Twin Vanguard Briggs, purring like a kitten!

It is so eager to show me how nice it runs...that I can't shut the damn thing off!!!

There must be a problem with a kill switch somewhere, 'cause when I shut off the key, it keeps going, and going, and....

Any ideas from you electrical wizards out there on how to fix/make/coax a way to shut off this motor?


#20

reddragon

reddragon

give us the model/serial numbers of the mower so we can pull up a wiring diagram:smile:


#21

K

KennyV

Re: the tractor that just won't die!

grassman said:
...after disabling my solenoid switch,
Briggs, purring like a kitten!
Click to expand...

There is a good chance that the fuel shut off ... is what was used to shut down the engine... & you say, you disabled it...

Check if your magneto has a kill wire that is not connected ... :smile:KennyV


#22

G

grassman

Actually Kenny, it isn't the problem.

The solenoid switch merely stops the flow to the carburetor bowl to prevent run-on. While the engine is running,(and with the key shut off), I pulled the fuel line out from the pump. That baby just keeps running for another 4 minutes as it runs on the fuel in the carb bowl. (pretty impressive efficiency on its own).

If it was the problem, the engine would have died right away. There is definitely something not grounding the engine, which should happen when you shut off the key.


#23

reddragon

reddragon

ground the wire you pulled off the solenoid and see what happens....but do it with your hand....you dont want to short and burn up a wire


#24

B

BayouBengal

I don't believe the fuel solenoid would be relied upon to shut off the engine. I'm having fuel solenoid problems too. I tested my plunger and it did not retract, so I cut off the plunger/stopper.

I think the symptoms of a bad fuel solenoid vary from engine to engine. In my case, if the engine had been sitting a few minutes, my engine would start, but then immediately die. I believe this is because, given time, enough fuel leaks by the fuel solenoid to start the engine, but then it shuts down because it can't get fuel flow to keep running.

I tried to simply cut off the plunger under the assumption that the engine would then run fine with the only side effect being the back fire when shutting down. So after doing so, the engine will now start and run, but it runs extremely rough. I think it's running rich but there's no carb adjustment to play with, so I'm not sure. I guess I'm going to have to pony up the $50 for a new solenoid, after all.

In summary, with the plunger/stopper removed from the solenoid, my engine will start, but doesn't run smoothly. It shuts down immediately when I turn the key off. It actually does not backfire when it shuts down (so maybe it's running lean instead of rich).

Before realizing the problem was the fuel solenoid, I took the carb apart and soaked it in cleaner. While I thought that I did a good job putting it back together, maybe I damaged it or put it together wrong because the motor ran great prior to incurring the fuel solenoid problem.

Has anyone else had experience disabling the fuel solenoid the way I did? Could the plunger being cut off of the fuel solenoid cause the engine to now run rough, or do you think I have something wrong with my carb, now?


#25

reddragon

reddragon

BayouBengal said:
I don't believe the fuel solenoid would be relied upon to shut off the engine. I'm having fuel solenoid problems too. I tested my plunger and it did not retract, so I cut off the plunger/stopper.

I think the symptoms of a bad fuel solenoid vary from engine to engine. In my case, if the engine had been sitting a few minutes, my engine would start, but then immediately die. I believe this is because, given time, enough fuel leaks by the fuel solenoid to start the engine, but then it shuts down because it can't get fuel flow to keep running.

I tried to simply cut off the plunger under the assumption that the engine would then run fine with the only side effect being the back fire when shutting down. So after doing so, the engine will now start and run, but it runs extremely rough. I think it's running rich but there's no carb adjustment to play with, so I'm not sure. I guess I'm going to have to pony up the $50 for a new solenoid, after all.

In summary, with the plunger/stopper removed from the solenoid, my engine will start, but doesn't run smoothly. It shuts down immediately when I turn the key off. It actually does not backfire when it shuts down (so maybe it's running lean instead of rich).

Before realizing the problem was the fuel solenoid, I took the carb apart and soaked it in cleaner. While I thought that I did a good job putting it back together, maybe I damaged it or put it together wrong because the motor ran great prior to incurring the fuel solenoid problem.

Has anyone else had experience disabling the fuel solenoid the way I did? Could the plunger being cut off of the fuel solenoid cause the engine to now run rough, or do you think I have something wrong with my carb, now?
Click to expand...

start a new thread and well help you out....get the model/type/ code numbers off your engine first :smile:


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