Kawasaki on my John Deere 345 Dying

[Enoughtogetby71]

Wondering if anyone can help me here. I have a JD 345 with a Kawasaki 20 HP motor. About every 5 minutes after she heats up it dies. Then after a 5 min cool down starts right up again and so On. As its dying I can keep it going faintly for few more seconds by pushing the choke all the way but it still dies which made me think it was a fuel issue. I've changed the carb, fuel filter, fuel line, governor & carb springs and linkage. Still the same. Then I thought it may be electrical so I changed one of the coils thinking it was heating up and dying. No dice. Then I changed the ignition delay module. From what I read on the forums This gave me hope. Still nothing. Today I pulled the igniter and did a continuity test on it. There were two spots where I was getting resistance where there should be none and the other no resistance where there should be. Before I go and spend $275 on an igniter I want to make damn sure a couple of bad spots could be the cause of my problems. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks! Marty

 

[bertsmobile1]

But did you remove & clean out the fuel tank ?
Dirt dust & grass clippings find their way into the tank then form a plug in the fuel outlet.
It does not fully block off, just slows down sufficiently so the flow can not quite keep up with the engine.
Some model JD's actually have an in tank filter, these need to be back flushed from time to time.

Before you spend big bucks replacing items that may or may not be causing the problem get a pair of in line plug testers, put them on then go mow with the hood removed so you can see the plug testers.
Watch them carefully as the engine dies.
If they stop or start to flash irregularly BEFORE the engine starts to die then you have an electrical problem.
If they flash happily right down to the last few revolutions then it is a fuel problem.

There is a clever little invention called a colortune which I am a big fan of you might even consider buying one there are a few U-tube videos of them in use and the makers Gunsons have a nice video on their web site.

Good news is most of what you have replaced to date are normal service items and those not are useful spares to have on hand so it is not money wasted.

 

[Enoughtogetby71]

I have not done that. The thought had occurred to me. Everything is such a pain in the *** to get to on this thing.
I'm going to check out the colortune videos. And see about getting some inline plug testers. These forums are dynamite! Sometimes it takes a second set of eyes to see the big picture. I appreciate all the great info! Very much appreciated! THANKS MATE!

Marty from Maine, USA

 

[bertsmobile1]

The dirty test on the fuel line is to remove the fuel cap and blow back up the line.
This usually clears the line for a short while as the crud will just slide back & do the same thing all over again.
The other thing I overlooked was a blocked fuel cap vent.
You test for this by mowing with it 1/2 undone.

 

[mechanic mark]

Remove blower housing, top cover on engine, clean every nook & cranny by hand removing all the crud. Engine needs to breath & by removing debris will run cooler. Also check air filter for replacement. Take your time removing crud & be patient, I use a shop vac after getting all the crud loose.

 

[Enoughtogetby71]

bertsmobile1, I've blown the return fuel line out a while back but will do both tomorrow and let you know how I make out. I've already done the vent cap trick about 10 times. I watched that Colortune video. Looks like quite the handy product. My carb has no adjustments but I'll be looking into it for all my other heaps.

Will do Mechanic Mark! Thanks!

 

[Enoughtogetby71]

@ bertsmobil1 PROBLEM SOLVED!!! Thank you, Thank you, Thank You!! Took the fuel tank out. Took the fuel inlet supply tube off and she was plugged up so bad I couldn't see through it. I blew that out, emptied the tank & cleaned it as best I could. I just spent the last 1/2 hour on it mulching leaves. This is the longest it has run in months. Runs and sounds great! I also wonder if it might be a good idea to put a filter at the end of that supply tube that goes down into tank. I'm glad I took the tank off. I discovered it's time for a new drive belt and a squeaky pully. This machine is not only my mower but I also have a snowblower attachment for it. I've been lucky up until now But the snow is coming.

Thanks again!!

 

[bertsmobile1]

It would be very embarrasing to reveal just how many times I have spent too many hours looking for an electrical problem that ended up being a plugged fuel line.:confused2:
Even worse is the fact that I have several colortunes sitting on the shelf so I could have put one in and watched it for 1/2 hour while having lunch, but no I was sure it was an ignition problem.:ashamed:
Glad you have it sorted, privilaged to have been of service.

 

[Enoughtogetby71]

Ha! I know how it is. I get focused on one thing. Sure it's that one thing only to hang my head in disappointment. Thanks again and be well my Friend!

Marty