Brigs mower will only start with starting fluid

Actually I am a red drinker .
Used to pot a lot of stout in the youth, not really a beer man.
But the boys are welcome to come on down & settle things on neutral territory.
We all get cranky at times, even me , and when not cranky I can get terse and then there is my weird sense of humour that makes other cranky.
It is dissappointing that admin does not do a sticky or use a "first post" button that comes up with a template so posters supply the minimum information required to diagnose their problems.
I missed the bit in the post where the OP said it had no solenoid and was going to back out of this one as the OP still has not posted numbers.

I am happy to help any one with anything but if they can not be bothered to help themselves then I am out of here.
My posts are not for the purpose of boosting my ego or raising my self esteem, they are just there to help people and keep myself current.
The shop turns over about 5- 10 jobs a week off season & 15-20 a week on season .
This forum brings up 20-30 problems a day, so it is a 2 way thing for me we get a lot of "dud" mowers shipped down here so we won't know they have design flaws.
Thus problems with a new model over there will surface here a few years latter.
AFAIK we don't have a single mower with a 7000 series Kohler but we did get a rash Commands fitted to everything.
Australia has been a dumping ground for what the world does not want starting with the first boat load of convicts .

Actually this will be the last post on this one.
Issac still has not come up with numbers or even a photo so he can work it out himself.

"I had a lot of respect for you, until you got involved in this thread. I suggest you reread the posts and you will see a problem with your thinking."

Same here and I think YOU need to do some rereading. . I made suggestions in my first post such as checking the linkage to see if the choke was closing for one which should have been the first suggestion and offered cautions about prolonged starter running and starter fluid use. I said good suggestions above but did not see where a carb solenoid would be cured with starter fluid which was being put forward for the symptoms OP was having. For my trouble I got the following comments.

"This is a good example why I don't come on here and give answers to the post that often..."
"So you have been zero help in finding the problem. But act like you are the only one that could know what the problem is."

Your explanation about vibrating a stuck solenoid loose made sense though a long shot but you weren't content to stop there, you had to add a little zinger,

"Tinker, if you know a little about fuel systems you would know that starting fluid and fuel solenoids do tell us something about the problem."

I never said a thing about starter fluid and fuel solenoids not being useful for diagnosis, I said I did not see where the two fit the problems OP was having and as it turns out, they did not.

Now you and others have made a rather big deal about OP not posting model numbers, I to often do that however, odds are pretty narrow as to what the engine is. I doubt very much that OP will be back, he is likely over whelmed by the congeniality he has witnessed here.

OP, if you are still here, or come by, I can send you a Service Manual for your engine IF you like and can point you somewhere where you can get help.

Walt Conner
wconner5 at frontier dot com

Re: Brigs mower will only start with starting flui

I started it up a week ago and the engine blew there was a ping pong - golf ball sized hole near the starter I took the engine apart and discovered the conecticting rod broke and nocked the hole its done not worth fixing

Sorry to hear that. Hope you can find a replacement engine.

We are actually going to get a Hevey duty mower off of cragslist for 200-400 dollors becuse that is what an engine would cost. Oh and if you want to see a video of the damage type in Isaac Voeller on YouTube and you will find my Chanel that has the video on it

I have a riding mower that had the same problem. 20 month old Poulan Pro 46 in. 20 HP V-Twin Briggs & Stratton Automatic Gas Front-Engine Riding Mower Model # 206463203. Turns out my problem was the choke wasn't closing. I use my mower in the winter as a snowblower. When I put it away in the spring it worked great. I drained the Ethanol free fuel, changed fuel filter, air filter, and oil. I went to start it up two days ago (after not running for 7 months) with fresh fuel, and it would turn over but not start. I sprayed starter fluid in the air intake and it started immediately and ran perfectly up and down the street. Next day, it would not start again. Thanks to this thread, I checked the throttle cable that moves the choke. After full throttle, when I went to the choke setting, it would only raise the choke a tiny bit at the end of the throw. So I adjusted the throttle cable by loosening the bolt that holds it in place and moving it so that it would start lifting the choke as soon as I went past full throttle and started going into choke position. Now engine starts immediately! Thanks guys!

rdalcanto said:

I have a riding mower that had the same problem. 20 month old Poulan Pro 46 in. 20 HP V-Twin Briggs & Stratton Automatic Gas Front-Engine Riding Mower Model # 206463203. Turns out my problem was the choke wasn't closing. I use my mower in the winter as a snowblower. When I put it away in the spring it worked great. I drained the Ethanol free fuel, changed fuel filter, air filter, and oil. I went to start it up two days ago (after not running for 7 months) with fresh fuel, and it would turn over but not start. I sprayed starter fluid in the air intake and it started immediately and ran perfectly up and down the street. Next day, it would not start again. Thanks to this thread, I checked the throttle cable that moves the choke. After full throttle, when I went to the choke setting, it would only raise the choke a tiny bit at the end of the throw. So I adjusted the throttle cable by loosening the bolt that holds it in place and moving it so that it would start lifting the choke as soon as I went past full throttle and started going into choke position. Now engine starts immediately! Thanks guys!

Click to expand...

So after you get it running it runs all the way through from high speed to idle ????? If so then you did the right thing by adjusting the cable................

Plus Tard Mon Ami ~!~!

To really blow the dust off this thread I looked at Isaac's YouTube channel and it seems that Master Isaac sounds like a young Lad so he might not have known to provide all the information that was requested several years ago. AND there is a very nice sized hole in the engine block so that motor is most likely toast.
Tom