Troubleshooting tips for IS700Z - cranking but not starting

HammerTime

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  • / Troubleshooting tips for IS700Z - cranking but not starting
Hi all.

When I put my IS700Z up last fall, it was running fine. Trying to start it up now, it turns over fine, but will not start. Sounds like it's not firing at all. I've put in fresh gas, and had treated the last bit of gas that was in it last year. It has the Briggs 27 HP Commercial engine. I suspect that there could be a safety switch that's open - but would that allow it to even crank? The brake is engaged, PTO is in off position, handles are out in neutral position, seat is down. Are there any other interlocks that I'm missing?

Are there any schematics floating around, or troubleshooting guides anyone can point me to?

Thanks for any help you can offer.

Steve
 

Darryl G

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  • / Troubleshooting tips for IS700Z - cranking but not starting
Fuel isn't shut off is it? Not trying to insult your intelligence but it happens sometimes. Have you tried a shot of starter fluid?
 

bertsmobile1

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  • / Troubleshooting tips for IS700Z - cranking but not starting
Hi all.

When I put my IS700Z up last fall, it was running fine. Trying to start it up now, it turns over fine, but will not start. Sounds like it's not firing at all. I've put in fresh gas, and had treated the last bit of gas that was in it last year. It has the Briggs 27 HP Commercial engine. I suspect that there could be a safety switch that's open - but would that allow it to even crank? The brake is engaged, PTO is in off position, handles are out in neutral position, seat is down. Are there any other interlocks that I'm missing?

Are there any schematics floating around, or troubleshooting guides anyone can point me to?

Thanks for any help you can offer.

Steve

AFAIK Ferris have their wiring diagrams in either the parts manuals or the owners manuals.
There are 2 totally different sets of safety switches.
One lot prevents cranking, and is a 12V + system
The other prevents sparking and is a ground system.

In most cases the individual switches have 2 sets of contacts
One for each type of circuit so it can get confusing.

Now just to make things more confusing people like Ferris / Walker etc seem the think a few relays to really complicate things are a good idea.

When checking relays you can use both the + and the - to control a relay.

Apparently it is to reduce the number of wires carrying 12V to reduce the shorting / fire risk but I am sure it is just to make things hard.
 

HammerTime

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  • / Troubleshooting tips for IS700Z - cranking but not starting
Fuel isn't shut off is it? Not trying to insult your intelligence but it happens sometimes. Have you tried a shot of starter fluid?

Thanks for the suggestion Darryl - definitely not taken as an insult. That was the first thing that crossed my mind, and I vividly remember closing the fuel shutoff and letting it run itself out. Trouble is, when I went to turn the fuel back on, I realized I was remembering doing that with a generator - not the mower. Not finding a shutoff valve on the mower at all. I have pulled the line and confirmed it is getting fuel to the fuel pump.

If you know of a shutoff that I might be missing, please let me know. Pretty sure this is gonna be a case of me forgetting or overlooking something simple.

Thanks again!

also --- Going to pick up some starting fluid today and give that a try tonight. Fingers crossed!
 

Boobala

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  • / Troubleshooting tips for IS700Z - cranking but not starting
Rather than typing a long list, here' a quickie list you can check, several items can be eliminated ......

LIST.PNG ,,,,,, click to emlarge
 

HammerTime

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  • / Troubleshooting tips for IS700Z - cranking but not starting
AFAIK Ferris have their wiring diagrams in either the parts manuals or the owners manuals.
There are 2 totally different sets of safety switches.
One lot prevents cranking, and is a 12V + system
The other prevents sparking and is a ground system.

In most cases the individual switches have 2 sets of contacts
One for each type of circuit so it can get confusing.

Now just to make things more confusing people like Ferris / Walker etc seem the think a few relays to really complicate things are a good idea.

When checking relays you can use both the + and the - to control a relay.

Apparently it is to reduce the number of wires carrying 12V to reduce the shorting / fire risk but I am sure it is just to make things hard.

Thanks Bert. I didn't immediately see the wiring diagram in my manual, but I haven't tried the parts manual. Will take a look there. And yeah, the manufacturers do have a knack for taking a straight forward system and putting in components for reasons unknown - other than increase the chances for needing service. I'll let you know what I find. I'm betting that I've overlooked something. I tend to do that more often these days. Thanks again!
 

bertsmobile1

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  • / Troubleshooting tips for IS700Z - cranking but not starting
incorrect post removed
 
Last edited:

EngineMan

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  • / Troubleshooting tips for IS700Z - cranking but not starting
Check to see if you have good spark, it should be little wet inside if there is no problem with the fuel side, if no spark could be safety switch/bad coil/ wiring short or a bad plug or key switch, if you find a wiring diagram post it up so we can take a look at it for you.
 

bertsmobile1

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  • / Troubleshooting tips for IS700Z - cranking but not starting
Just checked and the wiring diagrams are in the parts books.
They are a free download from Ferris but you will need the full details from the ID tag
This stops mugs like me trying to charge people for fixing them.
THus the only one I have is for the IS 4000 series as I have a customer with one.
 
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