Craftsman 24HP riding mower, cranks, has fuel flow, won't start. Part 2. Resolved??

This has been a chronic problem with a Craftsman 24HP riding mower model #445677 failing to start when cold. The engine starts fine when still hot. My original thread from 2014 is here https://www.lawnmowerforum.com/showthread.php/29782-Craftsman-24HP-riding-mower-cranks-has-fuel-flow-won-t-start#post186722

The fiddling I did over the past 5 years never got the mower engine to start reliably. Disassembling the carburetor and spraying with carb cleaner and reassembling sometimes got the engine to start. Now I think it was the solvent in the carb cleaner that assisting the starting. Other times taking off a fuel hose and cranking then reattaching the fuel hose would get the engine to start. Most times I just drained the battery trying to crank.

So it's April 2019, 5 years after my original thread and I'm trying again on this Easter visit to the relatives. I noticed pushing the throttle lever to the choke position had little effect moving the lever under the carb going up to the choke. I released the Torx headed bolt on the hold-down clamp anchoring the throttle cable, took out all the slack with the effect that now when the throttle lever is in the choke position, the lever under the carburetor is now more fully closing the choke. I can now reliably start the cold engine on the first crank.

1. Front view of engine, location of throttle cable hold down bolt (Torx headed)


2. Original cable position. Note the low angle of the lever to the left connecting to the vertical choke actuating lever.


3. Throttle cable casing pulled to the right, rotating throttle plate counter-clockwise partially pre-raising lever rising up to the choke. Note increased angle of lever connecting to the vertical choke lever rod compared to photo 2 above.


The Torx headed hold down bolt was quite tight, I can't imagine the throttle cable casing having moved by itself over time, maybe cable stretch? The mower started fine the first 2-3 years we owned it, then just stopped starting and has sat mostly idle for the last 5 years.

I'll update on the next visit to the relatives when we'll try starting the mower again.

Update: Another test start of the engine: the relative successfully started the mower this morning after the mower had been sitting for 24 hours. Adjusting the travel of the choke lever seemed to have solved the problem. So I'm marking this mower FIXED.

Nothing like 'quick fix' that takes 5 years. Persistence pays off sometimes.

have you adjusted valves with engine cold? specs. should be in engine manual.

mechanic mark said:

have you adjusted valves with engine cold? specs. should be in engine manual.

Click to expand...

No, I have left the valves alone. I've done basic tuneups including checking the gap on the plugs. During diagnosis I checked the basics including the spark plug gap and that the cylinders were getting fuel (wet spark plugs on cranking). Plus that the fuel pump was working (pulled a hose and checked that fuel was squirting out). I also checked for spark with a spark plug wire tester. I've left the valves as set by the factory.

When the mower did start, the engine ran smoothly without issue even right from a cold start so I didn't suspect the valves needed any adjustment. Turns out the choke wasn't choking when the throttle lever was pushed all the way forward when starting. After adjusting the throttle cable hold down clamp, the mower is working fine, like new.

OP here. It's a month later, another visit and another chance to start the engine to check if the fix was correct. After sitting for a month, the engine started on the second crank. Yeah, so it was the cable closing the choke, the fix was releasing the cable hold down clamp and repositioning the throttle cable so the choke closed properly when the throttle was push fully forward. Case closed.

Sometimes I just spray a little aerosol starting fluid into my 2005 LT1000, then I crank it and it starts.

Update. It's May 2020, a year later after re-adjusting the throttle cable so the choke actually closed. It's a new mowing season and the mower started up just fine.

this is something a lot of people miss, after disconnecting it you need to always reset the throttle cable when full throttle and the choke is completely shut

it really doesnt matter where the cable is for slow settings but if the choke doesnt close all the way its not gonna want to start