Running out of gas would have sputtered then died as it ran out. I've run it out of gas several times so I know what it does. When it died I checked the gas in case I hit something that killed it, then it just didn't have enough gas to start back up. I drained what gas was left and put new in it, in case somehow rain got into the gas can and it didn't bother the motor 'till the last little bit of the tank. Oil was the next thing I checked and it is clean. The previous owner said he had just gotten an oil change, which could mean he knew he had never done it and got it changed to make it seem like he took care of it, which could mean lots of things not maintained properly.
If it died because it wasn't throttled correctly while mowing, wouldn't it start back up after it cooled down?
Battery dead-would it get hot and die mid mow from a dead battery, and would it still turn over with a dead battery?
The next thing I checked was the air intake, as that was the most logical option, that it mowed the acreage fine two times, then while mowing the third time, it either was dirty or got clogged with something. Nothing in the air intake system other than some dust in the filter that I cleaned out. Headed to the part store in a minute to get new spark plugs, since it probably needs it anyways.
Reynoldston - would spark, compression or timing cause it to die in the way it did. I understand things happening while it sits in a carport over the winter that will make it not start in the spring, but mine was running fine, for months, no problems, I just used it more than the previous owner did so it got worked more than it was used to. I don't know how to test compression or timing, so I'm wondering which one I should focus on learning how to do first.
Thank you all for the help.
