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1. After replacing the battery, the fuse, the solenoid, the engine cranked, but won't start.

2. After removing the 2 plugs and using a charger to jump start by connecting the ground and the starter directly, the engine cranked, but won't start either.

In both cases, the choke and the lock were in proper places. The lights are on when the key is turned on.

What is the problem? My hunch is the "starter" is a non-starter.

I would be most grateful, if any person will provide any comments on my problems.

History and background: Last year, the engine, after some hesitation, nevertheless cranked and started to a running state. This year, the engine simply cranked with increasing struggles, then gave up altogether. I have a brand new charger.

stonemind said:

1. After replacing the battery, the fuse, the solenoid, the engine cranked, but won't start.

2. After removing the 2 plugs and using a charger to jump start by connecting the ground and the starter directly, the engine cranked, but won't start either.

In both cases, the choke and the lock were in proper places. The lights are on when the key is turned on.

What is the problem? My hunch is the "starter" is a non-starter.

I would be most grateful, if any person will provide any comments on my problems.

History and background: Last year, the engine, after some hesitation, nevertheless cranked and started to a running state. This year, the engine simply cranked with increasing struggles, then gave up altogether. I have a brand new charger.

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check to see if spark plugs is getting fire.

After you check for spark squirt a lil gas in the carb then give it a try...... Carb might need to be rebuilt sitting all winter and you said it was a problem in the Fall before you put it up....

Let us know Mon Ami ~!~!

In place of guessing, which has already cost you over $ 100, diagnose first, buy parts second.

It could be nothing more than a loose plug.

Get a can of carb cleaner and an inline red neon spark tester.

Hook the tester to the plug and crank the engine, looking for the red flashes.
Double check all the controls by turning them on and off a few times.

If you get a flash then squirt some carb cleaner down the carb throat.
Engine fires = fuel supply problem

Engine does not start then repeat but down plug hole this time.
Engine fires a couple of times = valve problem

Red light flashes but engine does not start = ignition timing problem ( crankcase key )

No red flash, remove the thin wire to the coil and try again
no flash = duff coil.
check the coil wire for voltage . it is a ground wire and must never ever have any voltage on it.

get through this lot and get back to us with the results

bertsmobile1 said:

In place of guessing, which has already cost you over $ 100, diagnose first, buy parts second.
...
If you get a flash then squirt some carb cleaner down the carb throat.
...

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Hi, many thnaks first for your detailed instructions. I am going to Autozone today for the carb clean and spark tester as you recommended. But, excuse me for my ignorance--I do not know where the carburetor is located in the tractor. Can you posit me to the
spot?

This morning, I did another test. Once I put the plugs back, the crank became very weak. But, once I removed them, the crank became stronger. Any idea for such funny phenomenon?

Boudreaux In Eunice La. said:

After you check for spark squirt a lil gas in the carb then give it a try...... Carb might need to be rebuilt sitting all winter and you said it was a problem in the Fall before you put it up....

Let us know Mon Ami ~!~!

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Hi, many thanks for your suggestion. You may have to excuse my ignorance--I do not know where the carburetor is located in my tractor. Any further instruction will be greatly appreciated.

For you information: This morning, I did another test. Once I put the plugs back, the crank became very weak. But, once I removed them, the crank became stronger. Any idea for such funny phenomenon?

Hopefully, this may help you diagnose the problems with my tractor..

I was gona say this to start with but I was waiting on more input from you.........

Your valves need adjusting.... That's why the engine is sluggish at first........

Do you a Briggs engine on there ?? Anyway your carb is in the middle of the engine in the front.....

Model and type of engine is very helpful to us and is located on the silver valve cover.........

stonemind said:

Hi, many thnaks first for your detailed instructions. I am going to Autozone today for the carb clean and spark tester as you recommended. But, excuse me for my ignorance--I do not know where the carburetor is located in the tractor. Can you posit me to the
spot?

This morning, I did another test. Once I put the plugs back, the crank became very weak. But, once I removed them, the crank became stronger. Any idea for such funny phenomenon?

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To burn the fuel and extract power the charge ( air + fuel ) must be compressed.
Compressing a gas requires energy so the starter turns slower with the plugs in.
If it turns over a lot slower & struggles or stops every now & then you have a valve problem, usually the gap between the rockers and the valve is too big.

To run you need things
1) air & fuel in the right proportions ( approx 13 : 1 )
2) something to ignite the air fuel mixture at the right time
3) compression.

The carb is located between the air filter and the engine cylinder.
Carburettor = carb = carby ( unless you are French in which case the last 2 words do not exist )

bertsmobile1 said:

...
The carb is located between the air filter and the engine cylinder.
...

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Many thanks to all that have provided help. I finally located the carburettor. But, it is an undertaking beyond my ability to work on.

Therefore, in the name of advancing tratorship and brotherhood, may I ask any reference or volunteer to come by to teach me. I am located in 91748. I am ready to offer a charcoaled ribeye steak, plus a dutchoven-charcoaled cornbread and .... A Saturday is good.

This is my hearty invitation, as always,

stonemind said:

Many thanks to all that have provided help. I finally located the carburettor. But, it is an undertaking beyond my ability to work on.

Therefore, in the name of advancing tratorship and brotherhood, may I ask any reference or volunteer to come by to teach me. I am located in 91748. I am ready to offer a charcoaled ribeye steak, plus a dutchoven-charcoaled cornbread and .... A Saturday is good.

This is my hearty invitation, as always,

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Wow what a great offer for some help............ I love steak and Cornbread also... In the south that's a staple down here ~!~!..

I'm gonna hook you up with some good video links...

Here's 1 link.. It does not show how to get the carb off, but it's a rebuild vid.... When you get on his channel you will see part 2 or the reassemble of it.......

https://youtu.be/I_k1ystbSWs....


Ok here is another link but it shows the carb on the engine. Not how to take it off...

https://youtu.be/H9GObEkn3l4


Ok here is a link to getting the carb off... Go to 2:43 and that's how to get the carb off....

DO NOT take all the control cables off like he does earlier in the video...

I don't know if you have the single jet carb or the dual jet carb, but this will get you a good start .....

Let us know Mon Ami ~!~!


https://youtu.be/nNGU-7YRVuI

Boudreaux In Eunice La. said:

...
Wow what a great offer for some help............
Let us know Mon Ami ~!~!
...

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I was deeply touched by your care and support. I studied twice all the youtube clips you recommend. The last one pools almost identical to my carb with 2 plugs. I attempted to work on my unit. I failed. They were too many nuts and bolts to be removed. It is indeed a formidable task for me. If no one claims my steak and cornbread by Saturday, I may have to schlep my tractor to a JD service shop, because the grass has grown out of control for weeks now.

I am still hopeful that the miracle might happen.

Cheers and many thanks,

Ok are you sure it's the carb.......... I will supply another link for the valve adjustments.....

Ok Mon Ami I got a link that is easy to follow ~!~!

https://youtu.be/hGkn0jR9RJM

Boudreaux In Eunice La. said:

... I will supply another link for the valve adjustments.....

... https://youtu.be/hGkn0jR9RJM

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Hi, I loved this youtube which is much easier for me to follow. I can't wait until tomorrow to get the valve gauge feelers so that I can proceed with this new undertaking. Hopefully, this will fix the problems. I will let you tomorrow. Good night...

Hi, allow me to bother you with one more question. What numbers of feeler should I use for the intake and exhaust valves? The clip says 4000. Right?

Thanks,

I go with 4 thousands or 5 I prefer 4 so do a few other pros on you tube........

Boudreaux In Eunice La. said:

...
I go with 4 thousands or 5 I prefer 4
....

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Hi, I bought the feeler gauge from Home Depot and the thinnest is 0.005. So I plan to use 0.005 for the exhaust at the top, and 0.007 for the intake at the bottom.

However, upon opening, I discovered neither has any gap, contrary to the ones seen on youtube, i.e, too much space.
I haven't opened the other one-which I believe should be the same.

Are the gapless situation for the valves consistent with my problem? --Unable to start, although cranking.

Can I go ahead rectifying the situation by giving the valves the gaps of 0.005 and 0.007, as may be the case?

Please advise. Many thanks,

it is a 4 stroke turn the engine through 2 full revolutions and check the gaps when the piston is at the top,
On the exhause stroke the exhaust valve will be closing and the inlet will be opening so there will be no gap on either valve.

bertsmobile1 said:

it is a 4 stroke turn the engine through 2 full revolutions...

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Hi, following your instructions, I re-adjusted the two valves that were off. In the end, however, the engine is still cranking, but won't start. Again, after putting back the plugs, the crank became weaken a lot, as before. In other words, the same problems persist without any improvement.

My son and I are exhausted now. Since no one appears to claim the ribeye steaks or the cornbread, we have decided to claim them ourselves, notwithstanding the feeling of enormous guilt.

After the guilty lunch, we plan to schlep the tractor to a local service center....

Is there any further advice or suggestion to help redeem myself?

Way back in post 4 you were asked to do a series of tests.
Tests are important because from the results of them we can diagnose your problem, or at least eliminate some potential problems.
When you go to the doctor they listens to what you tell them , then from what has been said perform a fairly well set of tests.

These are what you were asked to do back in post 4.
Things got a little mixed up and you either ignored the post or just lost it in all the talk about cornbread.
Bou tells me the spark y=tester I mentioned is a Oregon one and availabe on Amazon for $ 15 with free postage.
The can of carb cleaner comes from any auto parts store or most hardwear stores.

For some problem there id only one real solution so when the poster says A , B & C s happening then we can tell him with great authority to do X,Y & Z and his mower will properly

No start situations are a pain in the butt because there are way too many variables so we have to use a system to isolate the problem as it could be in the valves , the carb , the timing the cylinder integrity, the fuel delivery.
Thus a set of tests allows a mower doctor to eliminate some of them and after that a different set of test eliminates even more till only the guilty party is left.

"My mower wont start" is the most common phrase I hear in the shop followed closely by "too dear I can get a new one at ( insert the name of your favourite junk merchant ) for only a little more " , the latter showing me that in 60,000 year people have learned nothing.
Because a no-start is the most common problem for me & just about every other mower shop, we all have a set of tests we do to reduce the time & thus the cost to avoid hearing the 2nd most common phrase.

The proceedures I use , and others have their own set originated from playing with 100 year old motorcycles but they work equally well with any engine that is not fuel injected which is why I asked you to do them.

From my involvement with charity work I have learned that the "teach a man to fish" approach is much better than the "give a man a fish" one so in Post # 4 I was attempting to teach you to fish foe mower problems.
To fish, you need a line, hook & bait, to fish for mower problems you need a spark tester and can of carb cleaner.

bertsmobile1 said:

... the "teach a man to fish" approach is much better than the "give a man a fish" ...
To fish, you need a line, hook & bait, to fish for mower problems you need a spark tester and can of carb cleaner.

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Hi, I am gravely embarrassed. I will try my best to follow Post 4 although the steps in Post 4 are quite advanced for me to execute them.

By the way I happen to like fish a lot and I learned how to fish and swim quite well when was a child. Therefore, I might be able to redeem myself through Post 4.

P.S.: The steak turned out to be quite rewarding after a week of frustrations, notwithstanding the guilt in my soul.

Nothing to feel guilty about.
Learning is a no-guilt process in expanding your horizions that needs to be done at the learners own pace.
AFAIK no one has ever died because their mower did not run.

I don't know about that a few years ago found a person lying beside a push mower where they was pulling on it and had a heart attack and passed away.

stonemind said:

Hi, I am gravely embarrassed. I will try my best to follow Post 4 although the steps in Post 4 are quite advanced for me to execute them.

By the way I happen to like fish a lot and I learned how to fish and swim quite well when was a child. Therefore, I might be able to redeem myself through Post 4.

P.S.: The steak turned out to be quite rewarding after a week of frustrations, notwithstanding the guilt in my soul.

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How are things going with your mower ???

Boudreaux In Eunice La. said:

How are things going with your mower ???

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Finally my mower got fixed by a local service station. The only problem was the carburetor that needed cleaning. Everything else was fine. Dealing with the carburetor is beyond my ability.

Thanks for all the support.