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I just bought this lawnman riding mower, the owner said it had carb problems but when I go to start it, it turns then hesitates and does this over and over again. i have taken the plug out and it wings over without hesitation. I put the plug in without connecting the plug wire and it turns over and hesitates. What-s up with this thing???

If you want help we heed to know what we are helping you with.
You can see, hear, smell & touch it.
We have nothing more than what is on the screen to work with.
We need to know the model numbers of both the mower & the engine and the brand wouldn't hurt either

As luck would have it you are experiencing a very common problem with mowers that have neve seen a workshop.

Adjust the valve lash.
It has worn and the valves have too much clearence

Bert you are saying with the valves opening late compression is present longer ,making it hard to turn over

motoman said:

Bert you are saying with the valves opening late compression is present longer ,making it hard to turn over

Click to expand...

Errr yes.
Well sort of.
His engine is not decompressing so you get a lumpy rotation from the starter as it gets to compression and very slowly either overcomes it or it leaks out through rings or badly sealing valves.

Next to a hydraulic lock the most common "won't start" problem I see down here.
Particularly as it is 20km to the nearest mower shop, they charge $ 75 to pick up , another $ 75 for delivery.
Most of the residents here are shinny bums working in the city 80 km away in fairly senior management positions , thus they can afford to live on 1 - 5 acres.
Obviously as they are managers any idiot can "service" a mower so they do their own thus a lot of things that are servicable get replaced and things that require adjustments never get any.
I made a big mistake when I first opened up by adjusting the valve lash while they waited, charging 1/2 labour + a gasket after they had spen $ 500 replacing every thing in the starting circuit.
This apparently hurt their egos and they never came back.
Now I hold on to the mower for at least a week, make out like it is an insurmountable problem, give the mower a good going over, a nice wash sometimes a bit of polish the send it back with a 2 hour labour charge and they think I am a genius.
The trades people OTOH get shown how to do it and appreciate the fast turn around and $ 30 bill.

slowink said:

I just bought this lawnman riding mower, the owner said it had carb problems but when I go to start it, it turns then hesitates and does this over and over again. i have taken the plug out and it wings over without hesitation. I put the plug in without connecting the plug wire and it turns over and hesitates. What-s up with this thing???

Click to expand...

It is a Yard Machines by MTD.OEM -190-063.
With a Tecumseh Enduro 13 HP 38" cut Model 13A4662F129 Serial 15221H10334.

So you don't think it's carburation?

It may have a carb problem, but you need to start it first to check the carb.
The only carb problem that affects the way the engine cranks is a leaking float that fill up the cylinder so you get a hydraulic lock.
However with a hydraulic lock if the engine gets past the first compression it blows all of the fuel out the exhaust and then turns over normally.

Very important only change or fix 1 problem at a time.

bertsmobile1 said:

It may have a carb problem, but you need to start it first to check the carb.
The only carb problem that affects the way the engine cranks is a leaking float that fill up the cylinder so you get a hydraulic lock.
However with a hydraulic lock if the engine gets past the first compression it blows all of the fuel out the exhaust and then turns over normally.

Very important only change or fix 1 problem at a time.

Click to expand...

Managed to get it started after a long period on the battery charger. It cranked fast enough to start. It started, ran for about twenty seconds then died and started the same engine turns, then hiccups then turns and hiccups, wouldn't start again. I
put it on the charger over night tried to start it, but it turns over kind of hard and won't ignite. Where do I go from here?

Where you were told to go in the first place.
Adjust the valve lash.
One thing at a time.
Do the mechanical bits first, they are easy and will affect every thing else.
Once it spins fast enough to fire then we can look at the carb

Alternatively you can join the magic circle group and try waving a magic wand over the engine , naked, under the light of a full moon :laughing:

bertsmobile1 said:

Where you were told to go in the first place.
Adjust the valve lash.
One thing at a time.
Do the mechanical bits first, they are easy and will affect every thing else.
Once it spins fast enough to fire then we can look at the carb

Alternatively you can join the magic circle group and try waving a magic wand over the engine , naked, under the light of a full moon :laughing:

Click to expand...

I have already done that and living in Arizona, I got a sliver in my foot, and a sunburn on my Johnson.

Bert, Tell us more about the tractor dance. Does it require an Australian aborigine horn on a string which is whirred around in the air, making a humming sound? If so you should consider marketing them here in the US. :smile:

Not quite.
One needs to stand in a puddle of used SAE 30 twirling a holed piston on a broken transmission belt around your head chanting
" Repairs are not maintanance"
Black fellas did not bother with mowers, they burned the pastures to promote new grass growth.
In fact they managed to do with nothing more than a few leafy branches what we white fellas can not with 3 skycranes, 2000 water bombing aircraft, 6000 fire trucks with pumps & flashing lights, complex national communications systems and satelite surveys,,,, stop 1/2 the bloody country burning every summer.

We had a comic writer who used to poke fun at the black / white culture incompatabilites but the PC crowd closed it down
Jollif did a big work with a couple of Lubras standing with their woven baskets full of bush tucker watching the minister ( wearing appropriate dog collar ) swearing at his lawn mower.
The caption goes " don't understand Pastor's lawn. First he smother it with bird poo, then he drown it with water and when it finally grow he chops it all off with the mower"
There used to be a framed copy of this in almost every mower shop when I wore short pants.

But we are digressing quite a ways from the mower hanging on the compression stroke.

bertsmobile1 said:

It may have a carb problem, but you need to start it first to check the carb.
The only carb problem that affects the way the engine cranks is a leaking float that fill up the cylinder so you get a hydraulic lock.
However with a hydraulic lock if the engine gets past the first compression it blows all of the fuel out the exhaust and then turns over normally.

Very important only change or fix 1 problem at a time.

Click to expand...

So that would be 6 in and 9 out, right?

Finally found the problem, As I mentioned I just bought this riding lawn mower. I tried everything everyone brought up. Finally, I checked the oil, it was over double the capacity. I smelled the dip stick and it smelled like gas. I then dumped the oil, took the spark plug out and cleaned it. Blew the plug cavity out with air pressure, replaced the plug, Jumped the battery from my truck, because it was low at this point, it whirled over and started. It smoked at first, then cleared and ran just as smooth as silk. I drove it around for about twenty minutes to re-charge the battery, shut it down and re-started it again. It started right up and ran just fine.
I wish to thank those of you that tried to help me solve the problem from the beginning. Lesson learned, check the oil level first. Don't believe what the seller says, they just want to get rid of what ever problem they have. Thanks again.:laughing::confused2::ashamed: I also installed a shut off valve in the gas line to eliminate the gas going into the engine again.

After you have run the mower a few times, check the plug, if it is black then the float needle is not cutting off the fuel properly.
Glad to hear it is in the grass again & out the shop