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Hello everyone, it's my first post here and my first riding lawnmower. Please excuse my ignorance as I attempt to revive this neglected machine

Mower: Poulan Pro (Husqvarna?) 300EX



Does anyone have any opinions of this mower? The reviews I've read are not too good...

Engine: Briggs & Stratton Intek 19.5HP
Model: 31p677-4373-G1

This mower had been sitting for I don't know how long before I picked it up. I got it for free. Drive tires were flat, keyswitch is faulty, and I've been told the carb needs to be cleaned. Well I figured I'd try to see if it would attempt to run at all, so I jumped the solenoid and cranked it long enough for the magneto to heat up and melt. I'm not sure how that happened, but my understanding is that it's very uncommon and likely caused by faulty wiring. I have a new magneto on order, and I've cleaned the carb while I'm waiting. Strangely, the carb had no fuel at all in the bowl, and aside from a few gummy nuggets in the bowl, the carb was very clean otherwise.

My (dumb) question for now is - how does fuel get to the combustion chamber? Does it just flow from the carb throat through the black tube? See below-


Just trying to get a better understanding for now. Thanks.

Best to jump it at the starter.

The solenoid might be fried now. Also possibility that the key switch is fine and the solenoid is bad, if you hear a clicking sound when trying to start it.

Make sure it has oil and shoot some carb spray directly into the carburetor and see if it will fire.

If it's hard to crank, the valves will need adjusted. If for some reason it wont start the head gasket could be blown. If it smokes the head gasket is likely blown. Those are common things with briggs ohv inteks that I have experienced and other's.

yes the air fuel mix goes down the black tube.
Fuel comes in via the thin black tube and should fill up the bowl.
From the bowl it flows up a tube into the carb venturi to get mixed with air .
The thing hanging off the bottom of the float bowl is a shut off valve and jambs a plug into the bottom of the fuel tube to cut off the supply to the venturi when you turn the mower off.

The magneto is the thing that the spark plug wire comes from and is not connected to the battery in any way so should not get hot when you crank the engine.
If it does some one has buggered the wiring and is feeding it 12V from the battery.
AFAIK the top line mower that comes out of the AYP factory is the 100 series John Deere ( some one correct me if this is wrong ).
The next is the Husqvarnas , then the Craftsman , the the McCullochs , then the Poulan , then the Ropers, then the Rallys

Basically they are all the same, as you get down the line to the cheaper mowers the metal get thinner, the wiring gets simpler ,pivot hole that are bushed at the top end are just plain holes at the bottom end, blades get thinner, control cables loose their adjusters , etc, etc, etc.
Problem is moron sales people tell customers it is made by Husqvarna and is every bit as good without the big brand price tag and because they look so similar people who believe in fairy tales take them at their word then get very upset when they find out that it wasn't quite as similar and robust as they were led to believe .
There is nothing wrong with them, they are just not Husqvarnas.


Go to Briggs web site Find Your Briggs & Stratton Manual: Small Engines type in your model number and download the parts book and operators manual . FRom evilbay, Craigs List , amazon etc get a copy of the B & S overhead singles repair manual
Go to K & T "K&T Parts House Lawn Mower Parts and Chain Saw & Trimmer Parts" and scrol down near the bottom to the 3 Poulan links. They will take you to a listing of the owners and some repair manuals, you will just have to scroll down to find your model.

Good luck

Thanks for the insight guys. I actually disconnected the keyswitch from the wiring harness and tested it for continuity with a multimeter. It's mostly no good.

I've tested the anti backfire solenoid on the carb and it's functioning properly as far as I can tell.

I was not aware that jumping the starter solenoid could damage it. I'm assuming I can test it by means of sending +12V to the small GA wire that activates the relay?

Thanks for the links to the manuals. That will come in handy.

Bridging the thick terminals in itself will not hurt the solenoid.
Doing it for too long will as the heat build up will soften the plastic body.

Well I just tested the solenoid and it seems to be working fine, so that's one less thing.