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I have an EZTrack Z245 that turns over but will not start.
Wife was using it to mow and before she got it back to the shop it shut down and will not start back up

I have checked all the safetys.
Fuel is going thru the lines.
Has spark.
When I turn the key on and off I can hear the Fuel shut-off solenoid kick out and in.
I choked the heck out of it and re-pulled a plug and it was not even wet.

Can someone please give me advice on how to repair this issue?

If the plug is not wet ten either the fuel shut off is not opening or a pushrod has dropped off.
So slip the rocker cover off and turn the engine over by hand watching the pushrods opening & closing the valves.
They should open the same amount and close to the same position so if one is up further than the other, a valve is stuck.
If the pushrods look good drop a little fuel down the plug holes and crank.
Engine fires = fuel problem.
Start by removing the carb & cleaning it.
Check the shut off solenoid, some have a rubber cap that con stick itself to the main jet due to the rubbish sold as fuel softening the rubber.

Thanks bertsmobile1.

I'll give that a go today and hope we get it right. Will post what happens latter.

Took carb off. Grind a 13mm wrench down till thin enough to take fuel shut off solenoid off. Checked it. Works fine.
Pulled float bowl off. Sprayed carb cleaner thru fuel inlet. This time went thru.
Reassembled. Tried cranking and all I got was a click from starter solenoid.
Solenoid now bad. Removed it and will get a new one latter this afternoon.
In the meantime, I took the battery out and put it on 2 amp charge. Water was also low.

Have not checked the push rods yet. That will be the next step if it does not start after replacing the solenoid.

Thanks again. Latter

CVB-CWVO said:

Took carb off. Grind a 13mm wrench down till thin enough to take fuel shut off solenoid off. Checked it. Works fine.
Pulled float bowl off. Sprayed carb cleaner thru fuel inlet. This time went thru.
Reassembled. Tried cranking and all I got was a click from starter solenoid.
Solenoid now bad. Removed it and will get a new one latter this afternoon.
In the meantime, I took the battery out and put it on 2 amp charge. Water was also low.

Have not checked the push rods yet. That will be the next step if it does not start after replacing the solenoid.

Thanks again. Latter

Click to expand...

Push rods should get checked at 50 hrs ( or first service ) then every 200 hours.
They do wear and get bigger gaps which defeats the automatic decompression.
Spraying carb cleaner through a jet is not cleaning it.
Full instruction are here http://outdoorpowerinfo.com/repairs/, if you did not pull it fully apart, it is not cleaned properly.
Solenoid contacts do burn out but double check it by directly powering and grounding it.

Got the new solenoid on and cranked right up. BUT!! Now I had another issue! This one was a bit dramatic!

I let it run for a minute or two and shut it down. I heard a noise after it shut down! It was the starter still running!
I tapped it and it still ran. I went back to the tool box to get wrenchs to take a cable off the battery but before I got
them the starter started smoking really bad! It got so hot it caught on fire!!
I pulled on the wire to the starter and it easly let loose of the starter.

Checked and double checked all wire hookups. All wireing is right.
Could it have been caused due to a faulty new solenoid? It's the original starter and the mower
was built in 2003. How can I check if the solenoid is not a faulty one?

Got a new starter ordered for $45.

Bertsmobile1. I wasn't really trying to clean the carb. I took the fuel shutoff solenoid off and the float cover bowl.
Then sprayed carb cleaner into the inlet to see if it went all the way thru. It did. That let me know the carb was not clogged up.

Check the solenoid when you turn the key switch to start the solenoid should engage, and then disengage when the key is let go....ie not turned to start.

better to do this when the lead to the starter is off, you can do this by taken it off the solenoid or the starter its self. if the solenoid stays on it could be a bad one or the key switch.

Do as EM suggest but use jumpers directly from the battery.
If you still have the old "bad" one double check it the same way.

If they check out fine then check the trigger power wire it should go on & off with the ignition switch going to the S position .
Check it through a dozen or so cycles.
If at any time it fails to go to 0 when returned to the run position the starter switch is suspect.

Apologies for not getting back till now. Had surveying to do. You know! Get out there and earn some moolah!
Here's where I'm at.

Got the new starter and solenoid installed and wired. I decided not to hook up the positive on the battery, but instead,
used the chargers start position on the mower positive cable to the solenoid.

Used the key and spun the motor over. I immediately let go of the key from the start position to the run position.
The starter kept running. I took the hot lead off the mower power cable, and, starter stopped.

Switch? I presume? Could there be anything besides the switch that can cause this? I dislike wire hunt down!

Thanks guys.

(Considering a Gravely 60")

Got a new switch.

Touched the battery positive post with the positive cable to solenoid and the starter starts spinning!
Any ideas guys? I need this mower tomorrow!

CVB-CWVO said:

Got a new switch.

Touched the battery positive post with the positive cable to solenoid and the starter starts spinning!
Any ideas guys? I need this mower tomorrow!

Click to expand...

You have a short somewhere.
Double check that the solenoid turns on and off when the trigger wire is touched to it
Then if it does, set the brake start the mower then pull the trigger wire off the solenoid.

And are you sure you have wired it correctly ?
The power take off wire must go on the hot side of the solenoid.
If there was a short wire with a ring on one side & a push termnal on the other, it is a ground wire and goes from a mounting bolt to the ground terminal.

Finally, pull the power wire off the starter motor and put the nut back on
Run a jumper to the starter and use it to spin the stater making sure that the starter does dissengage

If there is always 12V on the solenoid trigger wire then the usual culprit is the starter switch or the plug behind it.

Anyway, Got the starter issue fixed.

Took care of the property in the area I needed to and brought it home again. Took it
off the trailer and headed out to the maintenance shop and it stopped running halfway
there. Tried re-cranking it, but it was a no go. I suspect it to be the fuel shut off solenoid.

Remember when I mentioned earlier about chocking it and pulled a plug and it was bone
dry? It's like back to square one! LOL I learned a few lessons on the way to this point!

The solenoid is a horizontal type. While I had it off I took 2 speaker wires and connected
them to the battery. Touched the small posts in the connector and it worked for the day
I assumed(Yeah. I know! )it was functioning properly.
Ordering a new one for it. Price wise, it looks like it will be around $111.00

Wasn't the fuel shut off. Turned out to be just a sticking float.
Also, the starting issue with the solenoid to starter turned out to be the new one had the post reversed.
They could have made a note of it in the box!
I put Seafoam in a tank of gas and ran it. Fires right up like it's supposed to.

Nice to know you fixed it.....:thumbsup: