Small engine question

[DAB]

Briggs and Stratton 19hp engine on a John Deere lawn tractor.

keep the battery charged with a tender. haven't run it since late last year, kept in the shop. fired it up, put in 3rd gear, drove about 100 yards and it died. it was running rough a few times before it quit. and now it sits under a lovely pine tree.

has gas, gas pump works (pulled the hose to the carburetor off, gas came out), pulled the spark plug, cleaned it, put it back (also swapped with a spare i have, same result), turned the engine over a few times with the spark plug out to clear the cylinder.

so i'm out of ideas, any suggestions?

Paging Tommy......

[6spdC6]

Originally Posted by DAB

Briggs and Stratton 19hp engine on a John Deere lawn tractor.

keep the battery charged with a tender. haven't run it since late last year, kept in the shop. fired it up, put in 3rd gear, drove about 100 yards and it died. it was running rough a few times before it quit. and now it sits under a lovely pine tree.

has gas, gas pump works (pulled the hose to the carburetor off, gas came out), pulled the spark plug, cleaned it, put it back (also swapped with a spare i have, same result), turned the engine over a few times with the spark plug out to clear the cylinder.

so i'm out of ideas, any suggestions?

Paging Tommy......

Any chance you left ethanol crap gas in the fuel system after your last use. If so you might need a good carb cleaning or perhaps a new carb.

[DAB]

Originally Posted by 6spdC6

Any chance you left ethanol crap gas in the fuel system after your last use. If so you might need a good carb cleaning or perhaps a new carb.

i had topped it off with some gas a few weeks ago, didn't run it though. so the gas in it dates from last year.

sounds like a call to the John Deere service folks in Albuquerque.

[Grey Ghost]

Clogged jets. Remove carb. and run a wire through them.

[Strats-N-Vettes]

Originally Posted by 6spdC6

Any chance you left ethanol crap gas in the fuel system after your last use. If so you might need a good carb cleaning or perhaps a new carb.

9 or more months of sitting = dump all old fuel, clean total fuel system and hope internal portion rubber hoses didn't splinter and lodge in carb jets or float.
Ethanol is notorious for deteriorating fuel lines in a short amount of time.

[RED-85-Z51]

Briggs singles had a bad habit of burning out the fuel solenoid under the carb, take a look at the plug for signs of heat or melting

[DAB]

deep breath....

ok, i'll try to push the whole mess back to the shop (mostly downhill), and will proceed to start taking parts off in some manner i can remember and see what i can find out.

guess that gives me something to do for the next day or 5.

[Mick]

When you get it back to the shop, I would check to make sure you are getting spark first. It's easy and takes just a minute or two so I would do that before delving into the fuel system. But, truth be told, I don't think lack of spark is your problem.

[ZipZap]

Who put out the Bat Signal for Red??? Freaking awesome!

[DJ_Critterus]

Originally Posted by DAB

i had topped it off with some gas a few weeks ago, didn't run it though. so the gas in it dates from last year.

sounds like a call to the John Deere service folks in Albuquerque.

No. the jet is clogged. Take the carb off and give it a good cleaning. easy fix and make sure to clear the fill hole for the bowl that's closed off by the needle and float.

[DAB]

parts removed, parts put back carefully. emptied the bowl, didn't see any varnish inside things. tried starting again, no go.

connected battery tender, walked away.

you assume I know how this thing works....that's a poor assumption. i don't. i fill it full of gas, i turn the key, and it fires up. that's as involved as I get with this engine.

i'll try googling local small engine repair places.

[Grey Ghost]

Originally Posted by DAB

parts removed, parts put back carefully. emptied the bowl, didn't see any varnish inside things. tried starting again, no go.

connected battery tender, walked away.

you assume I know how this thing works....that's a poor assumption. i don't. i fill it full of gas, i turn the key, and it fires up. that's as involved as I get with this engine.

i'll try googling local small engine repair places.

Run a small wire through every hole in the carb. Try some starting fluid or even a little gas in the spark plug hole.

[DJ_Critterus]

Originally Posted by DAB

parts removed, parts put back carefully. emptied the bowl, didn't see any varnish inside things. tried starting again, no go.

connected battery tender, walked away.

you assume I know how this thing works....that's a poor assumption. i don't. i fill it full of gas, i turn the key, and it fires up. that's as involved as I get with this engine.

i'll try googling local small engine repair places.

Find your carb and watch the video. It's better if you can get the model# off of your carb and do a direct search for that.

https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...+stratton+19hp

Or does this look familiar?

How to Clean Lawnmower Carburetor John Deere LT155 - YouTube

[RMVette]

Stupid question... but does it have a fuel filter?

Another thing is on my B&S, there's a small hole in the gas cap that allows the tank to vent... if it's clogged up with trash it'll create a vacuum and the engine won't get fuel.

[RED-85-Z51]

Easy test..put your hand on the solenoid under the carb...turn the key back and forth between run and off, there should be an audible and physical click inside the solenoid

[DAB]

you all assume i'm more talented than I am.

i'm too frustrated today, maybe tackle this again tomorrow.

[DJ_Critterus]

Originally Posted by DAB

you all assume i'm more talented than I am.

i'm too frustrated today, maybe tackle this again tomorrow.

Go get your wife a beer and have her take a crack at it.

[DAB]

Originally Posted by DJ_Critterus

Find your carb and watch the video. It's better if you can get the model# off of your carb and do a direct search for that.

https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...+stratton+19hp

Or does this look familiar?
How to Clean Lawnmower Carburetor John Deere LT155 - YouTube

mine's a different model.

"smell"....yeah, i haven't had a sense of smell since i was a kid. so "smelling" for bad gas is beyond my abilities.

[Mike Mercury]

YouTube (Short URL)

[DJ_Critterus]

Originally Posted by DAB

mine's a different model.

"smell"....yeah, i haven't had a sense of smell since i was a kid. so "smelling" for bad gas is beyond my abilities.

bad gas will either look milky (water) or like a varnish. I have no sense of smell, too, so I have to go with the visual test.