Riding mower shuts off

[Barndog56]

I've got one of those cheap Chinese made Huskee 42" riding mowers, and it's giving me fits. It is 8 years old and I'm the only owner. I put new blades on it a couple weeks ago, then the belt broke. Put a new belt on, which seems very tight. Now after starting it up and mowing, it shuts off in less than 5 minutes. Seems like it's overheating.

I replaced the air and oil filters, changed the oil and spark plug, and removed the carb and cleaned it. Doesn't seem to be any debris in the cooling fins.

Any ideas?

 

[Dogshooter]

Does it have spark when it shuts off? Get an inline spark tester that you put inline with the spark plug, flashes a light every time it sends spark. You can get them at harbor freight for like $5. That will tell you if it’s spark or fuel related.

I suspect either the coil or vapor lock in the fuel system.

 

[Catscratch]

Yep, check for spark like dogshooter said. Check when it's acting up.

I'd also check safety switches like the one under the seat and (if it has one) the low oil level shut off switch.


Does it have a fuel filter? I don't think you said if you replaced it or not. And there's a chance it could have a pickup tube in the gas tank, they sometimes have screens that get plugged. Fuel pump?

 

[rocksnstumps]

Does it start to run rough and miss a bit. Mine does that when overheating and radiator is all blocked up (Kawasaki liquid cooled). Flakey safety switches and the like are running good and then just cuts off abruptly. So what happens right as engine dies?

Adder: replaced the blades on Mom's mower this summer and soon after belt broke. I got lazy and did not take all the guards off when I pulled the deck off to replace blades. Expect the belt got caught on the wrong side of some belt guide with the slack from removing from tractor. When you replaced blades did the belt get loosened up. Btw did it right the 2nd time. Lol

 

[Barndog56]

Yep, check for spark like dogshooter said. Check when it's acting up.

I'd also check safety switches like the one under the seat and (if it has one) the low oil level shut off switch.


Does it have a fuel filter? I don't think you said if you replaced it or not. And there's a chance it could have a pickup tube in the gas tank, they sometimes have screens that get plugged. Fuel pump?

Safety switch under seat is working fine. It does have a fuel filter. Fuel flows through it just fine.

 

[Barndog56]

Does it start to run rough and miss a bit. Mine does that when overheating and radiator is all blocked up (Kawasaki liquid cooled). Flakey safety switches and the like are running good and then just cuts off abruptly. So what happens right as engine dies?

Adder: replaced the blades on Mom's mower this summer and soon after belt broke. I got lazy and did not take all the guards off when I pulled the deck off to replace blades. Expect the belt got caught on the wrong side of some belt guide with the slack from removing from tractor. When you replaced blades did the belt get loosened up. Btw did it right the 2nd time. Lol

The belt that broke was pretty old. It had kicked off a few times as it was pretty stretched out. New one is much tighter.

Yes, it runs rough for a few seconds before it shuts off.

I was getting 3 or 4 minutes before it shuts off. This last time, after it sat a couple hours to cool down, I started it up to drive to the shed and it died right away. Had to push it back.

 

[Catscratch]

I'm old and tired of chasing gremlins... If it we me at this point check for spark like dogshooter said (I use a screwdriver in the wire and check for spark to a ground) then I'd just buy a new coil and plug amd go from there. Sounds like you've already got most of your bases covered.

 

[buckdeer1]

I had a Toro this year that did that and my small engine guy told me to see if there was celluloid that screwed in the bottom of card.There was, he had me unscrew and theres a little plunger there.You can buy a new one or cut that plunger off.That fixed mine.I just cut it off.It does backfire once when you shut it off unless you idle down but it runs.

 

[Turkey Creek]

Double check to see if there is more than 1 safety switch.......... those things are a F'N pain in the ass. Our zero turn has multiple ones, they aren't all obvious.

 

[buckdeer1]

I meant carburetor,This shut gas off after it warms up

 

[rocksnstumps]

New belt arrangement a lot tighter? Tighter than you would expect? As in with mower shutoff and deck clutch disengaged and you try to spin blades by hand they seem way excessive hard to turn? Causing your motor to work way harder than typical so heats up and conks out in short order? Some decks also have brake pads against the spindle pulleys that should disengage when the mower deck is engaged. Maybe check those are functioning correct and belt path in general. If your deck does have brake pads, obviously the blades will be hard to spin with clutch off as that's their function

With motor stumbling right before dying does not seem like the multitude of safety switches giving a problem. When have had that problem in past it just cuts motor from running full bore to not. Like shutting the key off

If belt/deck okey dokey, seems more like fuel/air mixture problem than electrical side. But you can take an old plug and gap to way over normal like 1/8"-3/16" and lay against block for a ground. If it jumps that your ignition/coil is still pretty robust and look elsewhere.

 

[buckdeer1]

Did you check fuel filter right after it died to see if it had gas?I didn't even know about that celinoid but it's worth checking if no gas in filter.I screwed with tank and line before I found out about that.

 

[Buckly]

Eight years is probably a good lifespan for a cheap mower like that. Divide the price you paid by 8 and you’ll realize it isn’t a very significant cost to mow your lawn per year. Time for a new mower. This is how I think nowadays. LOL. Not worth the headaches. I always say you can buy a good quality mower for a hefty price and get many, many years out of it or you can buy cheap and replace every 8 years. In the end it all comes out to the same price.

 

[RGrizzzz]

Eight years is probably a good lifespan for a cheap mower like that. Divide the price you paid by 8 and you’ll realize it isn’t a very significant cost to mow your lawn per year. Time for a new mower. This is how I think nowadays. LOL. Not worth the headaches. I always say you can buy a good quality mower for a hefty price and get many, many years out of it or you can buy cheap and replace every 8 years. In the end it all comes out to the same price.

You can usually find good quality used mowers for good prices this time of year. Look for Deere x300 series mowers. They're a step up for the D/L/E series Lowes junk.

 

[bigboreblr]

I fixed up an older but good cub cadet for the middle kid. He just bought his 1st house. Fuel shut off solenoid was sticking. Had gunk under the plunger. Needs to open to let fuel in the jet. Check carb bowl if you have an easy drain to it. Sometimes the fuel pump acts up. Uusally float sticks open not shut. But does happen. Fuel float in carb can get alittle leak and fill with fuel. Again, main vulprit is that shot off solenoid. Make sure it gets 12v with the ignition switch on. Going to jerry rig the cub cadet if it acts up again. $230 part...... Almost can buy a 4bbl edelbrock carb for a v8 for that price.

Engine doesnt get warm enough too many times, spark plug gets dirty and adds problems to the mix. Expecially when fuel delivery issues are happening. Check that every few tries in the good fight.

 

[jackpine]

I had a Toro this year that did that and my small engine guy told me to see if there was celluloid that screwed in the bottom of card.There was, he had me unscrew and theres a little plunger there.You can buy a new one or cut that plunger off.That fixed mine.I just cut it off.It does backfire once when you shut it off unless you idle down but it runs.

I have a Toro that cuts off. Are you talking about the thing with the red and black wire going to it?

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[Barndog56]

Sprung for a new carburetor from Amazon and when it arrived I noticed a couple wires missing from the old one. After putting on the new one and connecting those wires, it worked just fine for the 20 minutes I had available to test it.

The belt is definitely too tight. Going to have to get a new one.

I know 8 years is testing the limits of this mower. I'm stuck with it until the government gets around to approving my wife's 2+ year old social security disability claim for MS. I'm hoping we can spring for a Bad Boy zero turn when that happens!

Thanks to all who posted tips here. You guys are great!

 

[Catscratch]

Glad you fixed it! Good luck to you and your wife!

 

[Dogshooter]

Always feels good to figure it out and get it fixed! Nice work.