I went back to Lowe’s early Saturday afternoon to get some more supplies for my lawn mower problem. I was determined to fix the damn thing and I needed a ratchet set so I could take it apart.
I got the ratchet set along with an extra spark plug and some carburetor cleaner and headed out to the back yard.
I took much of the outside containing plastic off to get down into the main engine and fiddled around with whatever looked like it could move or be removed, blown on, wiped off or just generally adjusted.
I removed a small rubber part of the fuel line and rinsed it out, though there was no clog. Then when everything was off that looked easily removable, I just stared at the engine for a good 10 minutes.
Tiffany asked me if I wanted her to call her step dad at that point and I think I responded “Yes, please!” before she even finished the sentence.
Jeff came over and we proceeded with the engine’s poking and prodding for another 15 minutes. He played around with some springs and moved them to different positions while I kept cranking the starting cable.
Oh, and there was a lot of priming going on.
Every time the engine would start, and then immediately die.
Jeff had no idea what the problem could be and asked if I had a spark plug tool to remove the spark plug.
I didn’t have a spark plug tool. Of course I didn’t have a spark plug tool. Spark plugs need their own special tool?
So Jeff suggested I try the spark plug and then if that didn’t work, try and return it.
He left and I put the rest of the lawn mower’s plastic parts back together wondering if we still had the damn receipt.
The last part of the lawn mower’s reassembly was pulling the motor cord out to connect it with the handle bars. I did that and while I still had the cord in my hand I decided to give it one last crank. One last attempt for the sake of frustration and annoyance.
And the freaking thing started right up.
It was like that scene in “Christmas Vacation” where Clark Griswold finally gets his Christmas lights to work.
I immediately mowed the lawn in case it didn’t start up again. When I was done, I turned it off and tried to start it again and the thing started right up.
I don’t get it. We didn’t do anything. There was no clog we found or obvious adjustment we made. Maybe there was some fuel clog inside that just finally dislodged itself. Who knows.
It’s working now and hopefully continues to do so. At least for the rest of the fall.
Ah, a Google search for the model number brought me here. I’m having the exact same problem. I think I’ll try the spark plug and maybe a sacrificial chicken.
ARGH. This must be a personality quirk of these mowers. I was standing over mine, glaring it at disapprovingly, and decided to give it one last whirl before packing it back into the truck to take it back to Lowe’s. Lo & behold, it fired right up. I did the same thing and mowed the lawn right away. When I was done, I let it sit for a few minutes and tried to start it again. It started. On subsequent tries, it started each time.
It’s now several days later and I’m about to go try it again… *crosses fingers*
I am had the same problem with mine on 8/26/08, and determined that it has to do with the choke. I used a pair of hemostats to hold the part of the choke that goes into the engine back and the engine then started.
Could you give a little more info Eric? I an having the same trouble with mine.