Blog

Lawn Mower Repair Tips

My Riding Lawn Mower Battery is Dead

So you turn the key and nothing happens right? But is your battery actually dead or is there another problem that is causing this symptom?

The first item to check is your main fuse. On most riding lawn mowers it is either under the hood or under the body near the drive system and usually on the left side. Remove it and see if the wire inside is burned in two. If it is, replace it. If the terminal blades are corroded, clean them and reinstall.

The second thing you want to do is an actual test of the battery to make sure that is has no volts and amps. You probably don’t have a fancy battery tester to do that, so you can disconnect it and take it to an auto parts store to have it tested.

If your battery is over 2 years old, it could be on its way out. While you have the battery out, it is a good time to clean the battery terminals with a wire brush and apply some terminal protector when you hook the terminals back up.

Those are the most common items that fail on a riding lawn mower that causes the battery to appear dead. When my riding lawn mower battery is dead and these tips will not fix that, visit our locations page to find a lawn mower repair expert near you.

Lawn Mower Repair Tips

My Lawn Mower Will Only Run on Full Choke

To understand this problem, you must understand a little about how a carburetor works.

When you place the choke in the on position, it creates more suction on the throat of the carburetor which creates more vacuum to pull fuel out of the main jet and up through the emulsion tube which mixes air and fuel. The idle circuit could also be in play during this start up. An engine needs a slightly richer or more fuel than air mixture when it starts.

As the engine is running and the choke is slowly released to open, less vacuum is created and less fuel is then drawn out of the main jet as the engine is brought up to speed.

What happens is fuel becomes a solid state as it evaporates and this plugs up the emulsion tube and the idle jet. If that happens the symptoms of only running on full choke will be present. At this point the carburetor needs disassembled and thoroughly cleaned of any fuel deposits that have accumulated. Then it will need to be re-assembled and tested to ensure that the carburetor cleaning did its job in fixing the my lawn mower will only run of full choke problem.

If you need help with lawn mower repair, visit our Locations page for assistance.

Lawn Mower Repair Tips

My Lawn Mower Will Run For a While and Then Dies

This is not a very common problem but it does occur with some regularity. The lawn mower will be running just fine and then it may slowly die or it will just quit like you turned the key off.

So now what? There are some things you can check to see if you can get your lawn mower going once again. First, check the obvious. Is there fuel in the tank? When you opened the fuel cap did you hear a hissing or vacuum sound? If you did then your fuel cap is not venting and needs replaced.

If the fuel and cap are not the issue, then you can crank the engine over and the remove a spark plug to see if it is wet with fuel. If it is wet, then you have an ignition problem and if it is dry, you have a fuel delivery problem.

This is where you want to have your lawn mower repair Technician provide a diagnosis of the lawn mower to correct the problem. By knowing the intricacies of the engine and its systems, a good lawn mower repair Tech can quickly isolate the problem and get your lawn mower running again soon. Check our list of locations for a lawn mower repair Technician in your area.

Lawn mower repair professionals can resolve the lawn mower will run for a while and then dies problem.

Lawn Mower Repair Tips

My Lawn Mower is Hard To Start

A hard starting lawn mower can be a real pain to get started and it can be even harder to start after you shut it down for a minute or so to pick something up from the yard.

Hard starting is generally a carburetor choke problem or a valve issue. But there are other things that can cause it and they will be covered here as well.

Choke springs or incorrect setup of the choke can make your engine very hard to start. It will not be resolved until the choke is repaired properly and tested when the engine is cold and hot.

A valve issue is a little more complicated. A valve could have a lot of carbon buildup on the valve stem causing it to stick open or closed. Or the valves could be out of adjustment. A good lawn mower mechanic can adjust the valves and get your engine starting much better and easier. A pull start lawn mower should start within 2 pulls of the starter cord. A riding lawn mower should start within a few revolutions of the engine. Another thing that can cause hard starting is a valve seat that is coming loose and not sealing well. The seat will have to be replaced to correct this issue.

One more possible scenario is that your air filter could be so clogged that the engine is not getting enough air to start. Check the air filter to see what condition it is in and replace it if it is suspect.

Your engine could also have a leaking head gasket. A compression and leakdown test will need to be performed to see if that is the issue here.

Lastly, you could have water in your fuel or the wrong fuel in the fuel tank. It is not uncommon to see diesel fuel filled gasoline tanks, so if the fuel is in doubt, drain the tank and carburetor and refill with fresh fuel.  Check our locations page for a shop nearest you.

I hope these tips will help you get your my lawn mower is hard to start back up and running once again.

Lawn Mower Repair Tips

My lawn mower is leaking gas

A gas leak can be a dangerous situation that can lead to a fire. You could come out to the garage and smell gas and find a puddle under the lawn mower. The first thing to do in that situation is turn off the gas at the shutoff if it has one and then push it outside. You don’t want to take the risk of it catching fire in a garage or outbuilding.

Gas line connections are a common place where leaks occur. Gas line fittings in the bottom of gas tanks and gas filters are areas that commonly leak.

The lawn mower can also be leaking from the carburetor. The needle and seat is where the leak develops as the needle does not seat properly. Fuel then goes through the carburetor and into the cylinder of the engine. Then the gas will seep past the piston and into the crankcase and can fill it up to overflowing.

Your next step should be to take your lawn mower to a repair specialist who can properly diagnose this problem and resolve it. Gas leaks are a serious safety hazard and with some lawn mowers holding several gallons of gas, you don’t want to chance making a repair that might fail and cause a fire.

By inspecting your lawn mower each time you use it, you can catch that gas drip before it turns into a full blow leak. My lawn mower is leaking gas is a serious situation and should be remedied quickly.

 

Lawn Mower Repair Tips

My Lawn Mower is Surging

Carburetor Jet Plugged

A surging lawn mower is one of the most common problems that an engine has. It normally occurs in the springtime when you first pull out your lawn mower to get it ready for spring. You start it up and then it may slightly surge or it will be extreme. The engine gains RPM and then loses RPM and this cycle will continue nonstop until the condition is repaired.

The mechanics behind it is quite simple. The engine is being starved for fuel. The carburetor jets are plugged up and the engine will suck a little fuel to keep it running and then will start to run out of fuel. Then the engine governor comes into play. As the engine is losing RPM, the governor flyweights retract and will try to increase the RPM by opening up the throttle more. So a little fuel comes in again and the cycle repeats itself. This condition is known as a lean surge.

Air Leak

There could be another factor in play here. An air leak could have developed in the intact tract between the carburetor and the engine. When there is an air leak it will pull in more air than fuel and result in a lean mixture. The engine will run for a short time and then the surging will begin. There is less fuel to burn so it does not produce the power required to keep the engine running. The surging is usually worse at idle than at full RPM.

Elevation

I want to throw in a third possibility and that is elevation. When you live at high elevation, your carburetor fitted engines should have the main jet replaced with one for high elevation. Everyone calls it a high altitude jet, but altitude means the distance above the ground so that is not the correct term unless you are working on an airplane. This problem can also be worse at low RPM. The cause of this problem is that a standard elevation main jet has a larger hole for the fuel to flow through and you need less fuel when you are at a higher elevation because the air is less dense. Less dense air means less air molecules to burn with the fuel mixture. So you will have the wrong air to fuel ratio and will get too much fuel and run richer than normal. This condition is known as a rich surge.
By knowing the symptoms of these individual problems, this should help you diagnose them. Take your lawn mower to a reputable repair shop to resolve my lawn mower is surging.

Lawn Mower Repair Tips

How To Buy a Good Used Push Mower

So you have a small yard and only need a push mower to cut it instead of a self-propelled or rider. That simplifies things immensely and with these tips it will help assure that you get a good one.

I have been a push lawn mower repair technician for over 5 years and from that experience I can tell you what to look for and tests to do when looking at your prospective used push mower.

First I would stick with the major brand names of engines. Briggs & Stratton, Honda and Kohler are the most popular although you probably won’t find a Honda engine on a push mower. More than likely it will be a Briggs and Stratton which is perfectly fine.

For the most part the decks, handles and controls are basically the same. The deck will be a stamped piece of metal but it could be a welded deck. Welded decks are much heavier and will last for a long time.

The engine should start on the first or second pull. If it doesn’t, that is a good time to move on. If the push mower has sat for an extended period of time, it may not start on the first or second pull so take that into consideration.

Check the engine for any oil or fuel leaks. Check the engine oil to see if it is black and the quantity of it. Is it low on oil? Black oil is a sign that the engine was probably not maintained as well as it should be. Is the engine dirty or have spots of grass stuck to it which would indicate an oil leak? Grab the engine (after it has cooled) and try to move it around to see if there are any loose mounting bolts.

Check the control cables for fraying and ease of operation. Does the safety bail spring back or does it slowly retract. It should spring back after you release it.

Pull the spark plug boot from the spark plug  for safety and look under the deck to see if there is rusting or if there is a large buildup of grass under it. Wet grass will lead to rusting of the deck and it can rust completely through.

Check out the blade for straightness and sharpness. Is it worn out or worn down and needs replacing? Are there any big nicks in the blade that would indicate it struck something?

Lastly, roll the mower and pay attention to the wheels. Do they spin freely? Are they leaning outwards or inwards? Are they broken or the tread is worn down?

If you suspect anything that is not quite right about the push mower, ask the owner to clarify what service work has been done. They may or may not know or choose to not answer your question.

I hope this arms you with enough information to make a good informed choice in how to buy a good used push mower.

Lawn Mower Repair Tips

My Lawn Mower is Blowing Black Smoke

To understand this problem, you also must know that there are different color smokes that a lawn mower can blow out the exhaust pipe. Blue, black and white smoke are the colors that you would normally see and in this article we will concentrate on black smoke.

Black smoke means that the engine is running rich. Running rich means that the engine is getting an incorrect fuel/air mixture. It is getting more fuel than air and thus burning in a rich condition. A clogged air filter is often the culprit here.

Black smoke is normally a rich condition. In most cases the engine is getting too much fuel to burn and cannot burn it all thus making the black smoke. The engine could also not be getting enough air. Things that can cause this is an air filter that is very dirty or a setting in the carburetor or fuel injection that is incorrect.

Try removing the air filter and inspecting it for dirt buildup or grass clippings. If it is clogged, purchase another filter and install and then test the engine. Carburetor or fuel injection settings should be performed by a qualified lawn mower repair technician.

Each lawn mower engine smoke condition has its cause and by knowing what color to look for and the steps to take to correct it, you can cure the my lawn mower is blowing black smoke problem.

Riding Lawn Mower Repair

Cub Cadet Riding Lawn Mower Repair Hartford CT

Is your Cub Cadet mower not working properly? Is it hard to start or won’t start at all? Did you break a deck or drive belt? Does it make some strange noises that you cannot seem to locate?

Those are a couple of problems that we routinely see in the shop and can stop your Cub Cadet riding lawn mower in its tracks. But what will prevent these types of issues is having your lawn mower serviced each year. Each year your Cub Cadet riding lawn mower should be serviced.

By keeping your mower properly serviced each year, it will start better and run longer.

Servicing your lawn mower each year will ensure that it works better and that problems are caught before they become major issues. An annual service must be performed each year and this cannot be skipped or your mower will not last as long as it should. This could be 10 or more years if it is well taken care of.

Every model is different and known to have a particular issue. By knowing these machines, we can focus on those issues to help us repair them more quickly. Most of those issues can be resolved without too much of a problem and your mower back in operation fairly quickly.

Without the proper servicing each year, small problems can become large one and before long a breakdown will occur.  Preventive maintenance is the key to keeping your lawn mower cutting grass just like it should. The major things such as an oil change, air and fuel filter changes as well as the spark plugs are very important to keep the engine running well.

The spring tune-up is vital to a long and strong running lawn mower. Things like an oil change, air and fuel filter changes as well as lubricating the chassis are all items that must be accomplished. You can help by keeping the engine, deck and transmission clean of any grass clippings and other debris.

You can bring your riding lawn mower to our shop and let us check it out for you. Our lawn mower repair technicians can perform a diagnostic service to ensure that it is working as it should and will run stronger for longer. A great running machine makes the job of yard work easier and faster.

When you need Cub Cadet Riding Lawn Mower Repair in  Hartford CT, call our shop or bring it by today!

 

Riding Lawn Mower Repair

Craftsman Riding Lawn Mower Repair Hartford CT

Do you need expert Craftsman riding lawn mower repair?

Craftsman has been selling great lawn mowers for many years and their brand is one of the most well known in the country. There is a model to suit any size and type of lawn imaginable and they continue to keep making them better each year.

Sometimes our Craftsman riding lawn mower breaks down and needs some special attention to get it going once again. Our shop is ready to help with your riding lawn mower repair needs and we are happy to help.

Lawn mowers today are very complex machines and require certain processes to repair them.

If you need assistance with an engine problem, chassis or transmission, we will carefully inspect your lawn mower. Then we will begin the process of troubleshooting, diagnosing and repairing it. Once the repair is complete, we will perform a test of that system to ensure that the repairs perform as they should.

Our team of expert lawn mower mechanics are just a phone call away and can help you with all sorts of lawn mower problems.

So when you need expert Craftsman Riding Lawn Mower Repair in Hartford CT, call us or bring it by today!