Zero Turn Lawn Mower Loses Power When PTO is Engaged

If you are experiencing sudden power loss when you pull on the PTO knob, there is obviously a problem. If the lawn mower engine practically dies and doesn’t want to cut the grass or move for that matter, then you have most like lost a cylinder or you have something wrong with the carburetor or fuel injection system.

Rapid power loss is a serious problem and you do not want to operate the zero turn in this condition. You want to get it checked out by a competent small engine repair shop that understands this condition and knows how to resolve it.

Trying to use the lawn mower in this condition could further damage it and that will add up to more expensive repairs. You already paid a lot of money for your zero turn lawn mower and you want it running well so you can cut your grass and make money with it if you are a commercial cutter.

Visit our Location page for a lawn mower repair shop that can assist with your zero turn lawn mower losing power when the PTO is engaged.

Zero Turn Lawn Mower Has Lost Power

Most ZTR or Zero Turn Lawn Mowers have a twin cylinder engine. The standard manufactures are Briggs and Stratton, Honda, Kohler and Kawasaki. These engines are fairly reliable for the most part, but sometimes can have their problems.

A loss of power on your zero turn can happen when it is brand new or has a 1,000 hours on it. I worked on a fairly new one that had a piece of plastic come from inside the fuel filter and end up in the carburetor and blocked off one of the main jets. It ran fine at idle, but when you turned on the PTO, it would bog down and practically die.

Usually in cases like this, one cylinder is down on power and may not be getting enough fuel, compression or spark. Each of these systems will need to be tested to find out what the problem actually is.

Turn the engine over a couple of times and then shut it down. Pull both spark plugs and see which one is dry and which one is wet with fuel. If a spark plug is dry, fuel may not be getting to that cylinder. If one plug is really wet, spark might not be getting to that cylinder.

Other things can happen like the valves become out of adjustment and a cylinder head push rod will come off and not allow a valve to open.

You want to systematically determine what is causing this problem and then replace or repair the parts and test it again.

If you need expert care for your Zero Turn lawn mower that has lost power, visit our Locations page for help.