QuestionI have a scotts 1642 with a 16hp Kohler engine and I am having intermittent loss of power when cutting grass, or sometimes just engaging the blades, enough to stop the motor. The lawnmower is from 2001, but we can only cut grass up north 3-4 months out of the year.
She will start right up and go around the yard with no problem, no hesitation, but when I try to put a load on the engine, it chugs and dies unless I move the throttle to choke and full back and fourth, sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn't. When I hit heavy grass (4" cutting to 3")and it starts to die, if I back off from the cut it may keep running.
I have changed the sparkplug, the fuel filter, the air filter, all of the belts, the oil and filter, and because this is a gravity fed fuel, I have run it without the gas cap to be sure it is not that.
If I slowly engage the blades, it will work sometimes as it seems like a gradual amount of torque to the engine.
I am thinking it is either the governor or the carburetor, not really sure at this point as I have run out of ideas.
Can you help?
AnswerI imagine you have a carburetor that's going to need some work but let's diagnose things first. Can you pull the spark plug and tell me what condition it is in? Black and sooty, gray, ashy, brown, that sort of thing? If you have trouble responding back on this site you can email me through the website listed in my profile. thanks, PK.
