QuestionMy John Deere F525 will not start. It is a kawasaki single cylinder 17 hp pain in the butt.There is spark at the plug and fuel supplied to the carby.when I try to start it,it turns over a few times and then backfires like a shot gun. The engine oil seems to be disappearing also.It is not leaking on to the floor and not burning as the motor is not running.Any ideas? Your help would be greatly appreciated.
AnswerHello Ian,
Okay I will try to answer your question by breaking the problem into three parts.
1) Your J. Deere doesn't start.
2) When it does start, it just turns over & then backfires.
3) Engine oil is getting used up too quickly.
For a no-start condition then you need to check the condition of the fuel lines, the carburetor, spark plugs. compression.
For the problem of the engine turning over and then backfiring, there would seem to be a air-fuel ratio unbalance has caused your engine to run improperly. If the air-fuel mixture is too lean then you get a backfire in the intake. If you have a overly rich setting (too much fuel) then you would find a backfire coming out of the exhaust. Quite often you can right the situation by increasing or decreasing the amount of fuel going to the mixture.
This can also mean there is problems with the fuel filter (if there is one) or a vacuum leak or a sensor.
Incorrect timing to a spark plug can cause backfires. Air filter being too dirty. Does the carburetor need adjustment?
So there's some checks you can perform, if you still find the engine not starting, or still backfiring, follow-up with more information.
As far as your over amount of oil consumption... I would say that is probably tied in to the air-fuel mix ration being set wrong.
Good Luck,
Howard B
