QuestionHi Michael,
I was hoping you might be able to provide some technical guidance to a mechanically-impaired dummy.
Anyways, the question relates to my 10 yr old Craftsman riding lawn mower that has a Kohler CV-465, 15.5 hp engine . Quick background: Before I brought the mower out the first time this season I did the following: 1) changed the oil w/new filter, 2) changed the air pre-filter and main filter, 3) changed fuel filter and, 4) changed spark plug, properly gapped.
Afterwhich, I took it out for it's first cut this season. First problem I noted was when I would get off to do things while it was idling, it would die out after a short period. (as a side note, it had difficulty starting dating back to last year - making this stalling out more problematic). I broke out the troubleshooting section within the manual - it kinda suggested that a little tweaking of the carberator might work - Emphasizing LITTLE.
It did work - I let it idle away for the best pasrt of 20 minutes. So I went back to mowing... now it stalls out AS I'm mowing. I associate it with when I'm cutting up hill - or with alot of up and down movements (which is an integral part of cutting my lawn). Also, when I try to start it back up, it often backfires.
Any help you can provide would be appreciated.
AnswerHi Bob,
You could try adjusting the carb more. The large high speed mixture screw is initially set at 1&1/2 turns out, while the small, low speed jet is set at 3/4 turn. Adjust them a little at a time and see if you can smooth things out.
Otherwise, the carb most likely has dirt, debris or gummed fuel inside. First, check the gas cap to make sure it is venting and not causing a vacuum in the tank. If that's okay, you will need to remove the carb, disassemble it, clean all the small internal openings and blow it out with compressed air. Probe each and every hole with a small wire. A carb rebuild kit wouldn't hurt either. The float may also be out of adjustment, causing the stalling on the hills.
Let me know how you make out.
Michael
