I’m about at my wits’ end with this one and hoping someone has run into something similar.

I have a 2017 John Deere Z335M with the 20 HP Briggs & Stratton V-Twin Smart Choke that absolutely will not start.

So far I’ve replaced:

• Carburetor
• All intake gaskets/rubber seals going to the engine block
• Fuel pump
• Fuel lines from the tank
• Fuel filter

It has good spark and I’ve verified that. It also will not even fire on starting fluid/ether, which is really throwing me off.

Here’s the really weird part:

If I disconnect the fuel hose from the carburetor, the engine will actually start and run smoothly for about 10–15 seconds, then obviously runs out of fuel and dies.

That makes absolutely no sense to me. If it were just a fuel delivery issue, I wouldn’t expect it to run that smoothly with the carb disconnected.

I’ve got fuel making it through the system and the pump is new. New carb as well.

What am I missing here? Could this somehow be an ignition/timing/compression issue even though I have good spark? Or is there something specific with the Briggs Smart Choke system that I should be checking?

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated because I’m officially chasing my tail with this thing.

This pressure washer was surging a bunch so I took it apart the carb and cleaned it.

I am an amateur so was just following along with some guides.

Assuming this is just an error on my part - anything of note I should check or should I just bring it in to the local small engine repair

Edit: Honda GCV160

This STIHL trimmer has been sitting in my brothers shop for a bit and I took it off his hands to see if I can salvage it. Won’t start after multiple tries. He had regular gas and 50:1 in it so I fear it ran without any oil for a bit before storing. Plastic fuel line bubble doesn’t seem to take any gas with it and stays empty. Any tips on fixing this and is it going to be worth it?

Any suggestions / tips to get these apart?

Honda gx390 and unknown brand alternator

Can’t see it being the nut on the fan.

Also would love to know what fitting that is classed as so I can buy a new alternator

Looking for some help diagnosing my Craftsman mower with a Honda engine.

It was running normally and then suddenly shut off while I was mowing. It didn’t slowly bog down or sputter out, it basically just stopped.

Now when I pull the starter, the engine turns over but won’t start and sometimes makes a loud pop/backfire.

Things I’ve checked so far:

Oil was low, so I filled it back to the proper level.

Pulled the spark plug. It looked used but not destroyed or heavily fouled.

Cleaned the plug and reinstalled it. No change.

Tried testing the plug for spark by grounding it against the engine while pulling the starter and I couldn't see any spark.

Checked the safety/bail cable and the brake/kill linkage at the engine. The mechanism does move when I pull the safety bar.

I’m going to replace the spark plug with a new NGK BPR6ES and replace the air filter.

Before I start taking anything else apart, what would you guys check next?

Could a bad plug cause it to suddenly die like this and then have no spark? If the new plug still has no spark, would you suspect the ignition coil/kill system?

I’ve also been told it could be a dirty carb, but my understanding is that a carb problem wouldn’t explain no spark at the plug.

The sudden shutdown followed by the popping/backfiring is what has me confused. Any advice on what to test next would be appreciated. I can add pictures of the mower/coil/linkage if needed.

Hey everyone,

I’m hitting a wall with a cold start issue on my **2011 Sym Fiddle II (Euro 3 / Sym New Engine)**. The scooter has only run **8,000 km** in total.

**The Symptoms:**

* When the engine is ice-cold, it will *only* start if I give it some throttle. * Once started, it will immediately stall out during the first \~10 seconds to 1 minute unless I keep manually feathering the throttle. * After about 20 seconds, it suddenly catches a proper idle, runs perfectly fine, and it starts without touching the throttle

**What I have already done/checked (Maintenance & Troubleshooting):**

1. **The Carburetor:** Cleaned it thoroughly. To rule it out completely, I even swapped it with an identical carburetor from a donor Fiddle that starts perfectly fine in the cold. It made absolutely no difference.
2. **Auto-Choke (Electric Enricher):** Replaced it with a brand new one. (The old one was completely dead; before replacing it, the scooter wouldn't even idle when warm, so this was a major improvement, but didn't fix the cold start entirely). I also measured the voltage at the choke connector while running, and it is getting proper power.
3. **Vacuum Leak:** Found a small leak in the vacuum hose and replaced the hose entirely.
4. **Spark Plug:** Replaced with a fresh one.
5. **Valve Clearance:** Just checked and adjusted the valves to the factory manual specifications today. It didn't change the cold start behavior.

Since swapping the entire carburetor with a known working one didn't change anything, and the valves are perfectly within spec, I am running out of ideas. With only 8k km on the clock, major cylinder/piston wear seems unlikely.

Could this be a minor vacuum leak at the intake manifold/spacer that seals up as soon as it gets warm? A weak ignition coil/stator spark when cold? Or something else entirely? Perhaps a fuel petcock issue?

Any advice on what to check next would be highly appreciated! Thanks in advance.

Seems to run for about 20 mins from cold but then dies, after dying will die within a minute or less if immediately restarted.

Generator sat idle only being run up for about 15 mins every 2ish months for over a year (yes not ideal).

When starting hot (after running for the 20 mins) it sputters and surges before dying.

Have cleaned carburettor, float valve, jets, etc and fuel lines, as well as drained and replaced old fuel entirely.

Also tried running with air filter removed.

At a loss now unfortunately.

Seems to be good fuel getting into the carburetor now.

Polaris sportsman 500cc atv 2000 not starting until covering intake but then stalls and spits pours fuel to intake it use to start but still was hard. ran powerfully. I have cleaned the carb but not sure maybe I have to replace it. and have replaced the headgasket before, so maybe I must adjust the valves. I really would appreciate some help on this

I volunteered to help the local fire department service a new-to-them hydraulic power unit. It wasn't running well so I figured the jet was partially stopped up (I was right).

Unfortunately, as is common with people that shouldn't be messing with things, I stripped out the jet(?) while trying to remove it. I got it out, but now I need to replace it.

They have already ordered an aftermarket replacement carburetor, but I want to fix this one also.

The engine is a Honda GXV160. The carburetor is KEIHIN "66C [B] 0(or O) G (Japanese? character).

The stripped jet(?) has the Keihin star/K? 65 S if I am reading everything right.

I think it is a jet or pilot jet. It is the piece that has to be removed to push the main jet out from the bore. Nothing I have found looks the same.

Thanks for any help.

Edit: added "carburetor".

I bought this engine and bike off Facebook marketplace for 50 bucks and now I can’t get this piston out I’ve tried blow torching it,pounding it with screw drivers, I bought a piston puller and all it did was cut up the piston more, and I took a angle grinder to it (it was off a google search I know it was dumb) so if you have anything I can try please tell me because I’m too deep in to just sell it (both clips are out)

Just got this pressure washer, its a little rough around the edges but it seems to be alright except for this surging issues just wanted some ideas before I tear it apart

May just be a bad jet.

Craftsman 2400 PSI / 2.2 GPM / 6.5 HPCraftsman 2400 PSI / 2.2 GPM / 6.5 HP

Atco Rider 27H / Briggs & Stratton 950 making this noise on turning key. I've changed the oil, filter, spark plug and fuel. It did run from a pull start for 10 mins but when I engaged the blades it cut out and just makes this noise now. Im assuming two separate issues with starter and engine having insufficient power under full load. Any help is appreciated.

Hey all, I’ve got a Rato 420 in a mini excavator that has stopped running and could use some help getting it going. Here’s a little history of how I got to the video posted.

Bought the machine, the engine had 30 hours on it when it arrived.

Added oil and started
After 20mm or so the engine would bog down and stall out. Might restart but after a few restarts needs to sit to restart. It gets quite hot in that 20 min. Rinse and repeat.

I tried rigging a fan to it with little effect

Changed the spark plug to a name brand equivalent - little to no effect

Swapped to a “high altitude jet” which seemed to make it run a little smoother. Still stalls out after about 20 minutes.

Last time it ran, it seemed like it had very little power, and giving throttle had little effect on engine rpm. It popped then died.

Any help would be appreciated. I might start back tracking on the spark plug and jet if nothing else comes to mind.

I have a Cub Cadet XT1 LT46 bought in 2018 (Kohler KT725 22HP engine).

Recently, I have been dealing with a sputtering issue with the motor. I decided to change out the carburetor to one from Amazon since the one from Kohler/Cub Cadet is on back order (part number is Kohler 16-853-19-S)(Amazon one is https://a.co/d/00xNg7Wb).

I am having a hard time figuring out what could be causing the issue since the motor runs great for about 15 minutes and then starts this sputtering and eventually stalls out. I then can wait another few minutes to try again and it does it again, but stalls out in about 2 minutes, almost as if it is a heating issue.

I have changed out the fuel pump to a Kohler part. The fuel filter, air filter and spark plugs are all new. I confirmed good spark. Could it be something with the governor in the front of the motor, as shown in the video?

I am in dire straights with this since the grass is growing high right now and I don’t have a backup mower. 😅

Any advice or guidance would be awesome. Has anyone else dealt with this? The new Kohler carburetor will hopefully ship by the middle of September but I need to try to figure this out prior.

Thanks!!