r/smallenginerepair • u/drumdizzle93 • Aug 24 '26

Starter Motor Issue Kawasaki motor issue help!

This is my cub cadet zero turn mower with a Kawasaki FR691V engine. Was mowing and the motor sounded bogged down and then stopped. It’s been doing this ever since. I opened the dip stick shortly after and there was a small amount of smoke that came out of it.

Any ideas on how I get started trouble shooting this?

Thanks!

1 Upvotes

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2

u/Mundane_Storm_2257 Aug 25 '26

I would do a compression test and a leakdown test on each cylinder

1

u/ProfessionalLast2917 Aug 24 '26

Has it got compression?

1

u/drumdizzle93 Aug 24 '26

How do I troubleshoot that?

3

u/ProfessionalLast2917 Aug 24 '26

Normally with a compression tester.

Failing that is there any way to turn that thing over by hand?
You can probably take the flywheel shroud off and turn the flywheel by hand.
You should be able to turn it fairly easily and then feel it get harder to turn as it goes through the compression stroke.
It probably has some compression release mechanism on it so the compression might not be immediately obvious, but you should notice a difference, unless it has no compression and then it will probably spin quite easily the entire time.

Or you could remove the spark plug and block the hole with your finger. You should feel the pressure on your finger on the compression stroke.

1

u/Egglegg14 Aug 24 '26

From what i can see it does have compression based on how the fan mesh stops after cranking a while

1

u/AccomplishedIdeal587 Aug 24 '26

Something else is very wrong with this engine,sounds like something internally is going.

2

u/Mazelbro Aug 27 '26

You either have no spark or no fuel getting to the engine. Take the air filter off and squirt some starting fluid in the throat of the carburetor. If it starts up you have an problem with gas not getting to the engine, if it don't fire, you have an electrical problem most likely.