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| I purchased a JD F620 zero turn used...has a Kohler engine that has taught me some new cuss words. I have never owned a Kohler and this will be the last I hope.
Without notice the engine will sputter out while mowing...it just dies unless you pull the choke...then it will idle for a bit.
Sometimes I can mow my whole yard w/o problem, sometimes I make it a half hour before it just sputters out and dies. I walk away and let it cool down then come back and finish the yard.
The engine runs like a champ otherwise.
I have had the dealership where I purchased the mower come and get it twice...only to charge me to tell me there is nothing wrong.
The third time they came and got it they kept and used it until it died on them...but they "think" it is the carb vapor locking. It is now back at my house laying dead in the yard and I cannot afford to have the dealership come and get it, charge me, then bring it back problem unresolved.
I have determined the problem is not electrical as I have spark and engine starves for fuel when this problem occurs.
I have done all process of elimination...fuel filter, cleaned gas tank, checked vacuum...engine is clean. The dealer tells me the coil is good.
I have officially thrown in the towel.
All I want to do is mow my yard.
Help save my sanity with good advice on a Kohler engine problem please. |
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NW Washington | From your description of the problem it does sound like the engine might be vapor locking. Is the outside temperature high when this happens? Can you open the engine compartment and try to better ventilate the area around the fuel line and carburetor? Sometimes you can wrap the fuel lines with aluminum foil to reflect some of the heat radiation from the fuel system. Check with some other mower mechanics to see if this is a common problem with this engine/mower. Kohler has a troubleshooting site too, as does some other small engine seller Internet sites. Google.com will dig up other sites.
Any valves or solenoids in the fuel system? How old is the gasoline? Gasoline blended for winter tends to cause vapor locking if used during warm weather.
Hang in there, I'll bet the fix is simple, once you find out what is wrong. It might just be a matter of talking to the right mechanic.
http://www.kohlerengines.com/service/maintenance/basictroubleshooti... |
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W-Central Ohio | look for a vent in the gas cap- dad had one that would occasionally tighten back up when fueling. if no vent try unscrewing the gas cap a little next time it happens to see if it runs better- good luck-
Unless it stays broke these are hard to find sometimes-good luck |
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just a tish NE of central ND | Does the gas tank vent give the tank air?If you loosen the cover will the mower work again? |
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Lander, WY | Also check for junk in the gas tank...have had them before where "trash" floats around, blocks the outlet, then floats off when the fuel isn't flowing... |
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W-Central Ohio | The vent lets air in to take the place of fuel leaving- if it is closed or plugged the engine will run until it can not get fuel |
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Concordia,Kansas | Check the float bowl? Might have something in it.
Pull the fuel line off at the carb and check fuel flow.
Might be something as simple as a build up of crud inside the card? I like a product called sea foam always seems to work for me.
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NE South Dakota | I have a kohler on a cub cadet....just went thru the same thing.my gas filter was plastic see thru type,after the engine developed enough heat,it would sputter and stop.looking at the gas filter you could see bubbles of air in it. what I did was get a larger metal gas filter. I then insulated the gas line with some plastic flex that they use to protect wires with and tried to postion the gas line away from any direct heat source.It has ran all summer not once stopping or so called vapor locking. good luck |
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Kansas | I occassionally fight the same problem with the one in my Zipper mower.
I personally believe it is a heat issue. Once it cools down then it runs again good. Soon as it gets warm.....sputter and sounds like its missing and power is lacking.
1 thing you did not mention you did, Check the air cleaner. It is amazing how much dust can collect in a small amount of time on them. Should have a foam around a paper filter if it's anything like mine. I use compressed air to clean them both.
Yea.........I'm none to impressed with Kohler either but I still think it beats a briggs and stratton any day. |
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| Not sure about this particular model but does it have a shut off valve in the bottom of the tank ? Some of those have a fine mesh screen attached to the shut off valve which can get clogged. Also you might have a rubber gas line collapsing under suction and shutting off the flow. I had the same problem on a 14hp Kohler in a JD 314. Took a long time to track down the problem and I checked almost everything you have already done first. Replaced the fuel line to the carb from the tank and made sure the fine mesh screen in the shut off valve was clean and my problem was solved. |
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| Air filter is clean and I use the large fuel filter. The gas tank and fuel line screen have both been cleaned...new plugs and gas.
Man, thanks for all the replies...I thought I was on my own in this case!
It sounds like I might want to try insulating the fuel line with aluminum foil as suggested.
I had also taken off the muffler heat shield, this made no difference.
I will tinker with the mower tomorrow when I have more time.
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NW IOWA | I had a John Deere with a Kawasaki engine that would do the same thing. John Deere worked on it a couple of times and even gave it a complete tune up. It would run great then all of asudden it would do just like you said. I did every thing to it. John Deere finally told me to replace the carb and that should fix it $$$$$$$. We took the fuel line off the carb and put a bottle on it so we could eliminate any tank or line problems. It would still do it. I took the carb off three times to no avail. Finally I said to H--L with it and I took the carb off one more time. I took the needle seat out of the bowl and took air pressure and blew backwards with a rag over the outlet and guess what a small chunk of rubber from the fuel line was up by the needle seat . Iput it back together and it's run perfect ever since. I talked to the local college small engine instructor and he said always cut 1/2 inch of gas line off when you change fuel filters because when you pull the filter off the gas line it tears up the inside of the line and then when you put a new filter on it pushes the rubber up the line beyond the filter. That is one of the first things they teach their students. The students always say "but then the fuel line will be too short" The instructor always told "then replace the dam line". By the way my problems didn't start until after the JD dealer had done a spring service job?????, Thanks JD |
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just a tish NE of central ND | Maybe put some fiberglass insulation under the aluminum foil that you will use on the fuel line to help insulate the line.
Must be frustrating! |
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SW Saskatchewan | Had the problem you describe with a Kubota tiller - best little helper in the world until it developed starving problems.
Turned out the fuel line was shedding particles that plugged of the float valve. Intermittently!
New fuel line solved the problem- often the best fix is so simple we overlook it. |
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northwest tennessee | Havent read all the posts so if this has already been mentioned sorry. I have a 345 with a kawasaki engine that was doing the same thing and finally traced the fuel line to the tank and with the filler cap off and a flash light could see that the fuel line was right on the bottom of the tank. It was evidently sucking to the bottom of the tank every once in a while. I put a wire in there and pulled it over where it would not be close to the bottom and I have not had any more trouble. |
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Milford, Illinois | I had trouble with my 25 hp. Kohler not running well when it got hot. The hotter the day the worse it was. When it started acting up the choke would help it run but it didn't have much power. I tried all the easy stuff to no avail. Finally I changed the ignition coils and that solved the problem. It seemed to have 50% more power. I found out that the coils were a common problem. Kohler advised to replace them both when doing so. They had a new part number that replaced the coils susceptible failure. You may have spark but when it's hot and under load it just isn't enough. Try the easy stuff first but replace the coils if that doesn't work. |
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| I'm assuming it is a 2 cylinder Kohler. I've seen this many times, when you sware it is a fuel problem and it is really a spark problem. Recently, a guy brought me one he said would run good till it got hot and then would lose power and sputter and die. He also said pulling out the choke would help sometimes. We mowed with it till it started sputtering and then put a timing light on first one plug wire and then the other. One side was a steady flashing pattern and the other side would flash intermittently. I put a new coil on the intermittent side and it has been running great ever since. The customer swore it was a fuel problem and had done many of the things you have done. Take it for what it is worth and good luck. |
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SE Nebraska, Near Misery and Cans Ass! | My 22 hp kohler has a mikuni fuel pump on it and the diaphragm in it deteriorates and causes a similar problem |
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| Been there and done that on the cast iron kohler engine. They have a bad habit of the exhaust valve sticking when they get hot. Over time, the exhaust valve guide will tighten up due to burnt oil residue and when it gets hot, the valve will seize in the guide. Cools off and will run until it heats up again.
Simple enough to fix as you just have to replace the valve and ream the guide.
INDY |
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West Kentucky | Replace BOTH electronic coils. Don't even think about replacing one replace both. It took me all summere to find this out. |
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Statesville, NC | One thing we find that causes a lot of engine heat is mice. They will build a nest in the air housing, causing the engine to overheat. Many times they also eat the coil wires. Remove the air housing cover and check to see the cooling fins are clean. |
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Somerville, Indiana | We had trouble with the fuel cutoff not getting elect current. Wire goes to carb area, it is to shut off the engine when oil pressure drops. Either oil sender or carb part can be bad or in our case, fuse was blowed. So check for elect at the carb after the engine dies but before the key is turned off. When you turn your key to start the wire is energized thru the starter relay I think. Soon as carb runs out of gas the engine quits. |
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| Same thing happened to my 12 hp Kohler. I started to put 1 qt of diesed fuel in 4-5 gal of gas. No more stuck exhuast valves. |
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Kohler engine help PLEASE!
