|
It takes three things for an engine to run: spark at the right time, compression, & fuel in the right mixture. Lets start w/ spark. Remove a plug, or use an old one, ground it to the head, connect a plug wire, turn the key on & crank it. If you have a fat, bright blue spark, you are good to go. If you do not have a bright blue spark, post back & you will get plenty of help. Next, lets consider fuel. Been setting a while? Water in the gas? Maybe you forgot to put Stabil in the tank & the carb is gummed up. But, first things first....remove the bolt at the bottom of the carb, turn the fuel on & check for flow. As long as the gas is turned on at the sediment bowl, you should have a good flow of fuel. Next thing, get a can of starting fluid, remove the breather hose, turn the key on & crank the engine. After it turns over a few times, spray some fluid in the carb. Leave the choke alone! If it fires but won't start.... chances are it's carb cleaning time. It could be compression.....while that's not the likely problem....do a compression check on the engine. You will need a gauge to do it, but save that test for last. Another likely problem is dirty grounds & worn or undersized battery cables. A 6v system is very intolerant of bad grounds. Make sure you are using 1 or 0 gauge new cables. Disconnect every cable in the entire starting circuit & clean the connections bright & shiny. Carefully pull the starter away from the block about 1 inch & clean the mating surfaces. You can always try to jump start it w/ a 12v battery; see tip # 43 at the link below for the safe way to do that. Another possibility is a vacuum leak. With the engine running, spray WD-40 or a hand held propane tank around the manifold; if the engine speeds up, you found the leak. Another slim possibility is a dragging starter. Lots of folks (myself included) will not notice that the starter is turning slower & slower over time, even though the battery is fully charged. So, after you have replaced the battery cables, cleaned all the connections & fully charged the battery, you could have a starter going bad. Put that possibility on the bottom of the list, though. Lastly, one of the most common causes of a hard to start engine is excessive use of the choke. While some tractors do require a little bit of choke, no properly tuned engine w/ a good carb is going to need full choke for 4 or 5 seconds to start. All that does is flood the engine, cover the plugs w/ raw gas & prevent it from getting enough spark to start. So, keep your hand off the choke.
|
