Craftsman Mower Dies, What can it be?

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SR77

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Hey guys, I have a 5 year old 21" Craftsman push mower with a 5.5hp B&S motor on it. It is one of these no manual choke no adjustment carb motors. I am having a problem with it dying on me. If the motor is cold, it will start right up and run fine for about 5-10 mins and then it just dies. Then it is very difficult to start and I have to wait a few mins until it will turn over again. It will run for a couple more mins then die again. It will continue to do this and is basically un-useable. I have taken the fuel tank off and cleaned it out, taken the bowl off the carb and cleaned it out and the inlet and made sure the float was still working, put a new gas cap and fuel line on and the spark plug, oil, and air filter are all clean. I am at a loss here. Looks like some kind of governer/choke arm off the carb that I am suspecting could be loose or something because the mower will idle fine if left alone in the driveway but will continue to die when being used to cut grass. Can anyone offer their opinion on how to get this thing running right again, they don't make them like they used to! This thing should be just getting broken in by 5 years! thanks for all the help
 
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Could be bad coil or something in the ignition that quits working once it heats up. Check for spark once it starts acting up.
 
Tmorris1 might be onto it! coils usually work until hot. when i dies see if you have spark. if not its the coil.
 
check spark if you always have that then put some gas in the carb and see if that starts it (or you could spray a mild carb cleaner in and see if it runs on that if it does it is fuel related (dont use starting fluid)
 
for the 5 minutes it's running, are you mowing or just running in the driveway?

As it quits, does it lose power, sputter, pop and fade out, or does it just immediately stop with little warning?

M
 
I vote for the coil. My B&S ran off and on for a while and then just died. Turned out I needed a new coil. If you have no spark then the coil is dead.
 
It's a rare failure, but this seems to indicate the coil. If it ran for less time, it could be a carb problem, but 5-10 minutes is too long for that. Also, the way it doesn't restart after dying without some time to rest indicates a heat-related coil failure.
 
Thanks for all the replies guys. I will check out youtube.

The coil is a good suggestion and I will check for spark this week but the only thing that doesn't make sense is I had it idleing in my driveway for 30 mins, but dies after 5-10 mins when mowing the lawn. Does it even have a coil or is it a stator of some sort. How easy to replace?

meet - when it dies while mowing it will sputter for about 5-10 seconds and then dies. I let it sit for a min or two and it will restart and then sputter and die a few mins later again.

I run FP/stabilizer in every tank so I would think the internal carb should be pretty clean. I took the bowl off to check the float and cleaned it out too.
 
I really wanted to play "devil's advocate" and say it's not the coil, it's the carb! But, it really DOES sound like coil. The coil will stay hot, too, for 10-15 minutes once the air cooling stops, whereas a restricted bowl will still refill within 15 seconds.... so it sounds even more like coil, OR wiring to points... back in the day...
 
I once had a Craftsman lawn mower that would start cold, but never restarted when hot. After checking carb and coil, I traced the problem down to a sheared keyway that threw the timing off.
 
You said the spark plug is clean. Try replacing it. I know on our 2-cycle equipment the plugs seem to go bad more often (vs. 4 stroke). They can be "clean", but something internal must wear out to make them fail.

Also make sure the carb mounting bolts are tight and it isn't sucking/leaking air (maybe worsens when hot?).
 
"""Craftsman Mower Dies, What can it be?"""
A BLESSING, THAT IS WHAT IT BE........

Now that you know my opinion of Craftsmans, after it dies, spray some starting fluid in the air filter-no need to take it off, just wet the paper element with it it evaps quickly. If it starts, it's a fuel problem, if it doesn't, it a spark issue---


Steve
 
You may have a bunch of grass under the topper that makes the coil get too hot. Will ruin it eventually. It may have a bunch of grass under there shorting things out after running a couple minutes. Clean it up if necessary. Also check the plug wire to see if it's been compromised. The 5.5 Tecumseh engine on Craftsman models is a very, very good engine.

Having fun yet?!?
 
I think maybe another plugged carb. Once again, I had the same thing with my newer craftsman. Pull the carb bowl, clean it out with carb cleaner, clean the jet and blow it out with compressed air. What's happening is that it's running fine when the choke is engaged, but once it's warmed up and the choke comes off, it dies from no fuel. Try to block the choke in the "on" position and see if you can keep it running.
 
Did I say Tecumseh? What the heck am I talking about?!? It's hard to tell.

Did you check for spark after it warms and dies yet?
 
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