JD will not start

Joined
Nov 5, 2004
Messages
1,311
Location
Pa
Hello and good day fellow Bitogers.

Went to start my JD riding mower after the winter season and it will not start.

Before I put it away for the end of the season I ran Amsoil small engine treatment rhough it and ran it until it was out of gas, it just shut off.

Took the battery out and stored it in my basement whice stays at least 64-66 degree all winter .

So I put the battery on my charger to be sure it is good and soon after it reads 100%.

Filled the gas tank up today and put the battery back in and connected it.

Let is sit for 30 minutes then tried to start it .

I had this problem last year and thought I had it licked, ended up lettting it sit after making sure the tank was full of gas.

The fuel filter was just changed last Spring .

I am putting a charge back on the battery as it was wearing down from the starting attempts.

Any ideas why this is happening , should I leave the battery in , leave a small amount of gas in the lines at the end of the season ?
 
Compression, spark, and a correct amount of gas and it will fire right off. Need to figure out which one is missing. You can hear the compression to a certain extent by the variation in the starter motor sounds. Remove the spark plug and check for a good hot spark, not just a feeble spider web spark. Note if the plug is dripping wet which can indicate no spark or a carb problem and flooding. If you have good spark and a dry plug try some starting fluid. These checks likely won't locate the problem but will tell you where to focus your investigation.
 
Since it has not been sitting that long, i'd check for spark, and if you have spark, look for the float to be stuck. I have seen float stick on lots of stored equipment. If you can take the fuel bowl off with out removing the carb, and wiggle it up and down, and see if gas moves through it,

On push mowers, i have told friends to lift the back end about 4 inches and drop it. A lot times that works.

I run tcw3 ( 640:1 , 1 0z in 5 gallons) along with stabil on my last tank of the season, and it seems to keep things clean and working.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by Eddie
I'd give it a shot of ether in the carb. Ed



best answer yet,,,always worked on my JD,,,20 yr old now
 
I would check the spark plug to make sure it isn't covered in the fogging oil.
Shot of ether in the plug hole
And
one in the intake for good measure.

Guaranteed startup.
 
Does it have one of the carbs with the electric shutoff? Those can freeze closed and not let any fuel through.
 
I would also give it some starter fluid.

Mow with it right away and/ or run it for a considerable time too.
 
Thanks for the suggestions everybody.

I feel that a shot of starting fluid would get it going but it appears I do not have any on hand .

Will stop after work tomorrow and pick some up .

Guess the idea with the JD mower is to not run it out of gas like other equipment.

There is a hose on the outlet side of the fuel pump that goes right into the carb , can give it a little spray there and see what happens .

Wish there was a way to drain the gas out of the carb at the end of the season and I would just run it low in the tank after using some kind of stabilizer.

Ran the same Amsoil additive the last couple of years and there have been no problems with it .
 
Carb cleaner also works as starting fluid on small engines. Could just be that the pump lost prime and needs a shot of gas down the carb to get it spun up fast enough to go.
 
Running it out of fuel shouldn't hurt it at all, I do this with a lot of pieces of equipment I have that are used sparingly. If it's been cranking enough to wear down the battery, you likely have enough fuel and flooded it. Starting fluid won't help if you have a fuel related issue. It's either getting fuel or it isn't.

Pull the spark plug. Does it smell like fuel, is it wet with fuel?

My bet is on a spark issue:

-The plugs could be soaked with fogging oil
-There could be a safety switch not working 100% not allowing you to get spark
-Mice could've chewed some wires.

I'd be buying an inline spark tester (they are a couple bucks) instead of starting fluid and go from there.
 
My JD LT110 ( I think) wouldn't start after sitting. Long story short the gas cap vent had corroded shut, tank would not vent. Drilled out the vent holes run fine. That little pump actually sucked the sides in on the gas tank. Just something else to check.
 
My vote is starting fluid or brake cleaner or whatever to get it to start. Down the carb throat will be fine.

Go use it for awhile.

I wonder sometimes if a little water isn't in the bottom of the bowl and the spray will get it to pull it through. Either from ethanol or just water in the gas.
 
If you don't have starting fluid it also works to put a small amount of gas into the intake. Some carb cleaner is not very flammable so my second choice after starting fluid is gasoline.

If that makes it fire for a few seconds but not keep running, it's definitely a fuel problem. Next test would be to remove the inlet hose from the carb and crank to see if gas is coming from the tank and fuel pump.
 
Dumb question OP, have drained the carb? Any time I run my mower empty or sucks up water that has settled to the bottom of the tank and I have to drain the carb before it will start. I know that JD puts a lot of Kawasaki FR series motors (just rebranded with JD stickers) in their mowers.
 
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