Kawasaki Motor bogs down on riding mower - John Deere
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- Опубликовано: 29 сен 2024
- This is a informative video on 2009/10 John Deere x304 riding mower. The riding mower has a 17hp Kawasaki engine that when the mower deck is engaged, the engine would bog down badly and start kicking out a lot of smoke. It was behaving as if the carburetor was running super rich or I had a compression issue or even water in the fuel. With the mower deck not engaged, the engine ran fine from low RPM to high RPM.
One thing I did not mention in this video, I did perform a compression check on both cylinders to be sure there was not a cylinder starting to go because of all the smoke and oily plugs. Compression was spot on and even. So I hope this video helps someone out there who is seeing this same issue.
*This mower....... changed my life **Bestfor.Garden** also recommend I never thought I would see the day when I would ever make the switch to electric yard tools. But this was one of my best decisions yet. My old 15+ year old gas mower snapped its pull string while trying to get it to fire up and instead of fixing it, I chose to upgrade instead.*
I have made the switch on some products, i.e Pressure washer is electric and still put out 2200 psi. Three years later, still working, zero issues. I would get a stronger one, but my well pressure would not support it.
For spacing you should use business card instead.
That is also a great option!! ....but I have no business cards. LOL, just tools. Seriously, that is very clever. I like that idea for someone will not have the feeler/gap gauges. Thank you!
I have same tractor and same issues. Low power when engaged.
New plugs, coils, New Carb with fuel pump and inline filter, checked all deck pulleys and compression checked (93 and 95psi) . I double checked the valves and one was loose by 13 thou but made no difference on running condition. After the new carb it seems worse. I am running out of ideas. Still a good video to help troubleshoot 👍
Electrical issues are soo hard to diagnois. In some bad situations, replacing everything electrical, and the problem still exist. I can only think, are any of the products (coils, carb, wires, etc) John Deere OEM products? The reason I am asking, I had a misfiring issue with my boat. It would run then stop after 30 minutes. Replaced everything with new "aftermarket" electrical stuff. I then had all the after market stuff removed and updated to all Mercruiser OEM products, it has been running fine ever since. But, it took me 6 years of frustration, ton of cursing and numerous tows by other boaters to bring me back to shore. Sometimes, I would sit in the water for 45 min to an hour before it would start and I could get back to my trailer.
A Business card works well to set the gap on the coil to flywheel
Bad coil
I still dont know what the problem was????????
Awesome big ups cheers bloke....got me wondering now if I can upgrade my egnition system with some chinese performance/racing motorcycle parts 🤣
I think I have a similar issue with my John Deere Z445. When you engage the mower it hesitates but does engage. The engine seems to bog down when the mower is engaged and I was going to try to clean the carburetor up and see if that helps but now I will look into the coils. I will need to find the correct gap for them if I replace them.
You can by a Gap spacer ay any automotive store, but be sure it's the....what I call finger gaps. It s a multiple thin metal strips that are 1"-2" long that can be slid in between the coil and fly wheel. There a several types of "gap" devices out there. I own three different kinds all ready pending on what I am repairing or replacing.
I have had several Kawasakis with this very same problem! and they all have electric clutches. Thank you!!
coils have no connection to the electric clutch or current that runs it. Air gap for new coil packs are set at .008 to .016 inches.(8 to 16 one-thousandths of an inch)
Thanks for the info
I'm so glad i found this video!!! My X300 has the same engine with the exact same poroblem. It's been driving me crazy trying to figure out what the problem was. Thanks!
Please let us know how you make out!! Its helps others who read the comments and are trying to trouble shoot their engine.
@@bigguydiy2184 Ok, sorry for the delay. I’m a truck driver and I’m only home for a short time every week and just got time to get the parts today from John Deere. I’m happy to say that one of the ignition coils was bad. I replaced both and it’s running and cutting like it was new. I owe this solution and fix to you and I greatly appreciate what you do.
EXCELLENT!!, Thank you for your update. Greatly appreciate it.
My 20 hp briggs doing sort of tje same thing
Check you exhaust muffler, it’s at the front of mower and gets very hot, it overheats the carburetor and will destroy your engine
This mower has a heat shield so it never effected the carb in 10 plus years.
Got a 27 hp B&S gonna give this a try
I have the same issue with the Kawasaki motor on a zero turn. I have it bogging when any interlock of deck is engaged. I checked voltage to battery when it runs and when interlock is engaged and no drop in voltage. I checked all that you stated prior to the coils. Prior to the bogging Father in Law said it would run for about an hour then stop completely and then start after it cooled down some. I will now check coil grounds to see if that fixes it.
So I found a bad ground on the shroud cover which may have been the original issue of shutting off and then starting. But after checking the coils and connections I did a 1 cylinder coil test left side still RPM bog, right side no RPM bog, so faulty coil. BUT spark plug check did not point me this direction Left side checked good, maybe because it was not firing, and right side had soot, loading up under one cylinder workouts. Don't always trust what you see!
Excellent follow up!! Thank you. Trouble shooting electrical is a nightmare, seriously. It took me, no joke, 5 years to finally find an electrical issue with my small boat. I actually found it accidently while doing a spark test. Aftermarket coil would fail after 25 minutes of running time. Coil never over heated, it would just gradually lose a spark.
Thanks big guy. Gonna give it a whirl. The battery light comes on when I start the engine. So I perforped a load test & sure as shooting, the battery is very weak. I am going to put a new battery in it first. Then I will move to the coils. But logic dictates if the battery sucks, the coils performance is going to suffer.
Best of luck. Keep us posted on how you made out. Thank you
I put a new battery in it. IThey've been out cutting for 3 days now & no complaints!
So it made sense that the coils didn't perform, because the battery was so weak it couldn't generate enough juice to give a good spark.
Without your video, I would NEVER have considered a weak spark as the issue. Thanks for getting me to think outside the box.
@@bigguydiy2184 .
Well, going on 2 months now, everythimg is A-ok.
Much thanks again from Oshawa Canada.
I have a JD GT275 with a 17 HP Kawasaki, sometimes the mower will run okay for an hour or so, then begin to sound like it's starved for fuel and begin to die, sometimes it starts right away, I shut off the pto and choke it, get a small cloud of black smoke, then throttle back and it takes a second or two to smooth itself out, then I hit the pto and same thing. I've replaced the fuel lines, filter, fuel pump, drained the tank, vacuumed it out, etc. I've not tried this, but I don't know if it's the same thing. I guess it won't hurt to try. Thanks.
Pretty much the same issue I had, I cannot remember the cost of the coil off hand but it was not expensive. I know one of the coils is what runs the PTO. Cannot hurt to swap 1 out. The one I swapped ran the PTO. Since creating this video, the owner has had zero issues when the mower deck is now engaged.
@@bigguydiy2184 , well I've solved my issue anyway. The one thing I should've checked in the first place was the sediment bowl under the carb. There's a needle type of valve screwed into it with a wire plugged into it that connects to a type of sender attached to the oil filter housing. Anyway, I removed it and found that a spring loaded needle type thing which goes up between the float was full of junk. I cleaned it and the bowl, put it back together and it runs great. I'd like to know what that thing is that screws into the sediment bowl, I'd attach a photo if I could.
Its a fuel shut off solenoid. The motor I worked on has the same part. It stop fuel from going into the motor when the key is off and when the key is on, the plunger pulls back to allow fuel flow into the carb. If fuel sits to long in the carb or you get sediment in the bowl, it can effect how this plunger works. This part is known to cause fuel delivery issues over the year. One of those deals where they are trying to create a "better mouse trap" but the original mouse trap still get the job done. It also helps in preventing back fire when you turn your motor off.
@@bigguydiy2184 Thanks a lot, yeah, it appears I'm still having issues so I'm replacing the carb (it's cheap) and along with it comes another fuel shutoff solenoid. I have a feeling that things causing issues because it's not all the time which leads me to believe it's more mechanical than electrical. Thanks a lot for your reply.
I was been waiting to comment until I had enough time on the mower to see if this fixed my issue. I have the LX277 with the 17 HP Kawasaki engine. I would randomly loss power, sometimes it would come right back, and sometimes to problem would take 15 mins or more to come back. Very hard to diagnose since it did not happen every time I used the tractor. I replaced the coils last summer and have never had the loss of power issue since. Thank you for the advise. This fixed my issue.
I am very glad this helped!! Electrical trouble shooting is a hit or miss. This was a hit!
Thanks Big Guy, I'm having the same issue with my Husqvarna mower, Kawasaki FR730V 26HP. The electric PTO (when engaged) causes the mower to bog and lose power. I will order 2 new coils and see if they are the issue. I appreciate you bud, thanks for the info on this.... keep the videos coming sir.
Did that help ?
@@JoseEstrada-ig6fg Sorry but it didn't, I'm still trying to get it straight. It was worth a try though Jose.
@@Big_Johns I have the same issue on mine, I also have a husqvarna ride on mower, any news?
@@carloscisternas7275 No sir, I replaced the 2 coils and re-set the valve lash with no improvement. I'm still trying but its my backup mower so its on back burner for now. If I get it figured out I'll be sure to let you know.
@@Big_Johns Hey thanks for the reply, I will try a couple of things my self, I will post them here if they work,
My 2006 X520 with the Kawasaki liquid cooled twin had this issue. I wanted to pull my hair out. Replaced the coils, fixed. That was a few years back, wish I had this video back then. 😖
Thanks for sharing
While this seems to be an excellent fix, the mower deck being electrical has nothing to do with the coils. The coils generate their own power by the interaction of spinning magnets on the flywheel, completely independent from the mower electrical system. The only wire, other than the plug wire, is a ground used to shut the engine off.
Though the coil(s) may be independent of the mower deck, a coil failing, not generating the needed electricity for all electrical to run correctly, engaging the mower deck exacerbated the issue taking power away from the coil to generate enough spark for the motor to run correctly & smoothly. So your correct on the mower deck is independent of the coil. The mower deck was used to figure out the failure of the coil.
I have come across similar issues with boats. Boat engine runs fine until the Trim and Tilt is used for the outdrive and the motor starts bucking. Though the drive is separate of the motor, it's draw on electricity was enough to effect the coil which effected the spark to the engine. This is after going through all ground connections being sure they are cleaned and tight on the motor and accessories. A bad ground wire can have the same effect on losing spark from a coil. It is very tricky trouble shooting & working with electricity. Sometimes it can be a quick fix, other times it will take me weeks, even years (as in my boat) to find the culprit.
@@bigguydiy2184 I am not trying to be argumentative, just wanting to understand your logic because it doesn't make sense in my head. I had a JD with the exact same symptoms as yours and it wasn't the coils for sure.
Both the ignition coils and the alternator--which actually provides the electricity to power the mower's electrical system--require very little RMP to be effective. Even with an ill running engine the ignition coils would provide full spark at any speed--think of this, the coils provide full spark at the pull of a cord or starter crank--which negates your theory of the deck taking power away from the ignition coils.
You are probably thinking that if the RPMs drop or surge that would affect the ignition coils. That is not the case.
The alternator on the other hand, require a little more RPM from the engine than the ignition coils do but will work fine at as low as idle speed but unlike the ignition coils, its function may be affected by an ill running engine. I think you are confusing alternator power with ignition coil power. As you yourself agreed, the ignition coils are fully independent therefore, using that logic, nothing that happens on the alternator side would affect the ignition side.
One thing to think about as well is the fact that it would be extremely rare for both ignitions coils to go bad at the same time.
What I think is happening, is that the ignition coils are not properly grounded. Once I removed the coils I noticed quite a bit of corrosion on the mounting studs pads. I cleaned both the studs pads and the coils as well as the mounting bolts and the mowers has been working like a champ ever since. No more bogging or running rich. The coils seemed that they have never been removed so I used the same gap as they had before removing them--about a business card thickness. I didn't have a filler gauge.
Keep the videos coming. If it wasn't for your video I probably would have never tried messing with the coils.
LOL. Its all good!! This is really a great conversation, seriously! It goes to show how trouble shooting electrical is a PIA sometimes. HAHAHAHA Thank you so much for your reply!! This a great to help others figure out what is wrong and how they can fix it. Now with the cost of everything going up, thank you pandemic, it becomes even more important to try to do our own repairs to make ends meet or stay afloat I always say. I hope you have an awesome Summer Carlos! Again, thank you for your reply. I do appreciate it.
@@bigguydiy2184 the power generated by the ignition coils are 100% dedicated and used to fire the spark plugs.
You were likely just experiencing the reduction in engine power from a dead cylinder, caused by a faulty coil and no spark on one cylinder.
The ignition coils run on AC and the rest of the mowers electrical system is 12vDC so they do not mix.
One live cylinder will drive you around the yard but spinning the deck… that will likely take both cylinders banging.
Had the same problem and found the coil leads were dirty and corroded. Cleaned them and everything worked again.
Great to hear!
Long live the king !!! Grasias from Romania .
👏🏻 got a craftsman doing the same thing, it’s running a Briggs and Stratton Intek 19hp. You’ve given me something else to eliminate 👍🏻
Wow. This was an amazing find. I have a LA325 that is doing this exact same thing. I will for sure change the coils and see if that was the issue.
Lets us know if it worked out!
My X300 with 17HP Kawasaki is doing the same. Not as bad as this one, but when I engage the deck
I cannot press the hydrostatic pedal more than 1/3 before the engine starts bogging down. If I get into thick grass the engine bogs down. Going to have to give this a try.
Please let me know how you make out. That was the same issue with the JD, but it was worse just engaging the mower deck.
@@bigguydiy2184 Took it to the dealer, they say the valve guide on exhaust valve went bad, now cylinder is ruined. Parts and labor to replace head and everything is 1200.00, 1600.00 to replace the engine if/when they can get one. I don't like either option....guess I will be getting a new mower.
You have several options pending on what budget you are going to work with...Buy another mower I would go used to save $$) or if money is very tight and you feel confident about your mechanical skills, I would swap out the engine. I have done several engine swaps on a number of yard equipment, one being a JD. My friend did not check his oil levels and seized the motor.
IF you choose to swap out the motor here is the info you need first. From the motor block, look for a tag that has the model and serial number of that motor. Next, do a internet search for the exact motor. Doing this will give you 2 things, Price of replacement AND most important the specs! The specs you will need if you choose to go to another brand. You need the shaft size, shaft length, CC motor size (not Hp) and hole pattern of the motor block. It will take some finger walking to find a motor say a Kohler to replace a Kawasaki but it can be done with the specs. If you are not having any luck, you can actually email the customer service of motor company, ie Kohler, give them the specs you have from the old motor and they will recommend a motor or two that matches the specs. Honda will do this, Briggs and Stratton, Tecumseh as well. once they give you the motor they recommend, then go back to searching that specific motor for pricing. I have shopped Northern Tools for replacement motors, and Harbor Freight ( but their motors are a lower cheap in quality). The JD x300 is a very good GT (Garden Tractor) that will last for decades. When you do a search for used JDs in the 300 series, you will see models going back 10 to 30 years easily. I do not know where you live, but there is this repair place I came across years ago called Jim's Repairs. He is not a dealer but specializes in repairing JD's of all years and I mean ALL years. He may be also a good resource for a motor! Here is his link. www.jimsrepairjimstractors.com/Tractors.htm If you chose to leave JD, do your homework. There are a variety of tractors and the labels tell you how heavy duty they are: LT = Lawn Tractor/Light Tractor, YT = Yard Tractor, GT = Garden Tractor. I would buy from a dealer and not a big box store (if possible). Dealers will sell a better tractor capable of doing a good job and will stand behind their product. You will never see a JD 300 at a big box store for a good reason, ...quality. Same for Husqvarna, Toro, Cub Cadet, Kubota, Honda to name a few off the top of my head. The real quality tractors are sold at dealers.
Well, I hope I gave you some food for thought. Internet will help a lot on finding the info and product you may need. You just have to be patient on the searches and take notes. I wish you the best of luck to you!!
@@bigguydiy2184 Thank you Sir
Do yourself a huge favor put in a Kohler Engine problem solved
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA . Umm. No.
lol i have a cv730s 25 kohler command is doin the same thing as in the video
@@semperfish2522 ya so and you're point is what? And I'll bet you don't even have a Kohler Command
@@michaelsocash3407 he moron the Kohler KT725 V Twin 22 horsepower 725cc V Twin Engine in my tractor came with a 3 year unlimited hours warranty did you see that UNLIMITED HOURS and its designed after the Kohler Command Pro Commercial Engine so tell me better yet tell everyone what so funny when in the first place the Engine hes working on is a Kowalski not a Kohler 🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣
This is like watching a drunk guy who has no idea what he is donig, cheers to you!
Cheers!