Must have spent 4-5 hours off and on trying to figure out why my Kohler 19hp started surging. Your video was the only one I found that talked about the governor spring. I re-connected it and problem solved. Your videos are very high quality, clear and concise. Thank You! Your time and effort in producing these videos are much appreciated!
My husband has been teaching me how to fix things.. Hes at work today and I was to mow.. Unfortunately I havent been taught about the Snapper we have, but thanks to this video I was able to see our "slop spring" has been disconnected and could be my problem today. Lord willing that fixes it, and my husband will return from work and see his wife didnt need him to show her how this time 😍
Im really not sure what this spring is for, i really dont know. How wonderfully refreshing. A man who doesnt have to pretend he knows everything but knows enough to get the job done.
I'll be darned!! I have a Kohler Courage 19 HP and this is EXACTLY what was wrong. I reattached it and it's running beautifully now. Incredible!! Talk about a quick fix!!! Awesome!! THANKS!!!!
My D105 John Deere developed this issue after 1 year of ownership. Small Engine repair claimed it needed a new carb that cost $350.00 bucks. I wouldn't pay so I lived with the misfire and surging for a couple of grass cutting seasons. I finally ordered a carb through Amazon for $25.00 dollars and 6 weeks later from China I put it on. Still had the same issue so I checked the Governor linkage and adjusted. Run's great now. I retired recently from my 45 year career repairing Industrial Machinery and Electronics. Now I have time to repair my own stuff. Not get ripped off by unscrupulous small engine shops.
I have the D110 with same issue and only 45 hrs on it. Not making Deeres like they used to for sure,.1 tire on front dry rotted already. ignition replaced, sad fact.Update, this did fix my issue ^5 to the poster!
THIS IS ABSOLUTELY THE FIX! THE GOVERNOR SPRING IS ESSENTIAL! I DIDN'T BELIEVE IT UNTIL IT FIXED MINE! NOW SHE'S SMOOTH AS GLASS!!! THANK YOU MR. SALT!!!
I was so tired from working in the garage, that I fell asleep watching it the first time! You definitely caught my interest, so when I woke up, I watched it again, was very impressed, & subscribed & liked your video! I’ve always been better @ breaking things, than fixing things, from lack of knowledge & a good teacher. I think this is a great video, thanks!👍🏻
My 1980 Craftsman GT18 began having the same problem as described in the video a couple of weeks ago. I tried all the common fixes, flushing and cleaning the fuel system, replaced the filter, fresh fuel, checked the spark plugs, checked the air filter, etc. Now, after watching this video, I realize that I might have missed this dampening spring. I hope this works, as I love my GT18. Thanks again for posting.
Same, but I wasnt missing the spring connection. Everyone says to buy a B&S OEM carb for $100. Cost is 5x more than generics, but guaranteed to not surge like the new generics can.
i almost ripped the carburetor off, decided to look up the symptoms and found this video...thanks, saved me a lot of unnecessary work...my spring wasn't broke though it was just gummed up and stuck...i played around with it and now the surging has stopped :)
Glad the "easy spring" fix was the cure by freeing it up. I never thought of that also causing it, but it makes sense. A stuck/gummed up spring would have the same effect as a broken or missing one - no tension to take up slop in the linkage. Thanks for sharing 👍
Incredibly rescue!! I have a Honda HRR 216vka, was doing fine until the other day I pushed it deep into bushes then it started surging high and low. I already called warranty but saw your video last night so I checked it today, exactly same issue due to a spring not attaching anywhere. Took me 2 seconds to figure out where to attach it back. Thank you soooooo much for your video!!
Even after watching your video AND Looking at my machine, I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out WHAT does that spring even do? But I tell Ya, JOHN, You nailed it!! Sure nuff, I did exactly what you did and the revving stopped. THANK YOU --- THANK YOU --- THANK YOU !!!!!
Yep, it's a common issue & glad to hear this was the easy fix on yours too. The spring is taking out slop that develops in the linkage rod between the governor arm and carburetor throttle plate arm so it (the throttle plate) can't "flutter". The spring has little effect when the machines are new (why some comments are adamant the spring does bugger all) but as they age and the pushrod holes ovalize from vibration wear, the throttle hunting/surging really starts showing up in the low to mid throttle range if that spring is missing or busted.
Thank you! I've been trying to figure out if I could just bend that and replace it I have a break in the same spot and you're the only found that said so. It is used to return the throttle rod (Governor lever) back to close/start to prevent it from staying open causing potential surging and other throttle related issues.
Yep stretching it a bit and putting a new hook in the end works fine and it's still working fine all these years later. BTW - this tiny spring has absolutely nothing to do with any sort of throttle return; if it did, the carburetor wouldn't close back to idle when the tiny spring breaks. The throttle/governor return spring is much beefier and is located on the governor arm. This tiny spring's only purpose is to take slack out of the throttle linkage at the carburetor as the linkage hole wears larger over time, causing the butterfly to fluctuate as many others have correctly pointed out in the comments.
Good sir, I just bought a new husqvarna 22 horse riding mower and I've got less then 3 hours on it and it started to do the surging thing. I watched at LEAST 20 different videos and after I watched yours, I went out to see if that was the problem. As it turns out, ( and I have no IDEA what I did, but just by loosing up the top cover, and pushing the arm around a little, I tried starting it up and BAM: no more surging. I haven't the foggiest ideal what I did, but THANK YOU for suggesting the wire thing. I'm now a very HAPPY PERSON.
Glad to hear you got your new machine sorted. Don't you love those repairs where you can't find a bloody thing wrong, but after putting it back together it works fine. Almost sounds like something might have been sticking? Hope it continues to work well now. 👍
Thank you Mr. Salt for your video and thanks to Exinanition for your excellent explanation; my Kawasaki went into the permanent idle mode while mowing at full throttle ( I am a one-man, self employed landscaper), after a visual inspection, I saw the broken end of the spring hanging down and after pulling on the spring, engine revved up. Found some plyers, bent the spring and attached it to a screw hole; finished the mowing job and loaded the mower. Thank again guys! (and AbalengHero, God bless you; your husband is a lucky man!)
I had the same problem with a Craftsman Lawn Tractor, Briggs & Stattron engine, made the same repair as your video. The wire spring in my machine is far thinner than in your video. Won't have looked for that issue without this! Thanks
John, dude! THANKS! - I had the same exact problem on a John Deere LA115, saw your video and just stretched the spring a little and... Vwa-Lah, the engine stutter went away, like magic! Thanks a million!
Looking at the comments made to your video, l surmise you are a lawn mower HERO! Thanks for the trouble of posting this! Much appreciated! 🛴🚲🛵🏍🏎🚗🚒🚌🚜⚡️💫💥👍❤️👏👏👏👏👏💥🇺🇸
Great post John Salt. I have a John Deere LA110 that recently could not handle an increased engine load. I replaced the spark plug, fuel filter and air filter. I also removed the fuel shut off solenoid from the carburetor fuel bowl and tested it but that did not resolve the engine load problem. I found your post and decided to remove the engine hood and the governor spring was broken! I repaired the spring and the engine is now running normal under a load. I wish I had removed the engine hood earlier because I also discovered the engine fins were clogged with debris. I purchased my John Deere LA110 in 2007 and I maintain it myself according to the manufactures schedule. My John Deere LA110 with 700 hours of use has been a workhorse. I use it to mow 2 acres and clear snow (44" snow blower) from my large driveway along with an additional 2,000 feet of the neighborhood private street. I also have a Johnny Bucket for the front that allows me to move 10 cubic yards of mulch every spring. I did replace the original hydrostatic transmission with a unit from a larger John Deere model and added gator tires to have better traction mowing my ravine lot and clearing snow.
Thanks. This is EXTREMELY clear and specific. I really appreciate how clear it was when you talked about bending the end of the spring rod. I’ll check this when I get home. Also, great quality on the video and thanks for the super clean mower. Makes it easier to see the details.
I had the same problem, i was told to buy a large can of carb cleaner, remove the air filter and spray the whole can into the intake. I did and it super cleaned the carb, problem solved. Great video. Cheers.
My mower started doing the same thing. Replaced plugs, fuel pump & filters. No change, so the RUclips search began. This sounds exactly the way mine is doing and going to check that little spring tomorrow,!! Thanks so much for the video!!
My new JD is doing this with only 4 hours on it! Will check for the same issue. My old Ariens run like a champ for 6 years without issue. I just gave it to my daughter for the JD. now I want to trade back.
I'm guessing it's something else being that new as it's unlikely the anti-slack spring has failed already or that there is much slop in the linkage/pushrod yet; but it's an easy first check before digging deeper. Keeping fingers crossed it's an easy fix.
Very clear video , good job explaining everything , that was what was causing mine to surge , thank you for making this you saved me a lot of time and money
I also have the same engine and carby in a MTD, it was running very rough and surging too, i did re adjust that spring, it helped a little, but the major improvement was, cleaning the flywheel and magneto/coil contact area, from rust and the build up of other crap, now it starts straight away and idles and revs very smooth.. i did notice on your video that your flywheel has a lot of rust build up too. I seems that keeping the flywheel ,magneto/coil contacts clean, is overlooked by many..
@@cjoakman7715 THE main cause of a surge is a lack of fuel , most likely in the float bowl or main jet area, clean it and put a new filter on and fire it up!
My spring was not broke or detached but it WAS the problem. After watching your video, and trying 3 different carbs, I shortened the spring and it fixed the surging. I am guessing that over time it just stretched out. Thanks!
Nice video, very clean machine. You’re on point with your problem solving. The only thing I would say is I might mess with bending that spring around in an emergency and while waiting for a new one. I would definitely replace the spring with a new one though because it won’t be quite right tension wise until you do and it’s just so cheap you’ll be crazy not to.
Yes, I ordered a new spring shortly after the video and planned on replacing it when the repair failed. That was six years ago now and the "repaired" spring is still holding fine as per the pinned comment. Tension on this spring is not at all critical; its only job it to take up the slack that develops in the pushrod linkage.
Correct problem diagnosis about spring. Repair ok, but go ahead and order new spring. Temporary rebending of spring end wont last. Good video and explanation.
There it is! Thanks John and commenters (not all of you, don't get cocky). My Briggs & Stratton lawnmower runs great again! Cleaned all the linkages and gave them some dry lube.
Very similar problem, watched video. Mine is missing! I've already done everything else...lol... But I'm sure it needed the TLC. Ordering spring today. THANK YOU for this video, I'd still be shooting in the dark if it weren't for you man, Thank you again.
I had sort of same issue at throughout the slow to fast idle on two mowers. The governor kept surging. I changed several things like filters plugs checked carb and so forth. After researching online i came to the conclusion that the governor on the inside of block was broke. I messed with it a few more times before I went that far and the simplest thing was take carb cleaner and just spray all linkages down good and apply a little wd-40. Problem solved. I had brushed and cleaned the carb and linkages before, but didn't really spray clean them. Just a little food for thought to anyone who is having similar issues. Thanks for the video.
If you round off the edges of the hole the spring goes through, the spring shouldn't break again. The grease might hold onto any dirt or debris that lands there.A shoe lace impregnated with some metal cutting/buffing compound should make a great tool for doing this.
Good tip & good proposed method with compound on a shoe lace. This original modded spring is still holding 3 years later believe it or not. I was sure it would break shortly after as others commented it would, but no issues at all. The hole has already rounded off on the edges a fair amount so maybe that is why it's still lasting? No question, having a radius on the edges of the holes should certainly help spread the load over having a sharp contact point.
Well, after I tried loosening the gas cap, put in a new fuel filter, a new fuel pump and a new carburettor, I checked the fuel hoses and they were clear. So I checked 12 volts to the solenoid. It was there and steady - no bad connection. I was out of ideas and then thought of one more. Can I blow air into the gas tank? Nope, it was clogged tight. I used compressed air to blow it clear and now it finally runs like new.
I got a craftsman riding mower and it’s doing the same thing! I’ll check that tomorrow and see and I’ll leave an update comment if it works. Thanks for the help!
It's an anti surge spring and just prevents the throttle from over compensating due to it being hooked to the governor and not directly to the throttle.
Thank you for this video. I noticed that on my Troy Bilt B&S engine that vertical governor arm (or whatever it is called) jumps back and forth like someone crossing hot sand as the engine surges/slows/surges/slows then quits. First thing today is for me to check that tiny wire spring. BTW, $200 for that? Boy am I in the wrong business!!
Mine was surging at mid and high rpms. I changed the air filter, carbs, the fuel filter with the shut off valve, I made sure air and fuel lines were okay. Then I came across this video and of course mine didn’t have that spring. I tested it with a rubber band. It stopped surging completely!!! I ordered the spring from Amazon to replace the rubber band. lol
I think this may be my problem, At first I thought a spring might be missing from the black choke cam as there are 2 holes with nothing. I see thatès normal. so when I get to the ranch Ièll check this out. Thanks for the post.
I have a Murray that turned 21 years old this summer and it still runs strong. Always used synthetic oil in it before all the cool kids did. Used Honda 4 stroke racing oil in it when I rode dirt bikes. The carbs for these are so cheap anymore that instead of rebuilding them I just toss them and bolt a new one on. Plugs are also cheap insurance. I did keep the original for keepsake. I hate the throttle linkage setup on the Briggs. The choke setup having to put it at full throttle for startup makes zero sense. I'll set the choke for a few minutes and pull it back down to start at low idle and it works every time.
These springs are on most all small engine throttle systems, no matter who manufactured it. The governors are similar in operation on all of them. Any slack between the throttle shaft in the carburetor and the actual governor flyweight assembly inside the crankcase will cause surging! Sometime even if there's no play, a restriction in the metering orifices inside the carb.,causing a lean mixture will cause surging.
Wow - have the same problem and just checked for the spring - zilch! Also missing is the plastic grommet that the link fits into the top of carby lever - that's gone as well. Thanks for the video - I would have been looking everywhere else but the spring. Cheers!
Was thinking it was the transmission belt on my Westwood S1600…but it was the little spring. It hadn’t broken but had no spring power. Fixed that and bingo…no surging. Cheers.
this is exactly how my mower is acting. did all the basic things still surging and misfiring. Was just getting ready to rip it open... will check this first. I have a BnG, so we'll see.... I will report back.
If you rince your mower engine like I always do,,,be sure to check the magnetic pickup on your flywheel because it will rust and cause surge and backfire also,,,just use a little sandpaper...mine drove me crazy until I realized it...
Hi John, Don't care if it works or not. Finally found out what that spring was for. I have a Kholer that does the same thing. Will look at it. I have bastardized this mower to the most simple wiring and carburetor. My biggest problem is blades and tires. Doing road work in the Caribbean. I use it more as a rock chopper and spiky tree cut offs. I want to thank you. Forgot what a new mower looks like.
Always wondered what that little spring did but never gave it much thought. Just put it back where it went..But i can see what ya saying now.Thanks for the wisdom..Roll Tide
As others have correctly pointed out, that tiny little spring has zero impact on governor function. Its only function is to take up the slack that develops overtime between the linkage rod and carburetor arm. If they used a Delrin/similar high wear bushing in that pushrod linkage hole instead of metal on metal contact, the spring wouldn't even be required as there would be no wear to compensate for.
My S170 only has about 20 hours (yes, two zero) on it, and started surging. Today I flushed the tank and line, still surges badly. So this evening I went to RUclips and found this easy fix. Don't know why the spring would break after only 20 hours, but I intend to check it out tomorrow. Hope this is it!
I have a S170 with 38.8 hours…. With a blown head gasket. Oil blowing all overt the air filter, oil all over the right plug ( and white smoke from right side). …. 38.8 hours……
Good vid, very interesting, and ill remember it case i ever start having surging and missfire. i just bought a john deere 115auto and it runs great and got full power but it seems to backfire, (only when starting and stopping) I just found out about the hot/cold start settings so im gonna try setting the throttle correctly first, if that doesnt stop it. then replace the sparkplug. i think changing the air filter is a good idea too. Thanks for posting!
Just slapped a new carb on an old Briggs 17hp motor. That spring is there, but I am concerned it is misshapen a bit due to swapping carbs / cleaning carbs a few times. I am going to give it a really good look. It and the rod on which it is wrapped may also have been bent out of alignment somewhat. My engine does surge.
That mower has 200 hours on it? It looks factory new! What do cut? Putting greens right after the golf club professionally mows them? Then it spends the rest of the day getting detailed? Impressive!
John thanks for the info I have the same B&S engine in my Craftsman tractor and was experiencing the same surging condition yesterday but this (governor link spring) part #691842 was properly attached so I replaced it anyway due to 6 years of age and fatigue. while I was replacing that spring today I also found that there is a (governor spring) part #796260 about an inch long and maybe 3/8" in diameter located behind the metal plate and throttle cable mount assembly visible at 7:57 that can be causing the same problem, work the linkage back and forth and observe that spring movement, in my case it wasn't even stretching the least bit on either end to tightening up anything so I wound up removing the whole plate assembly held on by 3 small bolts and shortened the spring by about 2 coils to make it tight enough so that it would tighten the linkage all the way back towards the back of the engine and this completely fixed the problem, later I found a RUclips video where someone had just bent the spring mounting tab on one end outward more to increase the spring tension, which if I had known first would have made my day a lot easier. One thing I learned through a lot of B&S and B.S. research is while diagnosing the surging condition with the engine running hold the linkage steady so it doesn't cycle back and forth and see if it stops the surging if it does than the spring(s) and or linkage is at fault, if it doesn't stop it the problem is most likely something in the carburetor with a blocked passage.
at 7:49 That U shaped rod/linkage/wire whatever you want to call it. seems to get stuck when you full choke and your motor will chug until the motors vibrations lets it go back in place. This is when you choke then the motor starts and then you put the motor to normal running speed. except it now chugs because that U shaped wire thing has a hard time going back into the not choked position.
LT 1500 Ran like a clock. That is: At any speed or load the engine would violently surge every 2 seconds. The governor instantaneously opened the carburetor and dumped fuel into the engine. The spring in question was not broken. But, the long end of the spring had one wrap around the linkage rod. Apparently that was enough to cause the problem. Reinstalled the spring so that the rod didn't interfere with the spring movement. 90% of the surging went away.
Hello, I was experiencing the same issue, inspected my spring, but found intact, however little to no tension on the spring, shorted spring by 1/4 of an inch and corrected surging. Thx.
It's takes out the play in the distance.& slack in the rod. When it actuwaits back& fourth on the govern linkage rod at high.& idle speed controled by the throttle cable. It's called A tention spring for taking out the slack.& play in the rod is basically all. Witch you seen if it's breaks how.& what happens in that type of situations like that alone. The fuel agitator spray pump silanode is inside of the carburetor bowl to with wires comming out of it aswell. That can cause the same affect also if it's suck.,or clogged up to.,or there's dirt.& debris inside of the bowl.& agitator silanode aswell.
my new, but old Stratton is doing exact surging thing, I just went to check right now, and my spring is detached, I will fix it tomorrow to see if it works
So I tried pretty much everything I was able to find in your videos. I have a Kawasaki FR730 on a zero turn. It seemed to be giving me “dirty carburetor” trouble. I say this because every time I used carburetor cleaner I was able to cut two acres of grass. I refuel every month and use stabilizer. I decided it was easier to replace the carburetor than take it apart and clean it so I bought one on Amazon that brings fuel pump and air filter. I replace it and it bogs down if I increase the throttle too fast or when I put a load on it. I check if both cylinders were firing, I changed the sparks, oil and tightened the springs that go to the governor. It starts and gets to full throttle if I increase it very slowly. Once there it starts to misfire and eventually die out. Not sure what to do.
Maybe you could help me with this question, I got an old craftsman 12 horse Rider with a Briggs & Stratton engine, my governor has linkage with the spring the same as the one you have there, my engine is surging back-and-forth constantly, you can see the linkage and governor going back-and-forth back-and-forth, I took the carburetor off and totally cleaned it and rebuilt with new nozzles and jets, also bought a brand new spring from Briggs & Stratton put it all back together and the governor and linkage is still surging back-and-forth even with the new spring, if I hold the governor with my finger I can make it idle smoothly so I assume it’s not the carburetor right? I can’t figure out why when I take my finger off that linkage and governor it is still bouncing back-and-forth causing it to surge , it’s the older one piece Flo-jet carburetor, any ideas? Thanks
Sounds like an issue with either the mechanical governor or something binding or loose in the governed linkages to the carb. All the linkages should be free to move easily, if they are sticking, surging/hunting will occur. Same can be said for a weak governor spring with slop or linkage slop but if you hold the governor arm steady, and that gets rid of it - it sounds like it could be the internal governor mechanism. If it's the actual mechanical governor that is hunting, that is an engine apart repair I believe on that specific engine - I'm no expert on Briggs of course. Use your Google Fu to get diagrams of your specific engine model's governor linkage & spring layout & fault trace procedure.
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June 2024 six year update with 350 hrs now. This spring repair is still holding.
That is EXACTLY what that spring is for. Tightens up linkage slop to help prevent surging. Thanks for the video
Must have spent 4-5 hours off and on trying to figure out why my Kohler 19hp started surging. Your video was the only one I found that talked about the governor spring. I re-connected it and problem solved. Your videos are very high quality, clear and concise. Thank You! Your time and effort in producing these videos are much appreciated!
My husband has been teaching me how to fix things.. Hes at work today and I was to mow.. Unfortunately I havent been taught about the Snapper we have, but thanks to this video I was able to see our "slop spring" has been disconnected and could be my problem today. Lord willing that fixes it, and my husband will return from work and see his wife didnt need him to show her how this time 😍
Your husband is a lucky man.
@@davedennis6042 Agreed!
marry me!
Wow he is lucky
Is it a red snapper 😏
Im really not sure what this spring is for, i really dont know. How wonderfully refreshing. A man who doesnt have to pretend he knows everything but knows enough to get the job done.
I'll be darned!! I have a Kohler Courage 19 HP and this is EXACTLY what was wrong. I reattached it and it's running beautifully now. Incredible!! Talk about a quick fix!!! Awesome!! THANKS!!!!
My D105 John Deere developed this issue after 1 year of ownership. Small Engine repair claimed it needed a new carb that cost $350.00 bucks. I wouldn't pay so I lived with the misfire and surging for a couple of grass cutting seasons. I finally ordered a carb through Amazon for $25.00 dollars and 6 weeks later from China I put it on. Still had the same issue so I checked the Governor linkage and adjusted. Run's great now. I retired recently from my 45 year career repairing Industrial Machinery and Electronics. Now I have time to repair my own stuff. Not get ripped off by unscrupulous small engine shops.
I have the D110 with same issue and only 45 hrs on it. Not making Deeres like they used to for sure,.1 tire on front dry rotted already. ignition replaced, sad fact.Update, this did fix my issue ^5 to the poster!
Great close ups, and good explanation of the issues, sometimes it is the simplest fix's that are overlooked. This was a great tutorial, Thank you.
Thanks for watching!
THIS IS ABSOLUTELY THE FIX! THE GOVERNOR SPRING IS ESSENTIAL! I DIDN'T BELIEVE IT UNTIL IT FIXED MINE! NOW SHE'S SMOOTH AS GLASS!!! THANK YOU MR. SALT!!!
You literally have no idea how much you helped me, we spent a hours upon hours and it was literally so easy. Thanks again keep it up.
Great to hear! 🙂
I was so mad with my lawnmower i almost pushed it by the road and got rid of it. You video saved me thankyou!!
Glad it helped.
I was so tired from working in the garage, that I fell asleep watching it the first time! You definitely caught my interest, so when I woke up, I watched it again, was very impressed, & subscribed & liked your video! I’ve always been better @ breaking things, than fixing things, from lack of knowledge & a good teacher. I think this is a great video, thanks!👍🏻
That's called a surge spring,commom issue broken off,theres only a few things that cause surge
You just taught me a $100.00 dollar lesson. Thank you my brother.
Glad to be helpful.
My 1980 Craftsman GT18 began having the same problem as described in the video a couple of weeks ago. I tried all the common fixes, flushing and cleaning the fuel system, replaced the filter, fresh fuel, checked the spark plugs, checked the air filter, etc. Now, after watching this video, I realize that I might have missed this dampening spring. I hope this works, as I love my GT18. Thanks again for posting.
Same, but I wasnt missing the spring connection. Everyone says to buy a B&S OEM carb for $100. Cost is 5x more than generics, but guaranteed to not surge like the new generics can.
i almost ripped the carburetor off, decided to look up the symptoms and found this video...thanks, saved me a lot of unnecessary work...my spring wasn't broke though it was just gummed up and stuck...i played around with it and now the surging has stopped :)
Glad the "easy spring" fix was the cure by freeing it up. I never thought of that also causing it, but it makes sense. A stuck/gummed up spring would have the same effect as a broken or missing one - no tension to take up slop in the linkage. Thanks for sharing 👍
Incredibly rescue!! I have a Honda HRR 216vka, was doing fine until the other day I pushed it deep into bushes then it started surging high and low. I already called warranty but saw your video last night so I checked it today, exactly same issue due to a spring not attaching anywhere. Took me 2 seconds to figure out where to attach it back. Thank you soooooo much for your video!!
Even after watching your video AND Looking at my machine, I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out WHAT does that spring even do?
But I tell Ya, JOHN, You nailed it!! Sure nuff, I did exactly what you did and the revving stopped.
THANK YOU --- THANK YOU --- THANK YOU !!!!!
Yep, it's a common issue & glad to hear this was the easy fix on yours too. The spring is taking out slop that develops in the linkage rod between the governor arm and carburetor throttle plate arm so it (the throttle plate) can't "flutter". The spring has little effect when the machines are new (why some comments are adamant the spring does bugger all) but as they age and the pushrod holes ovalize from vibration wear, the throttle hunting/surging really starts showing up in the low to mid throttle range if that spring is missing or busted.
Thank you! I've been trying to figure out if I could just bend that and replace it I have a break in the same spot and you're the only found that said so.
It is used to return the throttle rod (Governor lever) back to close/start to prevent it from staying open causing potential surging and other throttle related issues.
Yep stretching it a bit and putting a new hook in the end works fine and it's still working fine all these years later.
BTW - this tiny spring has absolutely nothing to do with any sort of throttle return; if it did, the carburetor wouldn't close back to idle when the tiny spring breaks. The throttle/governor return spring is much beefier and is located on the governor arm.
This tiny spring's only purpose is to take slack out of the throttle linkage at the carburetor as the linkage hole wears larger over time, causing the butterfly to fluctuate as many others have correctly pointed out in the comments.
Good sir, I just bought a new husqvarna 22 horse riding mower and I've got less then 3 hours on it and it started to do the surging thing. I watched at LEAST 20 different videos and after I watched yours, I went out to see if that was the problem.
As it turns out, ( and I have no IDEA what I did, but just by loosing up the top cover, and pushing the arm around a little, I tried starting it up and BAM: no more surging. I haven't the foggiest ideal what I did, but THANK YOU for suggesting the wire thing.
I'm now a very HAPPY PERSON.
Glad to hear you got your new machine sorted. Don't you love those repairs where you can't find a bloody thing wrong, but after putting it back together it works fine. Almost sounds like something might have been sticking? Hope it continues to work well now. 👍
Thank you Mr. Salt for your video and thanks to Exinanition
for your
excellent explanation; my Kawasaki went into the permanent idle mode while mowing at full throttle ( I am a one-man, self employed landscaper), after a visual inspection, I saw the broken end of the spring hanging down and after pulling on the spring, engine revved up. Found some plyers, bent the spring and attached it to a screw hole; finished the mowing job and loaded the mower. Thank again guys! (and
AbalengHero, God bless you; your husband is a lucky man!)
I bet you small engine shops suggested that Lousy spring in metal connections. And they can fix it for $500. $200 part and $300 labour. Scam.
I had the same problem with a Craftsman Lawn Tractor, Briggs & Stattron engine, made the same repair as your video. The wire spring in my machine is far thinner than in your video. Won't have looked for that issue without this! Thanks
John, dude! THANKS! - I had the same exact problem on a John Deere LA115, saw your video and just stretched the spring a little and... Vwa-Lah, the engine stutter went away, like magic! Thanks a million!
Glad yours was an easy "slop spring fix" as well.
Kawasaki FH680V This was exactly my issue. Thanks for posting this quick fix. Worked like a charm.
HOLY SHEET! I can't get over how clean the lawnmower is. I mean that is better than new from the factory. Weird.
Lol had to laugh at your comment, i was thinking same thing
City mowers never get dirty, lucky ducks in that regard 🙂
You should see mine! It’s a 2007 and looks brand new. I also have a 1984 John Deere 216 that is completely original and still looks new.
Looking at the comments made to your video, l surmise you are a lawn mower HERO! Thanks for the trouble of posting this! Much appreciated!
🛴🚲🛵🏍🏎🚗🚒🚌🚜⚡️💫💥👍❤️👏👏👏👏👏💥🇺🇸
Glad to help
I have
Great post John Salt. I have a John Deere LA110 that recently could not handle an increased engine load. I replaced the spark plug, fuel filter and air filter. I also removed the fuel shut off solenoid from the carburetor fuel bowl and tested it but that did not resolve the engine load problem. I found your post and decided to remove the engine hood and the governor spring was broken! I repaired the spring and the engine is now running normal under a load. I wish I had removed the engine hood earlier because I also discovered the engine fins were clogged with debris. I purchased my John Deere LA110 in 2007 and I maintain it myself according to the manufactures schedule. My John Deere LA110 with 700 hours of use has been a workhorse. I use it to mow 2 acres and clear snow (44" snow blower) from my large driveway along with an additional 2,000 feet of the neighborhood private street. I also have a Johnny Bucket for the front that allows me to move 10 cubic yards of mulch every spring. I did replace the original hydrostatic transmission with a unit from a larger John Deere model and added gator tires to have better traction mowing my ravine lot and clearing snow.
Now that's using your equipment. I'm impressed.
Thanks. This is EXTREMELY clear and specific. I really appreciate how clear it was when you talked about bending the end of the spring rod. I’ll check this when I get home. Also, great quality on the video and thanks for the super clean mower. Makes it easier to see the details.
I had the same problem, i was told to buy a large can of carb cleaner, remove the air filter and spray the whole can into the intake. I did and it super cleaned the carb, problem solved. Great video. Cheers.
Appreciate the view 🙂👍
My mower started doing the same thing. Replaced plugs, fuel pump & filters. No change, so the RUclips search began. This sounds exactly the way mine is doing and going to check that little spring tomorrow,!! Thanks so much for the video!!
YES, that 'little' spring can cause big headaches!
My new JD is doing this with only 4 hours on it! Will check for the same issue. My old Ariens run like a champ for 6 years without issue. I just gave it to my daughter for the JD. now I want to trade back.
I'm guessing it's something else being that new as it's unlikely the anti-slack spring has failed already or that there is much slop in the linkage/pushrod yet; but it's an easy first check before digging deeper. Keeping fingers crossed it's an easy fix.
Very clear video , good job explaining everything , that was what was causing mine to surge , thank you for making this you saved me a lot of time and money
I also have the same engine and carby in a MTD, it was running very rough and surging too, i did re adjust that spring, it helped a little, but the major improvement was, cleaning the flywheel and magneto/coil contact area, from rust and the build up of other crap, now it starts straight away and idles and revs very smooth.. i did notice on your video that your flywheel has a lot of rust build up too. I seems that keeping the flywheel ,magneto/coil contacts clean, is overlooked by many..
Are you sure about that? As long as it is grounded well, from my limited understanding of how it works, I wouldn't expect it to make any difference.
That's not how magnets work my friend. I'm not saying nothing changed after you did this but I don't think this was the reason.
the rust will not affect your mower unless it has built up so much that it starts hitting the coil legs or caused the magnets to weaken somehow.
@@cjoakman7715 THE main cause of a surge is a lack of fuel , most likely in the float bowl or main jet area, clean it and put a new filter on and fire it up!
This would make sense if the problem is the engine overheating because the rust makes the iron hotter. I wonder if that's the problem I'm having.
My spring was not broke or detached but it WAS the problem. After watching your video, and trying 3 different carbs, I shortened the spring and it fixed the surging. I am guessing that over time it just stretched out. Thanks!
Hey, The spring is for preventing the left and right motion of the carburetor flap which causes the surging/hunting movement of the lawnmower
Nice video, very clean machine. You’re on point with your problem solving. The only thing I would say is I might mess with bending that spring around in an emergency and while waiting for a new one. I would definitely replace the spring with a new one though because it won’t be quite right tension wise until you do and it’s just so cheap you’ll be crazy not to.
Yes, I ordered a new spring shortly after the video and planned on replacing it when the repair failed. That was six years ago now and the "repaired" spring is still holding fine as per the pinned comment. Tension on this spring is not at all critical; its only job it to take up the slack that develops in the pushrod linkage.
Very useful video. Seems to apply to many engine brands, judging by the comments. I'll file this one away for future reference. Thanks!
Thank you.
Correct problem diagnosis about spring. Repair ok, but go ahead and order new spring. Temporary rebending of spring end wont last. Good video and explanation.
There it is! Thanks John and commenters (not all of you, don't get cocky). My Briggs & Stratton lawnmower runs great again! Cleaned all the linkages and gave them some dry lube.
Right on!
Hi Rick was your B&S lawn mower have the 6.5 Intek engine ?
Thank you for the video. This fixed the stalling issues/symptoms my Husqvarna had.
Glad it helped
You got a super clean engine for 200 hrs! Thanks for the info!
Thanks for watching 🙂
Thx bud. Only video that I found that deals with this. So much help.
Glad I could help 🙂
Thanks for the video. I recently replaced my sump gasket and apparently lost that little guy in the process. Thanks to you, problem solved.
Very similar problem, watched video. Mine is missing! I've already done everything else...lol... But I'm sure it needed the TLC. Ordering spring today. THANK YOU for this video, I'd still be shooting in the dark if it weren't for you man, Thank you again.
Hope that's it 🙂
this is happening to mine after 200 hours. Thank you
I had sort of same issue at throughout the slow to fast idle on two mowers. The governor kept surging. I changed several things like filters plugs checked carb and so forth. After researching online i came to the conclusion that the governor on the inside of block was broke. I messed with it a few more times before I went that far and the simplest thing was take carb cleaner and just spray all linkages down good and apply a little wd-40. Problem solved. I had brushed and cleaned the carb and linkages before, but didn't really spray clean them. Just a little food for thought to anyone who is having similar issues. Thanks for the video.
Thanks for sharing the good tip.
If you round off the edges of the hole the spring goes through, the spring shouldn't break again. The grease might hold onto any dirt or debris that lands there.A shoe lace impregnated with some metal cutting/buffing compound should make a great tool for doing this.
Good tip & good proposed method with compound on a shoe lace. This original modded spring is still holding 3 years later believe it or not. I was sure it would break shortly after as others commented it would, but no issues at all. The hole has already rounded off on the edges a fair amount so maybe that is why it's still lasting? No question, having a radius on the edges of the holes should certainly help spread the load over having a sharp contact point.
Use a q tip on a drill dipped in compound
Well, after I tried loosening the gas cap, put in a new fuel filter, a new fuel pump and a new carburettor, I checked the fuel hoses and they were clear. So I checked 12 volts to the solenoid. It was there and steady - no bad connection. I was out of ideas and then thought of one more. Can I blow air into the gas tank? Nope, it was clogged tight. I used compressed air to blow it clear and now it finally runs like new.
What was clogged?
My brand new John Deere mower is surging at startup only for about 15 seconds. No misfire yet. So I'm going right now to check that spring. Thanks
MANY Thanks !! I had mine break on the other end and you showed me where it went. Great help.
Glad it helped
Thought this was gonna be my fix. My wire still connected. Still surging. Thanks for the video!
Sorry it wasn't this "easy" fix on yours.
Might be gunk in the carb float area drop the bowl poll the pin on the float lift out clean every thing and reassemble.
I got a craftsman riding mower and it’s doing the same thing! I’ll check that tomorrow and see and I’ll leave an update comment if it works. Thanks for the help!
So, did that fix your problem?
@@XavierGM503 - No update, it broke! LOL
It's been two years, I guess it didn't work 😂
@@Grant849 it sadly didn’t work. I sold that pos😄
It's an anti surge spring and just prevents the throttle from over compensating due to it being hooked to the governor and not directly to the throttle.
Thank you for this video. I noticed that on my Troy Bilt B&S engine that vertical governor arm (or whatever it is called) jumps back and forth like someone crossing hot sand as the engine surges/slows/surges/slows then quits. First thing today is for me to check that tiny wire spring. BTW, $200 for that? Boy am I in the wrong business!!
Mine was surging at mid and high rpms. I changed the air filter, carbs, the fuel filter with the shut off valve, I made sure air and fuel lines were okay. Then I came across this video and of course mine didn’t have that spring. I tested it with a rubber band. It stopped surging completely!!! I ordered the spring from Amazon to replace the rubber band. lol
Thanks for the vid. Good info. Some small engine repair shops may sell a small grommet to help prevent metal on metal wear.
I think this may be my problem, At first I thought a spring might be missing from the black choke cam as there are 2 holes with nothing. I see thatès normal. so when I get to the ranch Ièll check this out. Thanks for the post.
Im more impressed how clean your mower is lol..im thinking "hows this brand new mower having problems already"
🙂
One of the most simplest yet most overlooked thing. In my case is was connected however the "spring" part was worn out and had next to no tension
Excellent presentation, i would never of thought that
I have a Murray that turned 21 years old this summer and it still runs strong. Always used synthetic oil in it before all the cool kids did. Used Honda 4 stroke racing oil in it when I rode dirt bikes. The carbs for these are so cheap anymore that instead of rebuilding them I just toss them and bolt a new one on. Plugs are also cheap insurance. I did keep the original for keepsake. I hate the throttle linkage setup on the Briggs. The choke setup having to put it at full throttle for startup makes zero sense. I'll set the choke for a few minutes and pull it back down to start at low idle and it works every time.
These springs are on most all small engine throttle systems, no matter who manufactured it. The governors are similar in operation on all of them. Any slack between the throttle shaft in the carburetor and the actual governor flyweight assembly inside the crankcase will cause surging! Sometime even if there's no play, a restriction in the metering orifices inside the carb.,causing a lean mixture will cause surging.
i'm having the same issue as well, i thought that it was the feul filter and the spark plug this video helped me
Glad you got yours sorted too.
Wow - have the same problem and just checked for the spring - zilch! Also missing is the plastic grommet that the link fits into the top of carby lever - that's gone as well. Thanks for the video - I would have been looking everywhere else but the spring. Cheers!
Same issue with my John Deere x530 and it fixed it. Thanks! 🙏🏼
Was thinking it was the transmission belt on my Westwood S1600…but it was the little spring. It hadn’t broken but had no spring power. Fixed that and bingo…no surging. Cheers.
👍
Thank you. I checked this first. Exactly my problem. Thank you again.
Glad it helped
Learn something new every day!
this is exactly how my mower is acting. did all the basic things still surging and misfiring. Was just getting ready to rip it open... will check this first. I have a BnG, so we'll see.... I will report back.
If you rince your mower engine like I always do,,,be sure to check the magnetic pickup on your flywheel because it will rust and cause surge and backfire also,,,just use a little sandpaper...mine drove me crazy until I realized it...
Thanks for the tip.
@@thetune3020 your welcome,,,glad it helped you.
Great fix Sir. Great Explanation as well. Thank You.
Hi John, Don't care if it works or not. Finally found out what that spring was for. I have a Kholer that does the same thing. Will look at it. I have bastardized this mower to the most simple wiring and carburetor. My biggest problem is blades and tires. Doing road work in the Caribbean. I use it more as a rock chopper and spiky tree cut offs.
I want to thank you. Forgot what a new mower looks like.
Thank You Sir !! My V22 Briggs just started the surging about a week ago. I'll check this out !!
Trying this right now on my JD 105. Thanks much for the tip.
Amazing, I had exactly the same problem, really good video , thanks a lot , you have save me many £££££££, cheers
Nice 👍🙂
Looks like a brand new mower!
Great job. It helped me to get it running.
Thank you.
Glad it helped
Always wondered what that little spring did but never gave it much thought. Just put it back where it went..But i can see what ya saying now.Thanks for the wisdom..Roll Tide
I believe the little spring just keeps the governor from making wild swings. Without it the governor goes max-min-max-min causing a surging.
As others have correctly pointed out, that tiny little spring has zero impact on governor function. Its only function is to take up the slack that develops overtime between the linkage rod and carburetor arm. If they used a Delrin/similar high wear bushing in that pushrod linkage hole instead of metal on metal contact, the spring wouldn't even be required as there would be no wear to compensate for.
This fixed my lt100 John Deere. Thanks for this video 😅
Great to hear
My S170 only has about 20 hours (yes, two zero) on it, and started surging. Today I flushed the tank and line, still surges badly. So this evening I went to RUclips and found this easy fix. Don't know why the spring would break after only 20 hours, but I intend to check it out tomorrow. Hope this is it!
Was that it?
Not the spring. I took the bowl off, sprayed it with carb cleaner. Better, not perfect. Will try Seafoam in the gas.
I have a S170 with 38.8 hours…. With a blown head gasket. Oil blowing all overt the air filter, oil all over the right plug ( and white smoke from right side). …. 38.8 hours……
Good vid, very interesting, and ill remember it case i ever start having surging and missfire. i just bought a john deere 115auto and it runs great and got full power but it seems to backfire, (only when starting and stopping) I just found out about the hot/cold start settings so im gonna try setting the throttle correctly first, if that doesnt stop it. then replace the sparkplug. i think changing the air filter is a good idea too. Thanks for posting!
You are the man! Going to fix mine later today (guess I better clean her too while I'm at it - if yours is how clean she should be :-)). Thanks!
Just slapped a new carb on an old Briggs 17hp motor. That spring is there, but I am concerned it is misshapen a bit due to swapping carbs / cleaning carbs a few times. I am going to give it a really good look. It and the rod on which it is wrapped may also have been bent out of alignment somewhat. My engine does surge.
Please let me know if you have success. Same deal here - multiple carb swaps - this spring and rod may be out of shape.
Thanks! This is very helpful. I was mowing along...with that surge...then it died. It would turn over but not fire. Now it won't seem to turn over???
That mower has 200 hours on it? It looks factory new! What do cut? Putting greens right after the golf club professionally mows them? Then it spends the rest of the day getting detailed? Impressive!
Nothing wrong with taking extra care of an expensive tool bought with hard earned money.......!!!!
Thats one CLEAN mower !!
Great job man.
This was an ideal video.
Appreciate the view 🙂
John thanks for the info I have the same B&S engine in my Craftsman tractor and was experiencing the same surging condition yesterday but this (governor link spring) part #691842 was properly attached so I replaced it anyway due to 6 years of age and fatigue. while I was replacing that spring today I also found that there is a (governor spring) part #796260 about an inch long and maybe 3/8" in diameter located behind the metal plate and throttle cable mount assembly visible at 7:57 that can be causing the same problem, work the linkage back and forth and observe that spring movement, in my case it wasn't even stretching the least bit on either end to tightening up anything so I wound up removing the whole plate assembly held on by 3 small bolts and shortened the spring by about 2 coils to make it tight enough so that it would tighten the linkage all the way back towards the back of the engine and this completely fixed the problem, later I found a RUclips video where someone had just bent the spring mounting tab on one end outward more to increase the spring tension, which if I had known first would have made my day a lot easier. One thing I learned through a lot of B&S and B.S. research is while diagnosing the surging condition with the engine running hold the linkage steady so it doesn't cycle back and forth and see if it stops the surging if it does than the spring(s) and or linkage is at fault, if it doesn't stop it the problem is most likely something in the carburetor with a blocked passage.
Good tips! Thanks for sharing :-)
Yes your right taking the slack out of linkages for firm movement
at 7:49 That U shaped rod/linkage/wire whatever you want to call it. seems to get stuck when you full choke and your motor will chug until the motors vibrations lets it go back in place. This is when you choke then the motor starts and then you put the motor to normal running speed. except it now chugs because that U shaped wire thing has a hard time going back into the not choked position.
LT 1500
Ran like a clock.
That is:
At any speed or load the engine would violently surge every 2 seconds.
The governor instantaneously opened the carburetor and dumped fuel into the engine.
The spring in question was not broken.
But, the long end of the spring had one wrap around the linkage rod.
Apparently that was enough to cause the problem.
Reinstalled the spring so that the rod didn't interfere with the spring movement.
90% of the surging went away.
Hello, I was experiencing the same issue, inspected my spring, but found intact, however little to no tension on the spring, shorted spring by 1/4 of an inch and corrected surging. Thx.
The spring takes up the backlash or slop in the linkages.
It's takes out the play in the distance.& slack in the rod. When it actuwaits back& fourth on the govern linkage rod at high.& idle speed controled by the throttle cable. It's called A tention spring for taking out the slack.& play in the rod is basically all. Witch you seen if it's breaks how.& what happens in that type of situations like that alone. The fuel agitator spray pump silanode is inside of the carburetor bowl to with wires comming out of it aswell. That can cause the same affect also if it's suck.,or clogged up to.,or there's dirt.& debris inside of the bowl.& agitator silanode aswell.
I have a Koler engine doing the same thing. Going to check for this thanks for the video
Bob Goins did this help????
@@chrisp3193 yes it did, my engine is running smooth as silk.
my new, but old Stratton is doing exact surging thing, I just went to check right now, and my spring is detached, I will fix it tomorrow to see if it works
How did you fix it my is gone
So I tried pretty much everything I was able to find in your videos. I have a Kawasaki FR730 on a zero turn. It seemed to be giving me “dirty carburetor” trouble. I say this because every time I used carburetor cleaner I was able to cut two acres of grass. I refuel every month and use stabilizer. I decided it was easier to replace the carburetor than take it apart and clean it so I bought one on Amazon that brings fuel pump and air filter. I replace it and it bogs down if I increase the throttle too fast or when I put a load on it. I check if both cylinders were firing, I changed the sparks, oil and tightened the springs that go to the governor. It starts and gets to full throttle if I increase it very slowly. Once there it starts to misfire and eventually die out. Not sure what to do.
Maybe you could help me with this question, I got an old craftsman 12 horse Rider with a Briggs & Stratton engine, my governor has linkage with the spring the same as the one you have there, my engine is surging back-and-forth constantly, you can see the linkage and governor going back-and-forth back-and-forth, I took the carburetor off and totally cleaned it and rebuilt with new nozzles and jets, also bought a brand new spring from Briggs & Stratton put it all back together and the governor and linkage is still surging back-and-forth even with the new spring, if I hold the governor with my finger I can make it idle smoothly so I assume it’s not the carburetor right? I can’t figure out why when I take my finger off that linkage and governor it is still bouncing back-and-forth causing it to surge , it’s the older one piece Flo-jet carburetor, any ideas? Thanks
Sounds like an issue with either the mechanical governor or something binding or loose in the governed linkages to the carb. All the linkages should be free to move easily, if they are sticking, surging/hunting will occur. Same can be said for a weak governor spring with slop or linkage slop but if you hold the governor arm steady, and that gets rid of it - it sounds like it could be the internal governor mechanism.
If it's the actual mechanical governor that is hunting, that is an engine apart repair I believe on that specific engine - I'm no expert on Briggs of course. Use your Google Fu to get diagrams of your specific engine model's governor linkage & spring layout & fault trace procedure.
I'm going to try to find this tomorrow, could be just the trick !
My mower only does this when the bag is on and I am completely bewildered 😕