HELP! John Deere Hydro 185 lawn mower wont start.

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skep419

skep419

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It has a Kawasaki fc540v engine (1.6L 17hp). It just died while idling. It has a new battery, spark plug, just changed the oil. Checked spark and fuel. Cleaned the carb. Tried dumping fuel into the carb. Turns over fine but wont fire. I was told to check the oil level with the dipstick not screwed in. Is this correct? Any ideas?
 
Try jumping the safety switch under the seat. I've seen that be a problem before.
 
Also it looks like all the safety options were bypassed by the previous owner. There was two that I could see. One under the seat and one by the left foot rest.
 
Some lawn mowers won't start if the blade drive is engaged. Worth a check. Yes oil level should at appropriate level with dip stick not screwed in. Also does your lawn mower have a low oil shut off switch??

Bill
 
Blades not engaged. There is an oil sender light. It only has one wire connected to it.
 
yep. Its hard to see in the video.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAgeRZAUhVE"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAgeRZAUhVE[/ame]
 
woohooo got it running. Not sure what I did but it finally started. engaged the blade and the engine died. Really... who's got some extra gas so I can light this thing on fire!
 
I have a mower out at the shop property that the caretaker kid was having problems starting and it ended up being the blade engagement lever was not "all the way" disengaged. The same mower will not allow the engine to run while the blades are engaged while in reverse either.

In other words check all appropriate levers for full "lock" or neutral/drive.
 
pulled out connector from blade engagement switch (two wire safety switch?) worked like a charm.
 
i have about the same problem with my JD 185. It turns over, gets gas and spark but will not start. If i choke it gas and a little bit of fire comes out of the carb. Turn the coke off it just turns over. Been trying to figure this thing out for a month now and cant find anything...please help...
 
If you have gas and spark but no fire there is only one thing left... compression. It may be time to check your valve adjustment. The FC540 Kaw is an overhead valve engine and the rockers are adjustable.

I rebuilt mine this winter. The exhaust side has an automatic compression release so the crank has to be in the exact right position when adjusting the exhaust side or you will get it all messed up.


Chuck
 
is there a web site that has a step by step manual how how to do the valve adjustment? this is my first lawn mower that ive had to any motor work on.
 
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