OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Walk Behind Lawn Mower Frames Victa Lawn Mower Frames Victa mower was running now won't start

Here is the story so far.

Mower was running and then left for a few months. Restarted OK and run for a while until a backfire/crack sound and smoke from the auto decompressor.

Removed the decompressor and found that the diaphragm was no good; so a new replacement was fitted.

The mower did restart briefly then stopped and will not start again.

I could not help myself and decided to take the carby apart to see if I could see anything wrong.

I have cleaned and reassemble the carby but cannot get the mower to start. I have drained and changed the fuel. The spark plug get wet with fuel. When I test for a spark it will only spark if I dry and clean the plug.

The carby is black palstic and the fuel camber is white could this be early LM type?


Any suggestions would be appreciated

Note to Bruce. I have sent a donation, can I have access to the manuals?

PhilK,

It appears that the motor is flooding. Note that you will not get spark if the plug is wet as the machine will only fire with vapour.

I have sent you a PM about access.

Thanks Bruce,

I agree that it is probably flooding

I will have a good read of the manuals and see if they can help; first off, I will check the float chamber and needle valve. Will the problems be obvious or can subtle defects cause similar symptoms?

I will let you know how I get on.


Phil

Phil,

Check the carby section first. Then check your spark make sure that it is blue and not yellow looking.

Here is an update for those that are interested.

Confirmed flooding was a problem as fuel had leaked out of the priming bulb overnight. I removed the float chamber cover, but was unable to confirm the stae of the float and needle, as it all fell on the floor when the cover was moved.

I reassembled as per the carby manual and got the mower to run, although not very smoothly; then I ran out of time to test it anymore. I want to remove spark plug and check that it is not getting too wet and that the spark is nice and blue.

PhilK,

Can you try running the mower without the muffler as I think it could be partly blocked or the port is partly blocked.

OK. I have removed the exhaust. How do I tell if it is blocked? It appears to be clear, the port is also clear.

I started the motor with the exhaust of and it ran OK, albeit a bit noisy! I could view the ignition through the exhaust port.


Phil

PhilK,

If the motor is running well with the muffler off then you need to replace it.

Also check the piston for marks (scratches etc).