Chapter 2: Basic Troubleshooting
12
I. Cleanliness of the equipment will indi-
cate the level of care the equipment
has received.
II. Make sure the engine and attach-
ments are securely fastened.
III. The tune-up factors.
NOTE: Most hard starting and poor running con-
ditions can be solved by performing a tune-up.
a. Check the condition and amount
of oil in the crankcase.
b. Check the level and condition of
the fuel.
c. Check the air filter and look for
signs of dirt ingestion.
d. Check the ignition and “read” the
spark plug.
e. Look for obvious signs of physical
damage, bent blade, exhaust sys
-
tem blockage or cooling system
blockage.
3. Broken starter rope.
3a. Usually means the engine was hard to start.
3b. Makes it impossible to confirm any running
or hard starting symptoms by direct obser-
vation.
3c. Some inference can be made from checking
other factors of he general condition of the
equipment.
Identify factors that could cause the problem
This is the second step in the troubleshooting process.
1. Crankshaft will not turn.
a. Hard to pull rope, steady pressure. This
usually indicates a mechanical bind of
some sort. the likely suspects are:
I. A slightly bent crankshaft. in some
cases the drag may increase and
decrease as the crankshaft rotates.
This produces a pulsing feeling that is
different than a jerk back.
II. A parasitic load from a drive belt that is
not releasing or an implement that is
jammed.
III. An internal drag from a scored or
seized piston.
b. Rope jerks back. This usually indicates
that the piston is stopping before top dead
center on the compression stroke and is
being driven back down by compression or
combustion. The likely suspects are:
I. Compression that is unusually high.
a. valve lash.
b. a partial hydraulic lock.
II. Ignition timing is advanced.
a. Improper air gap.
b. Sheared or missing flywheel key.
c. The wrong flywheel or module is
installed on the engine.
III. Insufficient inertia to over-come normal
compression.
a. Loose implement or blade.
b. A light flywheel used on a heavy
flywheel application.
c. Rope will not pull at all. This is usually
either a quick fix or a catastrophic failure.
The likely suspects are:
I. A broken starter recoil (easy fix).
II. Complete hydraulic lock (easy fix).
III. External binding/jammed implement
(easy fix).
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