My 2 year old Craftsman YT4000 would not start. First I made sure gas was full and fully charged the battery. Also replaced the spark plug. It cranks but does not start. Any suggestions?
Many things to consider but, let's try the simple things. Let's further assume it worked last summer, or last week, but now it's acting up. Two years old, so should be in good shape internally. Good battery, engine cranks. That takes care of a bunch of issues; you gave a good description of the problem, thank you.
A mechanically functional (meaning all the internal parts are working, i.e. pistons, valves, etc) engine requires 3 things, air, fuel, spark. So the quickest way to start your diagnostics is to remove the cover over the air filter and then remove the air filter. I do not recommend spraying Quick Start.
1. remove air filter (set it aside for the rest of the diagnostics)
2. put throttle on fast run (do not choke)
3. pour an ounce or two (lol, a shot glass) of fresh gas into the carburetor
4. crank engine (15 to 20 seconds, rest to cool the starter, repeat 3 times if it does not fire at first).
Removing the air filter and placing the throttle at full speed with no choke eliminates the "air" question. Dumping in the fuel eliminated all fuel related questions. What's left? Spark. If the engine fires and runs a bit, then dies, you have eliminated the spark question. The engine started so Spark and Air are good; you have to track down a fuel problem.
If the engine does not fire, you have eliminated the Air & Fuel questions; you must tract down a Spark problem.
Tracking down fuel problems.
Make sure there is plenty of fresh fuel in tank.Remove fuel line from filter (fuel filter should be near the engine)and remove the filter, gas should pour out of the hose coming from the tank. If it does not, remove gas tank cap. If fuel flows now, you need to unclog the cap vent (a tiny hole in the cap) or replace the cap.
If the fuel still does not flow then blow air from the filter end of the hose back up through fuel line to blow out blockage inside the gas tank. Once you have fuel flowing out the line to the filter, PUT ON A FRESH FILTER. Try cranking the engine.
If it still does not start move on to the carburetor.Note: many systems have a fuel shut off solenoid. This is a small cylinder on the bottom of the carburetor. It has two wires running to it. It should make an audible click when you turn the key on.
NOTE: if battery voltage drops below 9 volts when cranking or while the engine is running, the fuel solenoid will not function. That means the engine will not start or will die soon after starting. So check your battery voltage before, during, and after cranking. If the battery voltage is good before but drops below 9 volts while cranking this is generally a sign the battery has one or more bad cells. Replace the battery. If the battery is in fact good and the voltage is still dropping you may have a bad starter motor and it is drawing too much amperage.
Ck to see that the carburetor bowl is full of fuel, if not...you may have to disassemble and clean the carb at this point.
Tracking down Spark problems.
verify battery fully charged.
verify the fuel cutoff solenoid clicks when you turn the key switch
get fresh spark plugs and verify gap
install plugs and crank.
Perhaps verify spark with a spark testor
If these simple steps do not solve the spark problem, you have a Spark problem that moves into the arena of complex. You will need to check coil gap and coil performance. If it still doesn't start you will need to diagnose the electrical system for wiring and safety switch problems, key switch problems, fuses, etc.
If you determine the Spark & Fuel systems are good, the next likely problem is Valve adjustment out of wack. This moves to the more complex and requires another short book.
Once you get it running be sure to replace the Air Filter with a new one.
These simple steps solve most starting and running questions and problems.
Testimonial: "Methodology has helped me twice to track down reason my tractor would not start in the beginning of the season. The first time it was simply, plugs. The second time it took tracking down an electrical connection. Thanks again for the procedural direction."
SOURCE: Craftsman Lawn Tractor/ hard start/ whitish smoke
does it turn over slow or fast if it turns slowly thats the problem so it could be battery or starter they have to have a good amount of rpms to burn fuel right when starting if not it floods out the engine with gas hope this helps thanks wade
SOURCE: Craftsman 17.5 LT1000 Won't Start - Need Help
pull the flywheel and check if the key(latter models the flywheel itself will need replaced if stripped)is damaged. This is a possibility.
SOURCE: I have a Craftsman Riding Mower DYS 4500. It has
You need to look at cleaning your carburetor out. It sounds as if the float may be stuck, or a metering hole plugged.
SOURCE: craftsman riding mower will not start
Same thing happened to me with my 26 horse kohler craftsman. Replaced EVERYTHING (spark plug, fuel filter, oil filter, and degunked the carborator), and still was flooding. It ended up being the flywheel key. Cheap part, quick fix. I guess it can happen when you hit something hard with the deck, or it can just happen without reason... I hit a snowbank hard with my snowblower attachment, but I didn't even realize it until afterwards because it kept running fine. Supposedly, even after the strain to the engine, it won't always stall out. It will keep running (but maybe rougher) until you shut it off. Then when you go to start it again, you will have no luck because all the timing is out of whack. It cost me $80 to have a repair company fix it. I think the part was only $5.
SOURCE: Sears YT 3000 42" 21
oftentimes the things will not start after sitting idle all winter as last year's gasoline has turned into a lacquer which has blocked the flow of fuel through the small passages in the carburetor. there is at least one product, called Stabil, which you dump into the gas tank which precludes this. So maybe a carb rebuild and clean out is in order; and if it then works OK you should make a point to put some of that stuff in your tank at the end of the season. Works well for RVs also.
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Check the choke adjustment
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