20 Most Recent Craftsman 675 Torque 190 cc 21" Push Lawn Mower (CA) () Questions & Answers

simple things to ck first : (1) battery - fastest way to test it is to jump start it (2) safety's - with tractor off , turn key to first click , then try and engage the mower deck , you should hear a click , shift to 1st gear try again you should not hear click ,back to neutral then hold clutch down , try again you should hear click , all of this assumes your sitting in the operator seat when u try it , as the presence sensor only trips on human presence over 60 lbs if any of these tests does not produce the desired effect check that safety sensor , although ive found on JD's the seat switch is found bad allot

pull the spark plug out, pull the engine through about 5 or 6 times. This should blow out most of the oil. Then squirt about a teaspoon of gas in the plug hole put the plug back in an tighten.and try it it should go . Good luck .

I know this is an old post but I figure maybe my solution will be found by someone else doing a Google search and it can help them. Hopefully, you've gotten yours fixed in the 10+ months since you asked this.Anyway, if you remove the top plastic shield from the mower (two screws hold it in place, plus a small cover near the air filter that needs to be removed) you will see a small spring that attaches to a tab at the front of the mower. If you bend that tab forward it will put more tension on the spring and increase the engine speed. You'll know if you are looking at the correct spring if you lightly press on the spring and the engine speed increases.It is a good idea to monitor the adjustment with a tachometer. My owner's manual says the engine has a 3,100 max rpm. You don't want to set it above the specified rpm or you'll probably burn the motor up in a short time. I set mine at 3,060 rpm. It's hard to get it perfect but I figured slightly low is better than too high. Mine had been running at 2,800 rpm.I bought a small engine tach on eBay for around $9. The wire wraps around the spark plug wire 4-5 times and then you can read the engine speed. It also keeps track of how many hours the engine has been running. I figure that will come in handy for oil change intervals so I permanently mounted it to the mower. It almost looks like it came that way from the factory. :-)Here's the tach I bought: Hour Meter Tachometer 2 & 4 Stroke Small Engine

oil has either run into the muffler or the air filter assembly clean out and good to go.

Check the pickup hose in the gas tank I would suggest replacing it.

place a block of wood between the blade and the mower body to hold the blade from turning

first check for spark if you do take off the air filter and spray some carb cleaner of starting fluid in the carb and try it if it fires then clean out the carb

Hi
Make sure you are getting spark at the spark plug, to do this:
Remove your spark plug and check to be sure you are getting fire at the spark plug.
You do this by grounding the plug on the head of the engine and pulling the crank rope, if you are getting spark then:
Sounds like you have dirt/debris in your caburetor jets,fuel passages or a diaphgram that is becoming non-flexible.
Check/Clean/Replace your Air Filter, a dirty air filter can make your engine run to rich with fuel.
NOTE: Before you disassemble the carburetor:
Mark each piece with a awl, or some kind of instrument that will make an alignment scratch before you disassemble the carburetor into separate pieces.
That way you will know which way it goes back together when you reassemble it.
Sometimes you can get by with priming the carburetor or by using starting fluid and letting it run a few times like that, and it will flush the gunk out of the jets,but most of the time you will need to rebuild the carburetor.
Be sure to check your fuel tank for water and dirt/debris, if there is water/debris then you need to clean your tank.
Check you fuel line condition after a while they will degrade and need replacment.
Check/Clean/Replace your fuel filter if you have one.
Make sure you are using fresh fuel.
If the mower is over a couple of years old, then I recommend that you buy and install a new carburetor repair kit,because the diaphragm will get hard and that will cause it to be hard to crank.
The diaphgram may look good and flexible, but it can be deceiving and not act as a fuel pump as it should because it has become too hard.
When you clean your carburetor, I recommend that you use a laquer thinner type cleaner to clean and dissolve the laquer build-up in the float and needle jet passages.
Be sure to remove all plastic and rubber parts before using the laquer thinner because it can dissolve the plastic parts and render them unuseable.
Be sure to use COMPRESSED AIR to blow out all the fuel and air passages.The higher air pressure is needed to blow some of the trash/debris from the fuel or air passages.
Be careful when blowing out the passages, because there are sometimes small rubber type seats in the bottom of some of the passages.
Keep in mind that the float (if you have one) for the carburetor must be level when you go to reassemble the carburetor or follow the instructions you get with the carburetor kit, or you could also ask the parts man that you get your kit from.
When you clean your carburetor and remove the jet screws, you will first need to lightly seat the jet screws.
But before you lightly seat the jet screws count the number of turns it takes to seat the jet screws from their original position.
Be sure to mark the turns down on a piece of paper.
That way when you put the jets back in, you know to lightly seat them first and then turn them back out to their original position before you started.
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try a touch of starting fluid right into the carburator by taking the air filter off. If it then starts but wont run or stay running, the reservoir below the carb should be removed to clean at and the pinhole in the intake tube above the bowl nut. This is the most common problem with lawnmower start problems, the pinhole can be unplugged with one wire from a wire brush. Be careful with the gas, at least pinch off the gas hose with a vise grips while removing the carb bowl.. Never use a droplight around gasoline.

Probably a fuel delivery issue. There is a brass bolt that holds the bowl to the carburetor on. It has an exterior washer, so don't lose. This bolt also is the main jet for the carburetor and can become clogged especially if old gas is allowed to evaporate in mower and no in-line fuel filter is used. Drain the fuel tank (or it will drain when you remove the bowl!). The bolt has very small holes on bottom and sides. Make sure they are clean and clear and the bolt is nice and cleaned up. Use no metal, and/or scraping on bolt. Reassemble (don't forget the carb body gasket) and engine should run if no other issues.
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If you are getting spark than the only thing left is fuel??? You've taken such great care but do not know if you have a fuel filter??? The most novice thing to do is, the unlawful use of carb cleaner in untrained hands, carb cleaner and starting fluid does not fix things, common sense and mechanical ability are the cures for most of life. The carb needs a good cleaning!! Try this and tell us what happens. Good Luck PAL

You would have to remove the engine cover, then unbolt the few screws that hold the starter/recoil unit above the flywheel. Then remove it and see exactly what the problem is. This is a fairly easy process and things are much clearer with the plastic covers out of the way.

Sears has thousands of illustrated parts breakdowns on their Parts Direct website that can be very helpful in solving this kind of problem. Along with their house-brands, they also have most other major brands available too.
Give it a try:
Sears Parts Direct

You should check for spark when this happens next time.

Usually this kind of no start problem is related to a heat damaged ignition coil.

If you check for spark and have none you will need to replace the coil.
The good news is they arent too expensive and you can replace it yourself with only simple hand tools and playing card *(yes, a card from a poker deck!).

If you end up replacing the coil you might find that an animal made a nest under your recoil housing too! This is probably what lead to the overheating and failure of the coil. I see it all the time.

Good luck and be careful!