Kawaski FH580V 19hp problem

[DJL50]

I have a Toro ZTR with only 95 hours.
I was mowing today and everything was running great. Fluids all good.
The mower started to run rough to the point it was wanting to stall. I flipped the blades off and the engine started to run normal. I turned the blades back on and started to mow, but in about 20 feet started with the same problem. Turned blades off, engine started to run like normal. I pulled mower on drive to take a closer look. Turned off engine. Checked to make sure nothing was in the blades or deck causing the problem. (thought spindle may be bad)
Thought I would take mower back to the shop and remove belt to check spindles etc... But mower now will not start. You can hear clicking but not turn over at all. Remember it ran good with blades turned off before shutdown.

Going to take to dealer Monday but any ideas? Only 95 hours but out of warranty. Home use and been so dry last two years have not used mower much.

[viper00085]

strange one. The only thing i can think of that would cause rough running and then not turning over would be the carb flooding out the engine causing rich running (rough/black smoke, and maybe only on 1 cylinder= low power with blades on) and then after shut down it filled the cylinders up with fuel, hydro locking the engine. Pull the plugs out and see if it turns over then and spits out a bunch of gas. If so, i would lean towards carb/ needle issue. If it stills locked up, may be more severe issues going on. Let us know if we can possible help more or what you find.

[echoman8]

I have a Toro ZTR with only 95 hours.
I was mowing today and everything was running great. Fluids all good.
The mower started to run rough to the point it was wanting to stall. I flipped the blades off and the engine started to run normal. I turned the blades back on and started to mow, but in about 20 feet started with the same problem. Turned blades off, engine started to run like normal. I pulled mower on drive to take a closer look. Turned off engine. Checked to make sure nothing was in the blades or deck causing the problem. (thought spindle may be bad)
Thought I would take mower back to the shop and remove belt to check spindles etc... But mower now will not start. You can hear clicking but not turn over at all. Remember it ran good with blades turned off before shutdown.

Going to take to dealer Monday but any ideas? Only 95 hours but out of warranty. Home use and been so dry last two years have not used mower much.


Hi,

Have you taken the spark plugs out? There is the possibility of a fuel lock.

Remove the plugs and try the starter again. Make sure the spark plug wire does not spark because the motor will spray the fuel out the hole if it is fuel locked.

If so, you have a carb needle that is leaking. If inexperienced then it would be best to take it to the shop for repair. If you want to tackle it, there are some great mechanics on this site to help you.

There are other things that can lock your motor, this is just a likely and one that is simple to diagnose.

Good luck,
echoman

[LarryF]

If it will run but won't take a load, your coils might be bad. Seems to be a frequent problem with Kawasaki engines. That's what occurred with the 23HP on my Exmark, and since then when others have described similar symptoms and I suggested the coils, they came back and said "yep, that's what it was."

[DJL50]

Thanks!

I will pull the plugs and see what happens. I will keep you up to date.
Think I will take to the dealer anyway. I can clean carbs but never have done it on a twin cylinder or this Kaw.

[DJL50]

Pulled plugs and they were dry. No gas came out of plug holes.

If the coil is bad, will that run the battery down in use? It started ok at the start of the day.

How do I test the coil?

[AmsoilPower]

If it would not turn over after it was shut-off and was running poorly with the pto engaged, it sounds like it is not charging the battery. Voltage regulator is unplugged or bad. Check to make sure it is plugged in, also check fuses on charging circuit and then put a volt-meter at battery terminals. It should be charging between 13.3-13.8 volts at full RPM's. If everything is fine, then check for a coil breaking down and losing spark.

[J&R Landscaping]

Since you say the machine is out of warranty and home owner used how old is the machine? Is the battery original? You might try load testing the battery to start. Like others have said, the ignition coil issue on a kawasaki in somewhat common.

To test the coils, you'll need a spark tester of some kind unless you want to hold the plug against the block. Leave one cylinder set-up normal and hook the other cylinder to the tester. Crank the engine over with the choke in the run position. You'll see it if it has spark.
Repeat and do the other side. (While you don't have to leave on cylinder hooked up, its better to do it sothe coil won't load up with-out having a way to releive the spark.)

[cemeterymower]

had this happen to me once Bad battery new battery fixed the problem

[LarryF]

To test the coils, you'll need a spark tester of some kind unless you want to hold the plug against the block. Leave one cylinder set-up normal and hook the other cylinder to the tester. Crank the engine over with the choke in the run position. You'll see it if it has spark.
Repeat and do the other side. (While you don't have to leave on cylinder hooked up, its better to do it sothe coil won't load up with-out having a way to releive the spark.)

His coils are already working since the engine was running, but they may be weak. So the test J&R describes isn't really adequate. I was a non-believer too. My Exmark started up easily and even ran ok on level ground with the PTO engaged, but on a slight hill or over tall grass, the engine bogged down and backfired. I then found that the plugs were fouled, so I changed them. Soon after the same problem occurred. I got a tip about the coils from someone else, and changing them made all the difference I could have hoped for. I suspect the only way you or your dealer will find out is by taking a chance, buying new coils and changing them. Well, maybe your dealer has some other ideas. I guess you'll find out after you take it to him. Hope you'll share with us what the problem was once you get it corrected.

[DJL50]

had this happen to me once Bad battery new battery fixed the problem
YOU ARE THE WINNER!!!!!!!

Dealer said it was a bad battery.

I still don't understand. How did it start right up, Mow for two hours then mower bog down when cutting, but run fine with blades off. Turn off ZTR, would not start???? Seems like it should be a deeper problem than just a dead battery.
I always thought a mower would run without a battery after it was started.

[mowerknower]

It should run with a dead battery, chances are you have a problem in your charging system. Once the mower is started the stator should put out enough to run the clutch and fuel solonoid. Once this battery gets drained you will have the same problem!!

[derepair]

when you use up the load in that battery, i bet it will do it again. take a volt meter, put the red lead on + lead and the black on nagative lead. set the meter to DC volt in the 20 range start the engine. it should read 13 volts or higher. if it reads only source voltage or battery volatge. you have a charging issue.