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Spark Plug for FH601V BPR4ES vs BPR5ES

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dnrsslr

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I have a Kawasaki 19 HP FH601V CS13. (Actually, it's more like a 23 HP because I had the throttle shaft modified!) Anyhow, it ran fine Wednesday morning but Thursday morning it would not start. It cranked for awhile, popped once or twice then the battery died. I charged the battery and tried again but it wouldn't start. So, I got a new battery, new air filter and new spark plugs and it started better than it has for a long time. Better than ever!? When I changed the plugs, I saw the ones I took out were BPR4ES and the ones the dealer gave me are BPR5ES. What is the difference between these plugs? partstree.com and repairclinic.com both seem to say the BPR5ES is correct but other sites say BPR4ES. Is the BPR5ES "hotter"? Is that why it started better?

Also, one of the old plugs was wet with either gas or oil when I took it out. It that significant?
 
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Discussion starter · #3 ·
Thanks, at that link I found out the only difference between these two plugs is the "5" is a colder plug. How will this affect operation?

I just found out the filter and plugs were changed 4 years ago which was about 170 hours of mowing and about 20 hours of blowing snow. I wonder if the air filter was plugged?

By "adjust the valves", do you mean the clearance of the rocker arms under the valve covers? I think I did that about 135 hours ago but I'm not sure. Would you hear them "clacking" if they need adjusted?
 
#4 ·
dnrsslr said:
Thanks, at that link I found out the only difference between these two plugs is the "5" is a colder plug. How will this affect operation? One step shouldn't hurt a thing.....

I just found out the filter and plugs were changed 4 years ago which was about 170 hours of mowing and about 20 hours of blowing snow. I wonder if the air filter was plugged? There's no tell'n.....

By "adjust the valves", do you mean the clearance of the rocker arms under the valve covers? Yes.....I think I did that about 135 hours ago but I'm not sure. Would you hear them "clacking" if they need adjusted?In most cases no......
Click to expand...
If you did the valves that shouldn't be a issue now, Since you've done these things just run it and see how it does.......
 
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Discussion starter · #8 · (Edited)
New problem? I tried to start the tractor again a few days ago so it would have been sitting for about a month. The temperature was about 10 degrees. It cranked over for awhile, kind of slow, but it would not fire at all! I finally gave up. Then, the next day, I heated the shed to about 45 degrees for about 5 hours (and put the battery charger on) and the tractor started VERY easily! Is it possible the BPR4ES sparks "hotter" to help it start when the tractor is cold? After I ran the tractor about 30 minutes, when I idled the tractor is ran rough and stalled!

Maybe I have a "weak" spark. Is there any way to test that? Bad coil or something in that system?
 
#9 ·
Put some Champion 322's in it and be done with it.

As far as cold starting, make sure your choke is closing ALL THE WAY. Kawasaki's will not start well cold without full choke. Also if you are storing it without heat make sure you have changed the oil to something they recommend for winter use and have a good battery. Otherwise it may not crank fast enough to fire.
 
#10 ·
dnrsslr said:
New problem?
Click to expand...
You have a cold problem....

dnrsslr said:
The temperature was about 10 degrees. It cranked over for awhile,
kind of slow, but it would not fire at all! I finally gave up. Then, the next day, I heated the shed to about
45 degrees for about 5 hours (and put the battery charger on) and the tractor started VERY easily!
Click to expand...
You warmed up the oil ( I'm sure it was like mollasses) and chaged the battery, it was weak or old or both...

Everthing that we have that needs to start in the winter here is South Jersey (it was 8 degrees here yeaterday)
gets 5w30 and if it has a battery, (Walker with a snowthrower) it gets a new battery if it is over 2 years old.....
We keep our diesels plugged in or in the heated shop....

If you want it to start in these cold temps, change the oil to 5w30 if that is not in it already, put fresh
winterized gas in it, make sure that the bettery is fully charged. Like Pugs said, check the choke
And if you can keep it warm......You should never have a problem starting it.......
 
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Discussion starter · #12 ·
pugs said:
Put some Champion 322's in it and be done with it.

As far as cold starting, make sure your choke is closing ALL THE WAY. Kawasaki's will not start well cold without full choke. Also if you are storing it without heat make sure you have changed the oil to something they recommend for winter use and have a good battery. Otherwise it may not crank fast enough to fire.
Click to expand...
Breezmister said:
You have a cold problem....

You warmed up the oil ( I'm sure it was like mollasses) and chaged the battery, it was weak or old or both...

Everthing that we have that needs to start in the winter here is South Jersey (it was 8 degrees here yeaterday)
gets 5w30 and if it has a battery, (Walker with a snowthrower) it gets a new battery if it is over 2 years old.....
We keep our diesels plugged in or in the heated shop....

If you want it to start in these cold temps, change the oil to 5w30 if that is not in it already, put fresh
winterized gas in it, make sure that the bettery is fully charged. Like Pugs said, check the choke
And if you can keep it warm......You should never have a problem starting it.......
Click to expand...
I have a new battery so that shouldn't be the problem.

I have SAE 30 regular oil in the tractor now. I use the tractor in the summer for mowing lawn and blowing snow in the winter. I'm in Ohio so some years, (like 2013) I might only use the tractor a couple of times all winter. I only put 40 to 50 hours on it in the summer so I'd prefer to not have to change oil every spring and every fall.

The tractor sits in a shed that has no heat or electric. I have to run a cord 100' from the house to get electric for the battery charger. I have a heater that sits on top of a propane tank so I can't really run that all the time. I'm thinking I could start the heater the night before if I expect to need the tractor in the morning...

Someone mentioned synthetic oil. Will that make a significant difference in how easy the engine turns over?
 
#13 ·
dnrsslr said:
I have a new battery so that shouldn't be the problem.

I have SAE 30 regular oil in the tractor now. I use the tractor in the summer for mowing lawn and blowing snow in the winter. I'm in Ohio so some years, (like 2013) I might only use the tractor a couple of times all winter. I only put 40 to 50 hours on it in the summer so I'd prefer to not have to change oil every spring and every fall.

The tractor sits in a shed that has no heat or electric. I have to run a cord 100' from the house to get electric for the battery charger. I have a heater that sits on top of a propane tank so I can't really run that all the time. I'm thinking I could start the heater the night before if I expect to need the tractor in the morning...

Someone mentioned synthetic oil. Will that make a significant difference in how easy the engine turns over?
Click to expand...
Well SAE 30 is good for the summer. Its not good if you let the machine sit in temps below like 40-50. So you can either change the oil for winter or have trouble starting and possibly cause damage.

Also when you say new battery, what did you get? If you went cheap, that some of the problem. Honestly for what you are doing I would get the best I could. Interstate SP40. Another good thing to do would be to remove the battery and keep it in a heated location on a battery tender
 
Discussion starter · #14 ·
pugs said:
Well SAE 30 is good for the summer. Its not good if you let the machine sit in temps below like 40-50. So you can either change the oil for winter or have trouble starting and possibly cause damage.

Also when you say new battery, what did you get? If you went cheap, that some of the problem. Honestly for what you are doing I would get the best I could. Interstate SP40. Another good thing to do would be to remove the battery and keep it in a heated location on a battery tender
Click to expand...
What oil do you recommend? Weight and synthetic or regular?

I bought it a month or so ago from a local battery shop. About $75. Is that a "cheap" battery?. I believe it's Deka brand. Supposed to be manufactured in PA and supposedly better than what the big auto stores sell.
 
Discussion starter · #15 ·
FYI:
I sent the following email to sparkplugs.com:
I have a Kawasaki FH601V. The throttle shaft was modified so it open mores, so the engine is basically an FH641V. The dealer gave me BPR5ES plugs but the ones I had before were BPR4ES. Immediately after the change, the tractor started perfectly. The tractor sat for about a month and on a very cold night, it would not start. Could the different plugs make a difference in how it starts?

Here is the response I received:
Dear Don, thank you for contacting us!
I checked with an NGK technician about this and he replied:
For both the FH601V and the FH641V I show part number BPR4ES as the recommended spark plug. The BPR5ES is one heat range colder than the BPR4ES, and could cause hard starting and have a higher probability of fouling.
It sounds like you may wish to try the BPR4ES again:
http://www.sparkplugs.com/product.aspx?zpid=9453

I hope this helps fix the problem.

Best regards,
Yvonne
NGK.com - part of the SparkPlugs.com family
 
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Discussion starter · #17 ·
Breezmister said:
Both of those plugs would have started your machine if everything was equal at the first start up.....
Click to expand...
I agree either plug would have started the engine if everything was equal to the first start up. But, it was a much colder day the second time.

Thanks for pointing me to that information. It says:
- When a spark plug is referred to as a “cold plug”, it is one that transfers heat rapidly from the firing tip into the engine head, keeping the firing tip cooler.
- A “hot plug” has a much slower rate of heat transfer, which keeps the firing tip hotter. It seems to me, on a very cold day, you would want to keep as much heat as possible inside the cylinder.

To satisfy my curiosity, I have been trying to figure how the "colder" plug affects the engine. The NGK technician said the colder plug could cause hard starting. I'm trying to avoid hard starting. So, if I believe this technician, I should switch to the hotter plug.
 
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dnrsslr
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