My Lawn Mower engine will turn but won't start?

I don't expect I actually need to ask this, because you seem to be pretty on the ball regarding this stuff, but anyway: you did put the spark plug wire back on, right?

Fuel quality should be fine.

Did you prime the carb? If that still doesn't get it going, try shooting a little Engine Starting Fluid (find it anywhere auto supplies are sold: Walmart, Autozone, etc) into the carb and give the cord a pull. That ought to get you going.

I bought the Toro 22" Personal Pace Recycler Mower w/Electric Start in May 2014. Ran great all season. Ran it dry of gas and stored it in my shed at the end of the season. Would not start last year. Engine turned over but would not catch. Got it repaired and it worked fine for the season. Ran it dry, stored it for the winter and again this year it would not start. Read through everything I could find online, checked/cleaned the choke, carburetor, air filter, spark plug, etc. and still couldn't get it started. Went to Home Depot and while there talked to a sales associate in the lawn mower area. He has a Toro mower with a Kohler engine and had the same problem last year. I ran through all that I had done and he agreed that it was gas starved. Sold me a bottle of Mechanic In A Bottle, a can of carburetor cleaner, a bottle of Ethanol Shield fuel stabilizer and gave me a lesson in the harm caused to small engines from the ethanol in gas. I drained the gas tank, used the Mechanic In A Bottle, and 10 minutes later the mower started on the second attempt. It's been starting fine since. I will be using fuel stabilizer going forward and hopefully next year I won't have a problem. I started out thinking there was a design flaw in the engine or the mower but am now convinced it's the ethanol in the gas.

Does the new plug give spark? Does the mower fire at all? Compression OK? Your information is very thin. The first thing is to check the spark since that is critical. Remove the plug and check that it actually sparks when you try to start it. Bad gas or a plugged Carb is not likely if it was running 2 weeks ago. Be certain the throttle is in the start or run position and the brake must be off. The brake has a engine spark kill circuit that may be faulty, but until you verify that the spark is missing it is best left alone. Get a service and maintenance manual for your mower and read it carefully. I suspect that it is a spark problem first and you need to locate why it is not present.

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Toro Recycler Air Filter

Fuel, Spark, Air.... Air has a new filter so that not the problem...

That leaves fuel and spark...If the fuel is clean and flows past the fuel filter.. then I would spray a shot of starting fluid.. Caution! too much and its can damage the motor, actually, there is a spray product for starting gas motors at the autoparts store that is safe... but just use any of those products sparingly.. like one second shot to the carb filter..

So by doing so we are determining if you have a fuel problem in the carb float/needle assembly or if you have a spark problem.. so a shot of starting fluid to the carb.. try to start... Does it kick over and want to start for a sec? Yes/No.. Try again.. Shot of starting fluid.. try to start.. any firing of the motor? Yes No.. if Yes... then you have determined that its a fuel problem... IF NO then its a spark problem see below...

Fuel problem.. if gas flowing freely past the filter..then it has to be in the float bowl below the carburetor.. there is a little float with a needle that can get jammed up not letting gas into the carb.. This only happens if you had contaminated fuel with water ... or if its been sitting around all winter... so taking it apart isnt a super big deal.. but can be a pain and take a few tools.... be observant how everything comes apart....

A GREAT TIP!!... Take pictures with your digital camera so you understand how things go back together..

Especially the linkage...

Once apart.. do you see any trash or anything out of the ordinary that would cause it not to work properly... reassemble.... Spray a little starting fluid into carb filter.. try to start.. Yes?No?... if no and it still wants to start or starts and dies... .. perhaps check your linkage be certain that its running the carburator...then either take it apart again or take it to a shop and have them check it out.. the motor is starving for fuel.

Spark problem -Pull plug.. reattach plug wire.. place plug to ground against a metal part of the motor... pull cord like your starting.. do you see a spark jump past on the plug? Yes/No... if not readjust your plug so to be sure its grounded against metal.. try again.. if no spark.. I would look at your controls to stop the mower... is it set to start? Yes/No .... follow that cable.. make sure that it is operating correctly.. when you shut off the motor..it grounds the spark to the plug... and sometimes that comes out of adjustment...Try again ground plug start motor.. do you see spark? yes no? Ok.. so if you have spark.. reinstall in motor.. and see if motor starts...

If no... is spark plug the right one? is the gap correct Yes/No? .... If so and no spark.... then you still have some kind of grounding problem that prevents the spark plug from sparking... I would probably take it to a shop to have them take a look...

Good luck... happy mowing

Did you prime it? There should a bubble on the front of the mower that you push 3 to 4 times to get fuel in the line.

If you have bought that gas that you have been using within the last year, there is nothing wrong with your gas. Gas doesn't go bad for a very long time. Sometimes gas powered Equipment can be tricky to start.

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