Mower runs poorly then fixes itself?

[MagraAdam]

Hi guys. I've got a Victa pace 300 running a B&S engine. Had it for about 8 years and it's never missed a beat. It did residential yards for me, and now it does bits the ride on can't get on my farm. It'll cut through a lot! Recently it's been running super rough when I start it, then it somehow fixes itself and is fine. Sometimes turning it off and on makes it run better I it won't fix itself on the first go.

Any ideas? Video below

 

[frank_]

have you tried cleaning the carb ? the white jet assembly inside it

 

[MagraAdam]

have you tried cleaning the carb ? the white jet assembly inside it

No, not yet. I was hoping to take it apart as little as possible lol.

 

[frank_]

No, not yet. I was hoping to take it apart as little as possible lol.

those plastic carbs are only a 10 min job (and only $10 here)

 

[MagraAdam]

those plastic carbs are only a 10 min job (and only $10 here)

Cool, I'll pull it apart tomorrow.

No carb is that price here.. I'd be lucky to get an air filter for that price.

 

[frank_]

last one i bought was £7.49 in october
that white insert has about 3 jets/holes that need poking and blowing out

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/294343042971?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2648

 

[anlrolfe]

The white jet insert into the carb is cheap. It can be a PITA to get it to pop out to inspect and clean though.

 

[MagraAdam]

The white jet insert into the carb is cheap. It can be a PITA to get it to pop out to inspect and clean though.

Thanks heaps for that

 

[GoBigRed]

Some carbs have a governor that Is moved by a magnet and engine RPMs. They can get stuck and drag for a while until the engine warms up and the throttle can get pulled open all the way. Hence the issue of running poorly at start up and then running correctly after a while.
Those carbs are very tolerant, but not perfect, when it comes to oxygenated gas and getting plugged up. So check that governor lever before buying a new carb as the fix may not cost you anything.

 

[alderman]

Try a new spark plug?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[cookies]

Those plastic carbs love to accumulate water in the bowl, it then ends up in the main jet

 

[grizz55chev]

Hi guys. I've got a Victa pace 300 running a B&S engine. Had it for about 8 years and it's never missed a beat. It did residential yards for me, and now it does bits the ride on can't get on my farm. It'll cut through a lot! Recently it's been running super rough when I start it, then it somehow fixes itself and is fine. Sometimes turning it off and on makes it run better I it won't fix itself on the first go.

Any ideas? Video below

It's always the carb! 10 min fix.

 

[anlrolfe]

It's nice how these slide off the round intake manifold.
If you dislodge the o-ring trying to slide it back on you can create a major air leak. It was tricky to get the ring back into the groove in the carb. Lessons learned. All in all, these come off so easy I'd start here without a second thought. Getting this right means you've got at least 1-known good to build from if you're troubleshooting.

 

[KarlP]

Does that mower have a choke lever or an automatic choke for cold starting? It sounds to me like an auto-choke that isn't disengaging.

 

[MagraAdam]

Does that mower have a choke lever or an automatic choke for cold starting? It sounds to me like an auto-choke that isn't disengaging.

Auto choke

 

[thenne1713]

Hi guys. I've got a Victa pace 300 running a B&S engine. Had it for about 8 years and it's never missed a beat. It did residential yards for me, and now it does bits the ride on can't get on my farm. It'll cut through a lot! Recently it's been running super rough when I start it, then it somehow fixes itself and is fine. Sometimes turning it off and on makes it run better I it won't fix itself on the first go.

Any ideas? Video below

FIRST THOUGHT IS fuel QUALITY; son had similar experience when he borrowed mower from me, bought his own gas can, bought gas, brought mower back saying not running right; I said water in fuel, he replies, but I just bought it... to which I responded "you bought it with water in it". I poured into a quart jar, and drained off fuel, leaving water in jar; all good.

 

[MagraAdam]

FIRST THOUGHT IS fuel QUALITY; son had similar experience when he borrowed mower from me, bought his own gas can, bought gas, brought mower back saying not running right; I said water in fuel, he replies, but I just bought it... to which I responded "you bought it with water in it". I poured into a quart jar, and drained off fuel, leaving water in jar; all good.

Nah, the fuel is fine. No issues in other devices and this has happened with multiple refills from multiple Jerry cans.

 

[thenne1713]

Well, pour / drain fuel out of tank to a jar, and you can verify?

 

[Chevboy0167]

Same engine and carb setup on a friends push mower. Wouldn't start or run, just popped 1 or 2 times. I yank carb off, tear it down only to find this white gelatinous chunks clogging up every orifice. Pulled gas cap off to find the same chunks mixed with the fuel.

Never found out where or how the crap got in there but cleaned entire fuel system, re-installed and runs like new. I gotta say that was an easy carb to clean up. Everything snaps together like freakin Legos! LOL

 

[MagraAdam]

So, I pulled the filter housing off and found out the engine hose wasn't attached. So that's back on now. I also filed the choke lever to stop it sticking, but it still runs poorly when I start it. Knowing a little more this time I took the air filter off and poked the choke and it ran really well. So it's obviously still sticking. I might try and lube it up.