26 hp Brigs won稚 run if it gets wet , even left out in heavy dew?

[drizler]

It痴 a Swisher ZTR 2005 and not my machine. I知 just fixing it for a guy and he mentioned it in passing. Like the title says even if it starts raining while he痴 mowing it can die on the run. Leave it out on a damp night won稚 start.
It has only 360 hours on it as he doesn稚 use it much for that among other reasons of unreliability. I looked around the net and other owners seem to agree, heavy hard to work on and needing work often. :thumbdown:. Ah well, he only uses it for one particularly ugly job among his clients where it痴 attributes seem to pay off.
Anyways, while I知 welding up the cracked front section I thought I壇 have a go at fixing the stalling wet no start problem. What are the usual culprits on a Briggs Zero turn style setups?

 

[tomplum]

That is an odd one. Most extended cranking cold starts on Intek twins seem to go back to the choke control adjustment slipping and the choke not closing. I'm not sure if that is what you are saying or that it doesn't crank at all.Model numbers and more details could help. At least when diagnosing wet misses etc. a spray bottle helps find the problem.

 

[drizler]

I guess I didn’t make it clear, it cranks but won’t run. Of course I got this second hand so can’t really describe it better. I would think something grounding out logically but wouldn’t know where to look.
The last time I dealt with that sort of thing was back in the 70s with cracked distributor caps and big puddles..

 

[tomplum]

The engines aren't really noted to have these issues. Make the water bottle your friend. They do have 2 ignition coils with diode in the harness between. Maybe pull the shroud and look for mouse damage? You could run the engine for 1-2 minutes with the shroud removed and hit that area w/ a squirt bottle. You wouldn't really want to run it much more than that. The other thing would be to pull the 6 pin harness and supply power and ground to the carb solenoid and as a test, see if the issue is chassis (IE ignition switch ) or engine.

 

[/pine]

One possible fault is with one of the safety switches (seat etc.) getting damp etc...

 

[drizler]

One possible fault is with one of the safety switches (seat etc.) getting damp etc...

Oh you got a serious point there. My old arch enemy of so many battles past and you?re right. That could just do it. Not sure I?ll get to it this season though. North country gettin pretty darned cold to mess with that stuf. I froze my buns off today cleaning up and oil changing my Simplicity and still have the Massey to do before winter sets in. Darned oil stockpile is growing fast even though I just dumped off 10 gallons at the local garage to heat his place last month.

 

[drizler]

The engines aren't really noted to have these issues. Make the water bottle your friend. They do have 2 ignition coils with diode in the harness between. Maybe pull the shroud and look for mouse damage? You could run the engine for 1-2 minutes with the shroud removed and hit that area w/ a squirt bottle. You wouldn't really want to run it much more than that. The other thing would be to pull the 6 pin harness and supply power and ground to the carb solenoid and as a test, see if the issue is chassis (IE ignition switch ) or engine.

Ahhhhh, that?s what I hate about some other guys non repeatable issue. I had it wrong . It does run but starts breaking up and ? running like **** if it will stay running?. Sounds like it?s running on one cylinder as it stumbles along he said. Makes me wonder if it?s got a cracked coil . Purrs fine when it?s dry.
It?s lookin kinda warm today. I might just get a chance to water bottle that thing today. Too bad it?s such a dog of a machine. It?s built like a tank and only has 360 hours. Everything on it is about 1/8 steel plate but both belt covers had 2 cracks each all in the same places and the forward edges of the main platform under the foot rest. A true Bimbo
. Looks so right but just plain isnt:confused3:.