JD LA145 Idles rough and dies when engaged.

[Necrid]

Hello, I'm having a bit of a problem with my mower. After sitting over the winter in the basement I had trouble getting it started. Turns out the fuel pump went bad so I went to the local JD and got a new one. It starts right up now but the problem is it takes a few minutes of rough idling before it smooths out and runs good. As soon as I engage the blades it idles rough and about dies. I can disengage the blades to keep it from dying but it will still idle rough afterwards with barely any power to move. I can shut it off and start it back up and after a few mins it will start idling good. I've cleaned out the carb, changed the fuel filter, oil and oil filter, checked the plugs. I can't figure out what else to check unless it has something to do with the pulley under the motor. Would appreciate and help or advice. Thanks.

Forgot to mention I also drained the tank and put new fuel in.

 

[Ledgemere Farm]

id try a new plug. its cheap money and sounds like a fouled plug. remember: air, fuel, spark. make sure mice didnt get into the air filter as well. good luck.

 

[Necrid]

The plugs looked good but I will go ahead and change them. Air filter already been changed as well. Thanks.

 

[Ledgemere Farm]

the only other thing that jumps out at me is the safety switch might be hosed.

 

[jhonb]

The symptoms sound just like mine when I changed the plugs and forgot to put in one of the spark plug wires. My guess is for whatever reason, your running on one cylinder.

 

[JohnDeerePartsGuy]

Agree that the plugs are the quickest and cheapest "fix" or attempt to fix! The safety switch is always a possibility too. Whoops! I see that was already mentioned. :duh:

 

[jinman]

I think you may have to change the float needle valve. The factory valve body is plastic and prone to sticking. A brass one that Briggs sells for a replacement is much better. It sounds like you are getting some fuel, but not full delivery.

When you cleaned the carb, did you remove and disassemble it or just put carb cleaner down the intake? You could have sediment in the float bowl that is partially stopping up the fuel cutoff valve. The cutoff valve should open with a click when you turn on the key, but it doesn't take much to clog that and cause fuel starvation. If the engine stops, remove the air filter and squirt a little gasoline right down the carb intake. Put the cover back on and attempt restart. If it starts and runs strong for a few seconds, then fuel starvation due to some obstruction is the problem.

To check for fuel to the carb, remove the hose from the output side of the fuel pump and turn the engine over, Gasoline should squirt out of the pump quite readily. If it is slow or seems restricted, you could have some obstruction in the fuel tank blocking the pickup tube. Removing the fuel tank for cleaning is not a fun job. You have to do some major disassembly to get to it.