My beloved bolens is poorly and stuck in a field

Topcat33 · Mar 10, 2015

Hi
My Treasured Bolens 1600 hydro eliminator is sat in the middle of a rainy field in France.
I was mowing and it just cut out, I looked in tank and there seemed to be around 2 inches in the bottom, but I still topped it up just in case, no joy, it turns over fine and I have a spark at both plugs ( B and s twin) I took of fuel filter and it seemed blocked initially i pocked it and blew it and it did seem to blow through easier, still no joy.
I poured a little fuel in top of carb and it ran for a few seconds then cut out.
So it seems like lack of fuel.
It went dark on me so I assume my next step is check pipes from tank to carb?

Is there a fuel pump on the engine model 402437?
Do I need to bleed it if it did run short of fuel?
I accidentally poured a fair amount of fuel in carb body, it started and stopped will it be ok?
Is there anything I am missing?

Any advice would be great,
Thank you

mddorange · Mar 10, 2015

:welcome:
To TBN form USA. It is probably either the feul pump or a blocked line.

Topcat33 · Mar 10, 2015

mddorange said:
:welcome:
To TBN form USA. It is probably either the feul pump or a blocked line.

Is the fuel Pump on the engine itSelf?

KubotainNH · Mar 10, 2015

Topcat33 said:
Is the fuel Pump on the engine itSelf?

Usually. Follow the line from the tank to the carb. You'll find the pump if it has one. Usually a pump is only needed if the fuel tank is low like under the seat. Can you take some pictures of the setup? I'm looking at some pics on that model via Google but nothing is detailed enough.

drajj5 · Mar 10, 2015

I am unsure if it has a fuel pump on it or it is gravity fed. follow the line from the tank to the carb, check the inline fuel filter to see if it is stopped up, if it has a pump it will be attached to the engine ( how my Kholer is ). you can pull the line after those components to see if fuel is making it to the carb. Also your engine has a oil pressure switch that may kill the power to it in the event of a loss of or low oil situation.
Pull a plug and see if you are getting fuel there with full choke.
If it started by pouring a bit of gas through the carb; you most likely have a blockage somewhere.

good luck

mrmikey · Mar 11, 2015

Isn't that the model with the fuel shutoff solenoid?....Mike

Topcat33 · Mar 11, 2015

Hi yes it does have a fuel solenoid and that is the fault, after stripping fuel pump and finding nothing, I checked the connection and as I moved it, the solenoid clicked on and off with ignition on, I kept moving it and it started until I let go.
I removed it and blanked it off, but it will only run on full choke, this means I assume that the solenoid is not solely a cut off but actually has a fuel flow function,or have I messed something up in the diagnosis?

mrmikey · Mar 11, 2015

My understanding was it was energized when running and unpowered when the key was shut off. The pintle would protrude when unpowered and shut off the fuel. It's purpose, I was told, was to shut off the fuel if the key was turned off at WOT to prevent backfiring.
My cure was to take a pair of side cutters and remove the pintle and use the remainder (threaded part) to plug the hole

KubotainNH · Mar 11, 2015

Those solenoids seem to fail at times but sounds like you may have a loose connection. Could be junk in there too. Seeing it's only running with the choke on, maybe some air is getting by somewhere where that solenoid should be.

briggs carb solenoid | eBay