PT1418 won't start!

[MossRoad]

Re: PT1418 won\'t start! - Update

I wonder if the fuel valve is one of those that allows for a reserve in the tank, similar to motor cycles. You know, where one position lets you ride all day until you run out of gas, then you turn it down and have a quart left to get to the gas station. You'd have to look in the tank to see if there are two openings to the fuel valve. One should be a little higher than the other. Or there might be two pipes coming up from the valve to the tank. That is another indicator of this type of valve. Just a thought on that one.

My guess as to the running problem, since you are getting fuel to the carb, is that the carb is dirty. Get all of your engine information and go to a small engine shop. They should have a manual for the engine and carb. Or go to the Briggs web site. You can get manuals there.

For the starting problem I would try to find out what is clicking and go from there.

Does the engine have a low oil pressure shut down system? Check for that.

 

[Charlie_Iliff]

Re: PT1418 won\'t start! - Update

Dave:
I spent a lot of summers working on "the damned old boat" before my wife finally caught on. "Wait a minute, that boat is never going to be fixed, is it?" Where boats are things to work on, however, I think most of us prefer ttractors to be things to work with.
It seems probable that you have two unrelated things going on, since the starter electrics shouldn't affect the way it runs, unless there is a fuel solenoid, which would be unusual on a Briggs. Most gas engines shut down by grounding the magneto, not by a diesel-type fuel shutoff.
I don't know about Raleigh, but we have a lot of small engine/lawnmower shops around Baltimore and Annapolis. It's hard to know who is good and who isn't, but if one has been in business for a while, it will probably have seen Briggs engines like yours. They are on a lot of garden tractors.

 

[MossRoad]

Re: PT1418 won\'t start!

Maybe this link to Briggs troubleshooting will help.

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.briggsandstratton.com/MainSite.asp?CategoryID=38&lrID=1&ParentID=7&MSCSSID=1234&MB=&EPAGE=/main/RealBriggs/WebSite/NA/EN/support_maintenance/troubleshooting/LawnGarden&l=0> Click here </A>

 

[davesisk]

Re: PT1418 won\'t start!

Thanks guys. OK, I've called Don at PT, and ordered the starter solenoid. Since I heard clicking last time it wouldn't turn over, I'm hoping the solenoid is the problem. Don agrees, and it's an inexpensive part, so I won't lose much by replacing it even if it isn't the cause. I'm hoping that will fix the "won't turn over" problem for at least a few years!

I think I'm going to get a friend (or my father-in-law with the damned ole boat) to help me with this carb rebuild. Based on what everyone has told me, it sounds like that's where I need to look. This can wait a couple of weeks, getting it to start period is the pressing need at the moment.

Thanks alot for all the advice. I'm going to print it out and put it in a notebook along with the owner's manual!

Regards,
Dave

 

[MossRoad]

Re: PT1418 won\'t start!

Printing things out and putting them with the owner's manual is a very good habit. I've started that with my PT as well.

Good luck on your repair. Let us know what happens.

 

[davesisk]

Re: PT1418 won\'t start! - Update

Oh, I forgot to mention, the fuel valve on the underside of the gas tank works like this (according to Don):

1) Parallel to the gas line = ON
2) Perpendicular to the gas line = OFF

Do the newer models have the fuel valves?

I'm still amazed at Don. He seems to know these machines intimately well, even though they stopped making this particular model many years ago!

 

[davesisk]

Re: PT1418 won\'t start! - Update

I was away from home over the weekend, but I did check when I got back last night. Has the solenoid magically un-stuck itself over the weekend? No. Did the tractor cutoff in the first place because I had shut the fuel supply off with the tank valve? Uh...yup! I turned the valve back to the "On" position, but this sucker still wouldn't turn over (not that I expected it to). Maybe the new solenoid will have arrived when I get home...

Dave