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Snapper Riding Mower dies after warms up

15 years ago

I have an early 90s Rear Engine (12 hp Briggs) Snapper Garden Tractor. It starts great, but after a couple minutes it will stall out and die. 15 minutes later I can come back and it will start but again die after a minute. What's the deal? It's got good gas. What else could I check?

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Comments (5)

bill_kapaun
15 years ago
Spark. Check immediately after it dies.

IF you have a good spark, I would think a restricted fuel filter.

Does this engine have a fuel pump, or is it gravity feed?
snapperman_08
Original Author
15 years ago
Spark be good. Although when I pulled the plug, it was really wet. Sounds like too much gas? Gravity feed fuel, and fuel filter works like a charm...I had to skip my supper tonight with the sunk cost of a cup of gas I lost in the ice cream bucket.
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I had an early 1980's 8 HP, 28" Hi-Vac with grass catcher. I loved the performance, simplicity and readily available parts for this machine. Its biggest drawback was an overly sensitive (and dangerous clutch). However, the clutch design rendered the mower able to climb a hill like like a bulldozer. When it finally died about 20 years ago, I replaced it with a Snapper 14.5 HP, 33" Hi-Vac. What a mistake!! This mower is obviously a product of some CEO's family member's freshly minted, clueless MBA. (check this out) The addition of poorly engineered safety devices and other basic modifications have reduced Snapper rear-engine rider mowers to the classification of "junk". The corporate CEO's should be castrated for reducing the once-iconic, highly reliable Snapper rider into a cheap pile of useless junk. All of the foregoing is based solely on my experienced-based opinion, FWIW.
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tomplum
15 years ago
Bill could be right on the money that you may losing spark. Safety switch, funky kill wire, spark plug or coil shutting it down and the fuel doesn't get burned off the plug. Either whatever cools off enough or the thing that is shorting the coil gets bumped by the time you check for spark. You may try unhooking the the kill wire that goes to the coil and running it in place for a test to see if it will occur then. These carbs also have noted float valve issues. It would be worth a check your oil level to ensure that fuel hasn't overflowed into the crankcase.
snapperman_08
Original Author
15 years ago
I have to try the kill wire to the coil yet (after I figure out which one that is). Oil level is good. About the plug spark: After pulling the plug and noticed it was wet, it still sparked. I then put it back in and the engine still didn't fire up.
finney_greg
8 years ago
I will be mowing and mower will start to die . I will turn off blades and it will stay running. Turn mower off and it act like battery is dead. Check battery and it is charged. I can jump it off it might mow 30 min or the rest of the day. The mower is acting like battery is dead but battery is fully charged. Help please.

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