Intek 8230 23 hp oil cut-off

10 years ago

I have a near new ( 12 hours) Chinese zero-turn mower with an intermittent but regular fault - it stops and won't start again - which results in a flat battery then when recharged starts first kick. The mower had been in storage for over 2 years and so the battery is not great but the problem persists even using jump start from car,

I have checked relays as best I can but I am suspicious of the oil cut-out switch as we live on a fairly steep block and the failures always coincide with the mower being on a slope. I am not saying it cuts out on the slope as that could easy be my wife's light weight triggering the seat cut out. But I think the failure to restart is related to the slope and the oil cut out. I tested my theory by adding 50 ml of oil and each time it started ok - but now the engine is over filled which I need to drain.

The B&S web site is useless - I am in Australia. Entering model 445577 Type 0139 Trim B1. It is an Intek 8230 724cc - given I know all that the web site refuses to identify the motor and offer me a manual. But I now have some manuals thanks to another forum.

But I am really after a wiring diagram that shows the oil cut-out if possible as I say I believe the oil cut out switch is faulty and would like to disable it for testing purposes. I live 3 hours round trip from my nearest BS dealer and anyway I do not own a trailer big enough that can carry the mower so some testing in situ is called for. I have the parts manual and it describes "Wire Assembly Includes Green Oil Pressure Switch Wire" - but there is no green wire coming out of the engine.

Please help

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Comments (7)

bill_kapaun
10 years ago
Look for the switch on the oil filter base.
Part# 239 (which supposedly in only found on TYPE 0435.

Likely, if you simply disconnect the wire, you can prove/disprove your theory.
The parts manual says it's normally closed. That would ground the kill wire to the coil.
Pressure should open it, allowing spark. Disconnecting the wire should do the same.

In the states, it's rare that garden tractors etc. have a low oil pressure switch. I guess they're afraid the engine might die when crossing a highway?
mownie
10 years ago
Most of the time when there is an oil related switch involved in no spark situations, it is a LOW OIL LEVEL switch or sensor, not an oil PRESSURE switch.
Generally, an oil pressure switch operates to control an oil warning light on the meter panel.
When a low oil level switch/system is involved, as Bill says, the sensor grounds the magneto and keeps it from making a spark. And, as Bill stated, disconnecting the wire from the low oil sensor will allow the engine to start.
There are low oil pressure set ups that will stop an engine if the oil pressure drops, but those systems require either a manual over rule switch, or a momentary timer...... to allow the engine to start up initially as there is no oil pressure until the engine runs. It would seem to me that if it was using a low oil PRESSURE system, and a start up timer was part of the circuitry..........the complaint you would be reporting would be that the engine starts up but only runs a couple of seconds before dying. and it would repeat that as often as you tried to start it.
But, if the trouble is due to a low oil LEVEL system, that kind of system should do just like you describe.....if the oil sensor is higher than the oil level, and if the engine is not really "low of oil" when it is preventing the engine from getting spark, I would have to say that is "Chinese engineering at its very finest moment.
So, I am not sure whether your machine has a low oil level switch or a low oil pressure switch.
In cases where I have seen low oil level sensors on Briggs engines, they are usually placed into an unused oil level check plug on the crankcase.
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My experience with V-type engines has always been that one bank or head will fail before the other. Having said that, I will further state that I don't know if any of these Briggs V engines have a tendency for one particular bank to fail before, or more often than, the opposite bank. I do know that there are a number of things that can lead to head gasket failure, but "pin-pointing" a cause on these engines is hard to do and usually it is just better to make sure you perform the repairs carefully and correctly than to fret over what might have caused the initial failure. The one thing I would definitely check would be to remove the sheet metal shrouding (aka "fan ductwork) and clean out any accumulation of cutting debris or mouse nests. Other than that, proper torquing of the head bolts is about the most critical detail in the repair. Try to clean the old gasket "footprints" from the head and block using carburetor cleaner and a very fine, hand held "scotch brite" pad. Make your cleaning strokes (with the pad) follow the "long side" of the gasket outline. This means: Scuff/clean so all the micro scratches made by the scuff pad "run with" the gasket outline instead of "across" it. The benefit of doing this is: The scuff cleaning creates very tiny scratches in the metal surfaces of the head and block. If you scuff ACROSS the outline of the gasket, it has the "effect" of "digging a drainage ditch" or "plowing an escape route" for combustion gasses to travel through. If you scuff clean keeping your strokes in the same long direction of the gasket shape, you realize a benefit (instead of creating a potential problem). With the micro-scratches running "with the gasket", you create a multitude of "teeth" in the metal surfaces that "bite into" the "clear coat sealer" on the new gasket. This helps to secure the gasket better than having it just pressed against the head and block. If the gasket is "held better", it is not as likely to leak. Clean the surfaces with spray carb cleaner after scuff cleaning and blow dry with compressed air or simply let it dry "naturally". DO NOT clean the new gasket using carb cleaner or any other powerful solvent. Doing so could remove or damage the thin, "shellac like" coating that is on the new gasket. Whether you want to replace both gaskets at this time is a decision for you to make. If you decide to only replace the gasket you find to be leaking, you should at least check the torque of the head bolts on the other cylinder. DO NOT be tempted to "over-torque" the bolts. Too much torque on fasteners will distort both the head and the crankcase which will mean the gasket IS NOT "clamped down" evenly and will fail again soon. You will need to check and adjust the valves on each cylinder that you replace the head gasket on. Possibly Walt Conner or some of the other bona fide Briggs pros will offer comments about the failure rates of these engines and whether it is common to "go after both banks" at the same time or simply address the issue upon failure. In the automotive field, we usually replace head gaskets in pairs on V type engines, except in cases of failure while still under factory warranty. In warranty cases, the OEM dictates what you do. Sometimes they say "only the head gasket that failed". Other times they say "replace both".
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bill_kapaun
10 years ago
Mownie-
The IPL for a 445577 does show a switch.
Part# 792028

Since the poster is in OZ, things are probably a bit different there.

This post was edited by bill_kapaun on Mon, Mar 24, 14 at 10:09
mownie
10 years ago
Yes Bill, I saw that it has an oil PRESSURE switch.
But, as you stated, here in the US of A we don't usually see shutdown systems tied to the oil pressure. Having a shutdown system that kills the engine upon a drop in oil pressure requires that a provision be made that will permit the engine to make a spark in the ABSENCE of oil pressure in order to allow the engine to be cranked up from a dead state.
Provisions for this can be a manual over rule switch that the operator must enable during cranking, or more sophisticated systems can feature an automatic electronic timer that will permit the spark to be present for about a 10 second period before arming the shutdown circuit.
Once the shutdown system has been armed by either method, any loss of oil pressure will have the shutdown work and kill the engine.
If.....this Ozzie configured machine has an oil pressure shutdown system, it MUST also have some kind of provision to allow spark during cranking when there is no oil pressure at first.
Now, on the shutdown systems I am familiar with, there is a 10 second timer which allows spark in the absence of oil pressure to assure engine starting. After 10 seconds of time (beginning when the key is turned on) without an oil pressure signal to the shutdown module, the engine will be deprived of spark. On those systems, if you simply turn the key on and let it remain on for more than 10 seconds before cranking the engine.............you will never get the engine started because the timer has run down and enabled the shutdown module.
In lieu of a bona fide wiring diagram by the machine OEM (not Briggs) anybody trying to diagnose this is fielding their best SWAG technique.
I am just hoping to provide some food for thought on the subject in general, not knowing any specifics of circuitry on the machine to go by.
bill_kapaun
10 years ago
Mownie- I'd also thought about the no oil pressure start up problem. Possibly it's simply a matter of keep cranking until it builds enough pressure? I have no idea how long that would take, especially after doing an oil & filter change???

Having a schematic would be so useful. Even more useful than knowing what this engine is "attached" to!
MantonJohn
10 years ago
We have him on another forum, he does not have a oil switch. The ipl shows a switch, but in the reference-part number list, that reference number does not show a part
number, meaning his engine doesn't have the switch.
Andrew Hunter
8 years ago
Sorry for not closing this - it was a loose wire not properly crimped

Intek 8230 23 hp oil cut-off

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