You obviously have a carb issue. Gas may be getting to the carb but a stuck needle/seat won't let the gas in. A plugged mainjet won't allow a carb to carburate either. Has this been sitting all winter?

You need to open up the carb and find out what's not going on in there. Maybe filling it with Seafoam and letting it sit for a few days might solve the problem for you and then dump the balance of the Seafoam into the fuel tank for good measure.

Was thinking that might be the problem but was hoping for a simpler fix. Any idea how hard the carb removal is? I noticed there is an eletrical connection on the bottom of the carb and had thought it might be the problem. Think the mower has been sitting for a while as thats what I was told when I bought it a few days ago knowing it had a problem. However, it and all its parts look mint and worth the hassle for what I paid.

I have no idea as to which Briggs engine you have but I believe that parts diagrams can be accessed at the Briggs site and that should give you a clue regarding how to get at the carb.

That electrical connection is for the carb solenoid. You should be able to feel or hear it click to activate if the brake is set and the key is turned to on. You may have luck removing the the 2 bowl screws , dropping the bowl and cleaning.(You need to drop the gov/throttle bracket first) Water and rust like to accumulate in the bowl on these. Be careful of the seals in the bottom and the main jets that are located in the pick up tube. You may not have to remove the tube.

Here is a link that might be useful: Briggs parts

Guess I'll try taking the bowl off first then the carb if necessary. Thanks for the input. What exactly does the solenoid do? And could it be the cause of my problem??

The solenoid cuts off the fuel to the main jet when the key is turned off (in order to prevent "afterfire" out the muffler). The solenoid plunger could be gummed up and sticking (and that MIGHT be a cause) but I would bet the main jet is clogged with varnish. You will need to clean out the carb with spray type carb cleaner (solvent).

Got everything soaking in Sea Foam. Put the bowl to the side and filled it with Sea Foam as well. Hopefully all works out OK. Odd thing is when I put the carb in a can of Sea Foam a piece of metal that looks like a watch band pin (tubular steel) fell out of the carb. Don't know what it is but I'll check it out once all is cleaned for a day or so!

That sounds like the pivot pin for the float itself. Be very careful. It's real easy to drop items from the carb and then lose them. If you have removed the carb from the engine, then move it to a bench with a clean rag spread out. That way, if you drop something, it will fall onto the rag and stay put, making it easy to find.

A long time favorite "little helper" of mine is a cookie pan (not a "rimless" cookie sheet). I find them at yard sales and thrift shops for less than a dollar. They are great for taking things apart where liquids might spill out (or loose parts/fragments). If I'm doing something like a carb, I use one to disassemble and another for the "cleaned up" parts. I leave all the old parts/seals/gaskets/ etc. on the first pan until the project is assembled.

OK so I pulled the carb off and removed the bowl. Then I soaked the carb and filled the bowl with sea foam for 3 days then spray cleaned both with carb cleaner! Didn't see much debris but you never know. Saw what I thought might be some sand granuales after removing the carb from the sea foam but not in the bowl. Blew air in and around everything, let dry for a day and reassembled. NO LUCK! Engine still only starts when I put some fuel down the carbs throat. Double checked the fuel pump and she's working fine. Any ideas would be appreciated! The only thing I didn't do was strip the carb down to pieces, find the valve if there is one and clean it. Overall the carb was rather clean with minimal varnish. Don't see a carb adjustment other than idle. Am I missing something?? Is there a bad safety switch I'm missing??

Help

Tell us more about the "watch band pin" you discovered loose when you took the bowl off. If you found this item to be "loose" on removing the bowl, what was your procedure for re-attaching the float to the float pivot point? Also, have you actually done a "bench test" of the fuel solenoid to make certain that it operates properly? What about the needle valve itself? It should have come out of its place in the needle "seat fitting". You should be able to find some threads on here giving detailed instructions for testing and cleaning the fuel solenoid and jets. Use the search function to look for them. You might need to check various "key words" such as "carburetor problems" and such and then dig into the threads for references to the fuel solenoid. Don't use just "solenoid" as a key word or you'll be referred a bunch of threads pertaining to the starter circuit "solenoid".

Thanks for everyones help! In my case it was just alot of junk in the jet and on the solenoid. For what it's worth Sea Foam was a waste of money in my case. It over 3 days cleaned nothing!!! I had better luck using B12 from Berryman and some basic carb cleaner. Learned how sensative a JD carb can be!!

tps, at least you learned some things that you can use to your advantage in the future. Products such as Seafoam are more intended to PREVENT the formation of new varnish than for trying to "scrub away" old, solid varnish. As you mentioned in your second post, you suspected the machine had been sitting in storage for a while. That will create the most stubborn kind of varnish. Seafoam can handle relatively fresh varnish/gum (which can obstruct fuel flow too). For the hardened and "cured" varnish, it typically requires products like the Berryman B-12 or other brands such as Carb Medic or Gumout (just to name a couple). For the "worst cases", a professional shop might even prefer to use a "dip bucket" cleaner such as "Berryman Chem-Dip" or the classic Solder Seal "Gunk Dip". You can still use the Seafoam as an additive to your fuel. Beware, if the "old" fuel lines are still in place on this machine, there's a chance that some particles/debris can continue to "slough off" and make their way to the filter. Also, if the lines leading from the filter>fuel pump>carb are old......any particles/debris shed from them will be transported right into the fuel pump and on to the carb. If a pieces of debris get caught between the needle valve and valve seat (carb inlet), there is a chance that blockage can occur or the needle valve can't control the fuel flow. You should replace at least the sections of fuel hose between the filter> pump> carb inlet to minimize the chances of that happening. The hose between the filter and fuel tank is probably ok for continued service (unless you see cracks in the hose surface) as the filter will trap the debris. If you want to "go all out" on the recovery process, replace ALL the fuel hoses AND remove the fuel tank for a good cleaning with the spray carb cleaner. This will get rid of any "flakes" or "sheets" of varnish that might be stuck to the interior surfaces of the tank.

DO YOUR SELF A FAVOR CHECK YOUR OIL LEVEL. MY WOULD NOT START . ALSO POURED GAS DOWN THE CARB. ENGINE FIRED UP AND DIED. CHECKED EVERYTHING OIL LEVEL WAS REAL LOW. FILLED OIL LEVEL TURNED ENGINE OVER STARTED RIGHT UP.RUNS GREAT

kwik1072g - cuppla things:

1) lose the CAPS. Bad netiquette, considered to be shouting. Also hard on reader's eyes.

2) Best keep a close eye on your engine... if it was run any length of time with oil levels that low, probably some internal damage already done.

kwik1072g said "MY WOULD NOT START". Your "WHAT" would not start?? Unless your "whatever" features a "low oil level" shutdown device...........low oil level would not have caused a "no start" condition.