Cub Cadet 1250 not starting

[Camo-Man 07]

Yet again the same 1250 IH Cub Cadet is have problems

This is a Kohler K301AQS 12HP

I was mowing the lawn the other day and it was running just fine. When I was finished I parked it in the drive way and left it sit for a few hours. When I got back on to put it away it just cranked and cranked but would not fire. After about five minutes of trying I finally got it going again and put it away. It hasn't started since. It will crank and crank until the battery dies, once or twice it fired once but that was it, no running.

I have changed the oil and cleaned the carb, I made sure there was good gas flow to the carb, and that the float bowl is full. I pulled the plug and it it getting a good spark, I did notice that it wasn't wet?, my points are adjusted to where they should be. I made sure the head was still tight and no problems there. it has a new head gasket already, just put on this spring. It seems to have good compression.

 

[savageactor7]

Camo with what you've already done I'd continue by pulling off fuel line to carb and look to see if it puts out fuel when cranking...could be the pump and that's an easy R/R fix. Good luck.

 

[Camo-Man 07]

I should have mestioned in my first post that there is no fuel pump. It runs from the tank straight to the carb. And there is a good flow, I took the hose off and blew compressed air though it to make sure it was clean.

 

[2manyrocks]

There is good fuel flow to the carb, but the plug is not wet? Will it run if you spray carb cleaner in the air intake?

 

[geneP]

I'm not familiar with that engine, but does it have a fuel cut-off solenoid?

I agree with the suggestion to introduce some starting fluid or gasoline in the carb an see if it will run. You have fire and compression so hopefully it is a simple fuel issue. If it doesn't run with fuel , my next thought would be the timing

 

[savageactor7]

I once thought I had a good spark but it turned out I didn't so the coil had to be replaced.

 

[CLR]

I'm just throwing this out there but I thought I had heard somewhere the gas caps can vapor lock on them? I may be wrong?? just thought I remeber something on gas cap vent not letting in air, so you don't get flow??

 

[dqdave1]

Try a little starting fluid in carb; if it fires, probably fuel; no fire with starting fluid, ignition problem.

 

[Camo-Man 07]

Well I guess I'm having ignition problems again.. I did the starting fluid and nothing. Is there any way to test the coil and condenser. Because I just replaced them not long ago(mid spring of this year) and I would like to know before I go and spend money just to find out that that wasn't the problem.

I was wondering if maybe my head gasket blew. I didn't notice anything before it happened but who knows. my only problem there is I don't have any way to test the compression

 

[dqdave1]

Ok, any saftey switches on machine, seat switch, pto saftey switch, etc. All these can cause no spark. Did you buy kohler ignition parts? aftermarket can sometimes fail early.
Points and condensor are cheap part to start with.

 

[Camo-Man 07]

I am getting a spark though, a nice strong spark... I'm going to try cranking the engine again just to make sure that I am indeed getting fuel to the spark.. After that I think I'll try a compression test.

 

[Gator6x4]

Go to this location for a service manual for the Kohler K301 engine. This is a PDF file and quite large.

http://www.kohlerengines.com/onlinecatalog/pdf/tp_2379.pdf

I would remove the air cleaner, open the choke and squirt some gas directly into the combustion chamber and then immediately try to start the engine. If the engine then fails to start I think you can rule out the lack of fuel as being the problem. Have you tried a different spark plug? Troubleshooting starting and other problems starts on page 21 of the manual. I don't think I would keep spinning the starter until I ran the battery down. A starter for the K301 engine will give your pocket book a speech impediment and make you light headed. One last thought, have you removed the spark plug and placed your thumb or finger in the spark plug hole to determine you have good compression? A valve could be stuck open or the compression release feature in this engine could have malfunctioned.

 

[dts1449]

I had a 1250 for several years. I did have some similar symptoms before I finally traded it in, the coil was bad. It seemed to have great spark under normal diagnostic conditions, (hold the plug against ground and look for spark) but after ruling out fuel and compression, I tried a coil from TSC. It was a 12v coil and after I hooked it up it started right up. Mine would also run no problem until I shut it off and then not start. Problem was the repair didn't last long, about three mowings. (about 15 hours) I finally spent the dollars on a genuine part and that seemed to fix the problem. If I remember right, the coil mount broke about the same time and I ended up mounting the coil to the plastic barrier around the gas tank. I think that helped the coil lifes seemed that the vibration had a negative effect on how long the coil would last. I did run a ground from the frame to the coil mount, I think that also helped.

Good luck,
DTS

 

[Will Neff]

My 1250 has always started but last week I decided that it needed some pampering. Gave the engine a bath with a power washer. has not started since. No spark , coil seems to test ok with ohm meter. Seems like a simple fix by drying out. Still wont start. Any ideas

 

[jas 2]

I have a cub cadet 1250 just bought it 2 weeks ago now it stops running seems like carb. promblems

 

[The kid]

My 1250 has always started but last week I decided that it needed some pampering. Gave the engine a bath with a power washer. has not started since. No spark , coil seems to test ok with ohm meter. Seems like a simple fix by drying out. Still wont start. Any ideas

Check your spacing between the ignition coil and flywheel. Should be about the width of a business card. Make sure there is no rust of the sides of the flywheel where is passes by the coil. If there is rust. Sand it off, reset spacing and see if it will fire up. -kid

 

[Bob_Bainbridge]

Check your spacing between the ignition coil and flywheel. Should be about the width of a business card. Make sure there is no rust of the sides of the flywheel where is passes by the coil. If there is rust. Sand it off, reset spacing and see if it will fire up. -kid

This is an old post from 9-17-10. FYI the 1250 uses an external automotive type coil and has points and condenser.

Bob B.

 

[Bob_Bainbridge]

I have a cub cadet 1250 just bought it 2 weeks ago now it stops running seems like carb. promblems

See if loosening the gas cap makes any difference - if so, the cap vent could be plugged. The 1250 uses a gravity feed from the tank. Look inside the tank with a flashlight and check for any debris and also check the rubber fuel hose. You can try spraying starting fluid into the carb intake and see if it starts. This will prove whether it's a fuel problem or something else. If it's a fuel problem try removing the hose at the carb and see if there is a good stream of gas coming out. If yes it could be a problem with the carb like stuck float or varnish from old ethanol fuel.

Bob B.

 

[rcbe]

Jas 2 - along with Bob's good advice, with that 1250 having some years on it, would strongly consider replacing all rubber fuel lines, fuel filter,and installing a manual inline fuel shutoff valve (and use it) - a cheap investment to protect your engine in case your carb floods and lets raw fuel into the crankcase.....

 

[The kid]

See if loosening the gas cap makes any difference - if so, the cap vent could be plugged. The 1250 uses a gravity feed from the tank. Look inside the tank with a flashlight and check for any debris and also check the rubber fuel hose. You can try spraying starting fluid into the carb intake and see if it starts. This will prove whether it's a fuel problem or something else. If it's a fuel problem try removing the hose at the carb and see if there is a good stream of gas coming out. If yes it could be a problem with the carb like stuck float or varnish from old ethanol fuel.

Bob B.

Check the date again Bob of the member I was replying to.