Intermittent Kohler Problem

[Diamondpilot]

I had a customer with a brand new Cub. When I mean new I mean new, maybe 1 hour of run time. Bought it in the Fall at TSC on clearance and when he fired it up to mow last spring same thing. It had us stumped. Anyway pulled the heads and there was a mouse nest in one cylinder. The little buggers had climbed up through the exhaust. Long story short the engine cost more than he paid for the mower on clearance to replace. Hope its not a similar issue.

What I am getting across is do not eliminate anything. You never know what you will find.

Chris

 

[Treemonkey1000]

You are certain it is the ignition module then before you go to all of that effort?. I was shooting for a bad spark plug myself. Believe me I have gone down the long road of troubleshooting to fix something that should have been an easy fix if I had been paying more attention.
Quick version of my story was an old Dodge police car I owned started back firing through the carb when you tried to start it.. After some quick checks I thought probably timing chain had slipped or something took off part of the timing chain cover which wasn't easy... Still backfiring. Took it to my Uncles shop. He fiddled for a couple of days and then woke up in the middle of the night with an idea. He pulled off the catalytic converter. Bingo that was it.. Stupid catalytic converters...
Have fun....

 

[jinman]

Just a thought. . . Have you tried premium gas? What about non-ethanol gas? I think your description might indicate the fuel is boiling and you are getting vapor lock issues after the engine gets hot. You could try to cool the carb float bowl with ice if you can get to it easily, but I think trying to get a higher grade of gas or gas without ethanol might improve the performance. Making sure all the air passages are clear is certainly also a good thing to do. Sometimes just dirt and grime can "insulate" the engine from the cooling air.

 

[captsomer]

The engine was pretty filthy. Lots of crud in the cooling fins. I broke out the pressure washer and cleaned everything while it was out. If the overheating thing was an issue, it shouldn't be anymore.

 

[banjodunn]

G'day while you have got it out i would be taking the coil and ign module down to your local kohler tech and get him to check them out they have testers that they plug straight into and can bench test them for you.


Jon

 

[Ken Cunningham]

I hope you checked the plugs before going thru all that trouble. I had a tiller once upon a time that would run great until it got hot then quit. Turned out to be a bum plug.

 

[2manyrocks]

I wonder how they can really bench these these ignition modules if the symptom doesn't show itself until the engine has gotten hot?

I've got a Kohler Magnum that is cutting out when the engine gets hot, and I'm suspicious of the ignition module, also. But I hate to put one on if it's not the real problem.

 

[Treemonkey1000]

I am with 2manyrocks when it comes to testing the modules or coils outside of the unit unless it is really hosed up. Intermittent problems are a bugger unless the unit is good and warmed up sometimes.

 

[jpinca]

The ignition seems pretty straightforward. I would swap the coils and corresponding plugs left to right and see if the miss follows the ignition or stays with the cylinder. If it following the ignition, then a new plug followed by a new coil are the solution.

If you had some old automotive ignition wires, you could do the same without tearing anything apart as a quick check, i.e. jumping across the cylinders.

JP

 

[ChuckinNH]

Long ago, and far away, my brother had a 383 Barracuda (yea, wouln't we like to have that today) It ran just fine until you pushed it a bit, and then it would break down. Chased it around the place, and finally found out it was the ignition wires leaking voltage when they got hot, or the engine was really cranking........ not that he ever did that.