John Deere L110 running rough

It's been a long time since I've been on...but, I have a John Deere L110 that has this year started kinda choking down, almost shutting off, periodically. I am cutting two acres and lately I can get about an acre of it done with no issues and then it'll just start choking down, mostly when under a load (blades turning). I can normally shut off the blades and it'll pick back up and run fine a little longer and then start again...like the engine just revs up and down, up and down and sometimes almost dies. I have put a new plug in, a new air filter, new fuel filter...not sure what else to do with it. Any ideas? I was thinking maybe the carb but it doesn't make sense to me that I can usually go for an hour or so without a problem.

had the same issue with my 212,,droopped the bowl on the carb and found debrie big enough to plug the brass jet up the center.along with other floaters that I could not figure out how they got there,,took the time to drain and clean both the fuel line and the tank,,and could not figure out hiw it got in there,,my fuel cans are clean.so I can only figure that after mowing I need to brush the under side of the fuel cap where it has room to catch mowing dust etc.only place I can figure it comes from. good luck

Two ideas:
1. Pour some of your fuel into something clear and let it sit. See if any water condenses in the bottom of the container.

2. When it does this, try loosening the fuel cap and see if the problem corrects itself. A poorly working fuel tank vent can cause that problem.

well, three ideas:

3. Like the other guy said, it may be a good idea to remove the fuel bowl and see if there is trash in it. You can also put a pan or something under the carburetor, pinch the fuel line off and then remove the fuel solenoid on the bottom of the carburetor. Look carefully at the fuel that drains from the carburetor into the pan. If you see any specks at all, it is time to clean the carburetor.

My Ford LGT 165 with a 16 HP Kohler did the same thing. It started acting up last fall and continued this spring. It would run fine then act like it was starved for fuel - pulling the choke would tend to clear it for a while. I did the whole bit including an electric fuel pump.

Finally the choke no longer cleared it and I removed the carb bowl, high speed and low speed adjustment needles. Sprayed carb cleaner into both passages and blew out with air. Put it back together and all is fine.

Thanks for the input and suggestions. I will check these things out today or tomorrow and let everyone know what I find. I have had this mower since 2004 and I've never really had any problems with it minus a couple of spindles on the deck etc. I've never cleaned the carb so it's probably about time to do that. But, I appreciate the help and I will at least come back and let everyone know what the problem turns out to be.

If it's not fuel-related it may be your ignition coil.
If it's going bad, it'll act up when it gets hot.
Kinda pricey to just throw the part at it though.
A spark tester may give you a clue?
John Deere Ignition Module M133019

Okay, so I went out and checked a few things today. I removed the carb and the bowl did have a little dirt/sediment in it. Otherwise, the carb looked pretty clean. I went ahead and disassembled it, cleaned it well and put it all back together. I will say this much...it cranks easier than it did. I also noticed yesterday when cutting grass that when we shut it down after and hour and a half or so, the battery was weak and it wouldn't start. So, today, with the engine running at full rpm, I checked the voltage across the battery...11.93 volts...it isn't charging. If I understand correctly, it should be 13.0 - 13.5 VDC with the engine running. So, I have the tech manual and I checked the voltage from the stator...the manual says it should be greater than 28VAC for my model. I got 42.0VAC to the input of the voltage regulator. But, I'm not getting 13.5VDC out of the VR. So, I suspect my voltage regulator is bad. I did the resistance checks per the manual on the VR and they were not good. I am going to buy a new VR and replace it. That could be my problem. After an hour or so of mowing, the voltage in the battery drops too low. Thoughts?

It sounds like you are on the right track. Even if that doesn't totally fix your problem, you still need it to charge the battery anyway.

Did you ever try the choke when it begins to stall out? If the choke makes an improvement, it is an indication that it is fuel related.

(quoted from post at 18:10:06 07/03/16)
Did you ever try the choke when it begins to stall out? If the choke makes an improvement, it is an indication that it is fuel related.

Click to expand...

I did not try the choke. When it would start sputtering I turned off the blades, let the engine rev back up and stabilize and then re-engaged the blades.

I do wish I had tried the choke. I understand what you are saying but I just didn't think of it at the time. If, next time I mow, it starts the same thing again, I will try the choke.

If those things in the carburetor looked like pieces of dead ants your fuel line is coming apart from the inside out. BTDT.

That uses a magneto ignition, not dependent on the battery.

There (probably) is a battery operated fuel solenoid on the carb bowl that needs voltage to operate, but not much.

The biggest battery draw when running is the PTO clutch. Running it low on battery can cause it to slip and destroy the clutch!

Have you checked the fuel pump output? Try pulling the line that goes to the carb with it running. It should give a rapid pulse type flow. Also check the fuel line from the tank for rot cracks. Could be sucking air instead of fuel.