DMartin9N-2N
Member
My Deere 212 with Kohler engine caught me in an unthinking moment. While mowing back yard, knowing I was low on gas, the engine stopped. I checked tank level, sure enough it was near empty. Put in about a gallon. I know from past experience that the fuel pump has a hard time getting going after running out of gas. My procedure has been to kneel beside tractor, turn key with left hand, spray starting fluid into carb with right hand. I did that, but no start! I quit and went in house to eat. After supper I came out, sat on tractor and tried key. It started ok! THEN I realized the no-start problem had been the tractor's PTO switch, which bypasses the seat safety switch if the PTO is turned off. The PTO switch contact was not bypassing the seat switch, so when I tried my startup routine from beside the tractor, it was not going to work. So while I had been thinking "no fuel flow" was my problem, it was actually bad contacts in PTO switch. I should have been thinking about logical troubleshooting, not about being hungry.
Dennis M. in W. Tenn.
Dennis M. in W. Tenn.