Hey all, my 23 hp kohler is starting to cause me to lose faith in it. Today, I got started on my first job, started it up, let it warm up while I was vaccuuming, Cranked it up, filled my detergent tank, then throtled it down to run hoses and it spitted and sputterd and just died. Worked for about 20 minutes in 10 degree weather to solve the problem, nothing, tested for fuel, check, tested for spark, nadda. So I ran back to the shop to get the portable, got back to the job, just for kicks and giggles I gave it another try, started right up w/o a problem, ran great through the whole job. This is the third time in two weeks this has happened. Any ideas? Would really appreciate it. Thanks Don
Check oil everyday, so thats all good. The fuel pump turns on and runs properly. Just no spark when it happens. Coil maybe?
One more thing on my comment, If you are parked on a driveway with an steep incline, this too may cause a low reading on the oil and hence the auto shut off for low oil... Since you stated that it ran again later, I don't think the coil or magnito is bad but maybe rather a loose wire. Ranier
i believe that is a twin cylinder engine, correct? if so you should have 2 coils, did you check spark on both cylinders or one side? it is highly unlikely that both coils would go out (and back on) at the same time. so if both sides had no spark i would rule out the coils being the problem and suspect a safety cut-out as stated above. however if it happens again and you find spark on one cylinder and not the other then i would say you have a bad coil and they can be an intermittent problem like you described. --Kevin--
well it happened again today. started up ran for 2 minutes then just shut off, could not get it started, drove it home, was pissed off, tried it again, started right up, ran fine. Lost todays job though. Do not have any clue as to what is going on. Just makes no sense. Ready to beat the crap out of this thing. Btw steamway platinum 2001, w/ 23 hp kohler 4800 hours.
How bout checking the Fuel filter, maybe spray some carb cleaner in the carbs and check if there is any leaks in the hoses. Ranier
OK, here is what I did, replaced fuel filter, cleaned carb sediment bowl, replaced coil and plugs and wires and condenser, cleaned carb. ran great today, even idled smoother. Don't know but it was a $200 tune up but seams to be well worth it.
This is not always true, some sensors come on slow, and will be grounding enough to stop the coil 1st in line, but not enough to fully kill the second coil in line.. Always check the safty sensors first, If you miss some maintance they are there to save you. I don't know Steamway off the top of my head but if it happens again, look for "Hi Temp Kill Sensor" (The description make me think it is heat related) this sensor killing spark on most Heat Exchanger machines means "bypass orfice" or Jet is clogged. Ignoring the problem will damage other parts , such as thermostats and temp sending units, keep ignoring it and Hi incomming water temps to the pressure pump (over 160deg f ) in most cases result in Major Pump repair. Mike
