"Janet Tweedy" wrote in message
...
In article , MuddyMike
writes
Sounds like you need a new mower man!
I agree if it splutters a lot before dying that it is probably fuel
related
but not necessarily starvation, but need to know a little more.

What make is the engine?
What is the fuel tank like? Is it rusty metal or a plastic one?
Does it have a pipe between the tank and carburettor or is the tank
mounted
directly on top of the carburettor?
What about the cold starting provision, does it have a separately
controlled
choke, choke combined with the throttle or no choke control at all?

Or does it die suddenly? if so it could be the electrical cut off at
fault.


It's Hayter Harrier 48 about 10 years old but no idea of make of engine
Mike!
Tank is a metal one
er, think tank is mounted on top of carburettor
It has one control, all the way forward for choke starts then lever back
for speed of engine.

It doesn't die suddenly it sort of splutters to halt

Ok, so almost certainly fuel problems but still not sure whether its
starvation or over fuelling.

You could try restarting immediately after it dies then remove the spark
plug . If its wet then it's certainly over fuelling which can be caused by
the choke staying on, or the air filter being blocked.

Air filter is easy, clean it out. Or test the machine by running it without
the filter element in place. Only try this in damp conditions when there is
little dust flying around.

Choke a little more difficult. Some have a choke that is applied manually by
pushing the throttle lever fully forward, others have one that is spring
loaded and comes off automatically when the engine reaches full speed.

When you check the air filter look down into the carburettor. Do you see a
plastic butterfly flap with a hole that the screw holding the filter on
passes through? If so does this plastic butterfly spring back to fully
closed when you move it with your finger? This is the choke device and it
works by blocking the airflow when starting so as to make the engine suck in
more fuel. Once running the suction of the engine holds it out of the way.
Check it moves easily and fully opens, it should spring back to fully closed
when you let go. If not its sticking and needs freeing up.

If its a manual choke activated by full throttle opening, it may be that the
cable is badly adjusted and activating the choke too soon/releasing it too
late. Try running the machine at half throttle if it keeps going then your
cable needs adjusting so that the choke is closed at full running speed.

If the plug is dry then it is likely to be fuel starvation. This could be
caused by blockage in the float valve, possibly by rust particles from
inside the tank. Or failure of the diaphragm inside the carburettor.

This is now somewhat more technical as it requires a stripdown of the
carburettor to check for dirt in the float valve and replacement of the
diaphragm. Which brings me back to my first observation, get a new mower man
if you are not confident of delving in there yourself..

I have a Hayter 56, the slightly bigger brother to yours and in the18 years
I have owned it, other than new blades, it has needed two replacement
diaphragms and one replacement drive belt. they are good machines but do
need basic servicing.

Mike