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JD 160 decided not to start...anyhelp

6K views 20 replies 9 participants last post by  Herd of Deeres 
#1 ·
So the other day I was mowing the grass, and I ran out of gas. So I push the 160 to the garage. I picked so gas yesterday filled up the 160 she turns over but will not start. I put some gas in the carb, and she fires for a few seconds and turns off. Any suggestions?
Rob
 
#2 ·
So, here's some fairly quick thoughts for ya...

1. Change your fuel filter
2. Have you ever changed your fuel lines? They tend to deteriorate over time, and let all sorts of crud float through your fuel system... Here's my BRAND NEW fuel filter, a half a second after I changed it and fired up my 160... THAT'S how I knew I needed to redo my fuel lines!

3. If you're pulling off your deck to redo your fuel lines, clean your fuel tank too...Here's what came out of the bottom of my tank when I cleaned it...

4. If you're doing a tank clean, check your fuel shutoff valve too, to see what kinda shape its in (They're cheap AND still available)...Notice how much shorter my old one is than the new one... Guess where all THAT went?!?

5. Get a can of Seafoam and follow the instructions on it for how to clean out your carb... There's some really good threads on how to use it that have gone by in the past couple of months, check them out!

6. There's an outside chance it could be your fuel pump (the little dealy mounted on the engine shroud between the fuel filter and your carb...)... But before leaping to that, you really should try the first five.

Hope this helps!
 
#4 ·
Feel free, if you're heading into doing any of those first five, to post questions about them... There's a LOT of us on here who have worked through some variation of all of these...

If you haven't done ANY of them on this machine (I'm assuming you're not the original owner, either), you may want to just take a half a day and do the first five...

So, the order of operations would be something like this:

  1. Make sure your fuel tank is as empty as possible (probably hard if the machine's not running)
  2. Close your fuel shutoff valve
  3. Pull off your deck... This involves taking off the seat(DON'T forget to undo the seat safety switch), the pedestal trim (that piece of green plastic below your dashboard, it takes a 10mm socket to do it), the shift knob for your transaxle (its a bugger to get off, it IS a spring clip, not a threaded knob, so it takes a FIRM pull... DON'T hit it with something, that doesn't help... trust me on that one), the mower height knob, the parking brake knob, then the 5 bolts that hold the deck on.
  4. Note how the fuel lines run before you undo them.
  5. Undo the fuel lines, and remove your fuel sensor clip from the tank
  6. Pull your fuel tank, drain it, wash it out well, let it dry completely! Placing it in direct sunlight for an hour or two would likely do it.
  7. Replace your fuel lines all the way to the fuel pump (I didn't replace the one that goes from the fuel pump to the carb because I couldn't find any of that braided mesh-covered fuel line they used).
  8. Replace your fuel tank vent line (I can pretty much guarantee you'll need to do that... Its a thinner plastic hose that runs from the vent, down around the front of the fuel tank and back to the back of the fuel tank where there is a little indent it sits in... This is how the tank vents, and how, if you've overfilled it, it deals with dumping extra fuel...
  9. Replace your fuel filter - the stock JD one for this model is a little pancake unit, I didn't bother going with that one, I went with the bigger one you saw in the picture... Make sure the arrow on the filter is pointing in the direction of fuel flow
  10. Make sure your tractor is in neutral (kinda hard with the deck off) then see if it fires up for you (before you go through the pain of putting everything back on...)
  11. Try the Seafoam tricks if its still not running (easier than a full carb clean)...

Good luck!
 
#6 ·
No "clonk" out of the solenoid when you turn the key? That'd be the first thing I'd check, is whether jumping your solenoid (CAREFULLY using a booster cable to take voltage from battery to the solenoid terminal that is connected to the starter)... If it turns over at that point, then you've got a problem somewhere between the starter and the battery... This could be: wiring from battery to solenoid, wiring from solenoid to starter, neutral start switch failure.... Start with the little things and work up from there....

Hope this helps...
 
#7 ·
Comes to find out the neutral safety switch was unplug ever so slightly. Now it turns, but it will not fire. I put a small amount of gas in the carb, and it fires and runs for a few seconds. fuel pump is working, bowl has fuel in it.
any ideas?
Thanks for all the help!!
Robby
 
#8 ·
Sounds like the igniter again. It is a small silver item on the right side of the engine that controls the electronic timing. It is about the size of a postage stamp. It is very easy to change… one wire and one screw. Cost is about $75 up here in Canada from the dealer.

Good luck with your machine.

Fellows of the forum... what do you think, am I correct?
 
#10 ·
I agree... rule out the cheap fixes first. I still suspect the igniter because he stated that the bowl had fuel in it. :D

Good luck, and keep us posted.
 
#12 ·
Is that Rusty's igniter next to the oil fill with the white wire ?? $75 bucks ??

 
#13 ·
Yup, I believe that is it... If you go for the stock JD one... I've heard rumours of people being able to source them from Kawasaki or eBay for cheaper... So far, thank goodness, I haven't had to look.... Knock on wood..
 
#17 ·
Big Time that's why i asked what it was..
Now What ??!! What's next?
 
#18 ·
Seems to me that if it starts when you put gas directly into the carb it has to be gas, or lack of gas, related.

I'd remove the gas line at the carb and turn the engine over. If gas spurts out then it's in the carb. If it doesn't spurt out then it's the filter, pump, or blockage in the line or tank.

Oh another thought...on my 165 it sometimes wouldn't start because the choke wasn't closing all the way due to a worn out linkage connection thingy right under the dash. So first make certain the choke is closing all the way.
 
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