[poemind]

Hey, first post here! For starters I am not machine savvy. I am a programmer/web developer, but I'm good at following directions. Hopefully someone here can give me some to follow so that I can avoid costly repairs.

I have a N779-Pony Troy-Bilt mower. I have had it about 4 years now. For the most part it has performed well, but lately I've been having a problem. The mower simply would not start. It would turn over once and nothing more.

I've had a mechanic work on it and he did install a fuel shut-off valve. However, I think that I haven't used this as religiously as I should have. And now the mower will not start. What exactly causes this fuel line problem? I didn't actually get to talk to the repairman, the information was relayed to me via my wife, so I'm not exactly sure what causes the fuel line to be fouled up.


I'm not really a gear-head sort of person so I'm kind of at a loss here. I think I may need to flush or clean the fuel line but have no idea as to how to do that.

Also, (2) the emergency shut off that is located in the seat often does not work correctly, in that even while sitting on the mower, the mower will not start. And this may be my main problem, but usually in the past, by hopping up and down on the seat I was able to get the mower to start. But this is not working now, which leads me to think that something is going on with the fuel line again. I don't want to pay a mechanic to do this work again, if I can find out how to do it myself.

Can anybody help me with these two items? [1] Fuel line cleanage and [2] Fixing the auto shut-off seat feature ?

Thanks in advance!

T. Bivans

 

[JimC_Vt]

Bite the bullet and bring it in to a qualified mechanic ......The repairs can be in depth,and involve a lot of different tools .....bad fuel will plug up a carb,and an itermintent seat switch will drive you nuts .....Good Luck,Jim

 

[jeepersmitty]

Welcome to the forum. The fuel shutoff was probably installed because the fuel was leaking past the float valve. It could be hydro locking your cylinders and not allowing the engine to turn. Pull the spark plugs and see if it will turn over and if gas blows out of the holes. If it does you will need to get the carb rebuilt. Damage may have already occurred. Check your oil and see if you have fuel in it. You may well have to take it to a repair shop if this does not help.

 

[poemind]

Thanks for the welcome and the advice. I was able to figure out how to disable the seat switch just to see what else might be wrong. It will try to turn over a couple of times now. But it it doesn't really start. Jeepersmitty, I will try your suggestions and see what comes of it. Thanks again.

 

[olm911]

I thought my mower had a bad seat switch but it turned out to be the switch on the brakes had come loose. Snapped it back in place and she fired right up.