Murray push mower 22" Model 223311X8A Briggs & Stratton motor idles slowly, coughs & spits, stops in middle of lawn and won't restart. Had tuned up, then brought back for recheck. Still happening....3 other neighbors having same problem......???
Garden - Yard Machines - 158cc Push Lawn Mower #11a 034f200
Answers & Comments
If your mower sputters when it hits tall grass it might also be a weak coil. Sometimes coils go bad because of poor ventilation due to obstructions in the air path.
Your mower tries to add fuel to compensate for the extra load and the coil cant make a strong enough spark to get across the added resistance the fuel creates. The motor misses and then dies.
The coil looses spark completely and wont restart until the coil cools down. The spark plug ends up covered with fuel too...another thing that wont allow the mower to start!3
You should check for spark the next time the mower quits. If the mower wont throw a spark from the coil lead to the metal fins than you need a new coil. They arent very expensive and you only need to remove the remove the pull starter cover to get to it! Than you can replace the coil following the instructions included with the new part. It's not a bad fix. You might even find a coil on Ebay for less! Bonus!
There are several additives on the market for gasoline, but only a few of them actually help anything. If the additive is relatively cheap to buy, don't expect much results. Gas that hasn't been treated with fuel stabilizer that is a month or more old loses its volatility and can cause issues with engine performance, small and large.
All you guys on the block need to make sure you're using fresh gas, Clean SAE 30 Weight Oil for the Briggs Engines and good clean air filters. Also you can tell when gas is going stale..it starts smelling kind of like turpentine....a smell you'll never forget.