John Deere LX 176 runs good...then shuts off


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Old 10-18-12, 03:31 PM
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John Deere LX 176 runs good...then shuts off

Hi All,

My friend brought over his John Deere LX 176 for me to hopefully fix for him. The tractor starts up and runs great. Then after it has run for 15 to 20 minutes, it will just shut off. It runs smooth right till the time it shuts off. When it dies it is like you just turned off the key. It doesn't run rough or sputter like it is running out of gas. Then you have to wait about a half hour before it will restart and run great again...... for another 15 minutes or so and die all over again. Going to look into it tomorrow, just wanted to know if anyone had some ideas about it. I'm thinking it is some sort of electrical problem. Engine does have an ignitior on the side of the block and has a circuit board at the ignition switch. Wondering if something is maybe gettting hot and causing it to shutdown. I did check under the shroud and there isn't any debris blocking the airflow.

Engine number is FC420V-BS10
Kawasaki 14 hp

Thank you,
Cory
 
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Old 10-18-12, 03:46 PM
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First I would loosen the gas cap. I don't think that's it but it's so easy to do... If that does not take care of the problem I'd look at the coil. When they start going bad they often quit when hot but work again once they've cooled.
 
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Old 10-18-12, 05:10 PM
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I'd be suspecting the coil pretty quickly.
 
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Old 10-21-12, 04:50 PM
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The coil is definately the problem. This time when it shut off, I pulled the plug and checked for spark. There was none. Let it cool off for 15 minutes. Started right up and ran good. Did that twice to make sure and had the same result.

I have tried two different mower parts websites(partstree and mowpart) that I get parts from and can't find my engine. It seems the FC420V-BS10 is not a common engine. There are alot of variations of this engine, but not the BS10. I found a coil on Ebay that said it fit on a BS10, but it said it wasn't to be used on an engine with an ignitor. My engine has an ignitor. Any ideas besides going to my John Deere dealer on which coil I need?

Thank you
 
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Old 10-21-12, 06:04 PM
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Ask the dealer if they have one and what the part number is, then search that number. If I recall correctly, the new coil replaces the need for an igniter.
 
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Old 10-26-12, 03:20 PM
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I went to John Deere with my numbers and got the correct coil. Just got it today and installed it. Tractor does the same exact thing. Starts and runs great for about 15 -20 minutes. Then it dies suddenly like turning off the ignition. As soon as it died, I checked for spark and there was none at all. Let the engine cool off awile and it had spark again. It started right up and ran good. So the coil wasn't the culprit after all. What else could it be? What else could be getting hot to cause this?

Thank you
 
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Old 10-26-12, 05:04 PM
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The only other electronic ignition component is the igniter. Usually it fails in a different manner. Have you checked your safety switches? Somewhere I have diagnostic data for the ignition system on this engine... will have to dig it up. Problems that show up with temp differences may not always show up in the diagnostic tests though, and the temp relation is normally an indication of a bad coil.
 
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Old 10-26-12, 05:30 PM
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I would be checking all related wiring and connectors, especially those close to the engine. Some connector or a wire with an internal break may expand or sag due to heat and break a connection. Once it cools and contracts it would remake the connection.
 
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Old 10-26-12, 07:03 PM
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I thought about that, but this system doesn't count on any connection being made to provide spark other than the coil to the igniter. It depends on a connection being made to shut it off though, so a safety switch, ignition switch, or shorted wire would be more likely. The wire from the coil to the igniter is white and very short and should be easy to inspect though, just to make sure.
 
 

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