Briggs and Stratton Governor Problem

Here's the situation:

I have a Craftsman Snowblower with a Briggs and Stratton 8HP engine. Engine model number is 12E114-0268-E1. The original problem happened a few weeks ago. When under load the engine would start to die, when you took the load off it, the engine would come right back to life. I originally thought that this was the coil. I used to race motorcycles and had an identical problem a few years ago, under load on the track, the bike would die out due to the #1 coil being shot, at idle and just revving it, it would be fine.

So I get a new coil and spark plug and tear it down. I put the new parts in. I also checked any wiring for loose connections with the coil, all was good. I put it back exactly as it came apart..with one exception. The governor spring fell off the flag bracket and I couldnt remember which hole it was set in. I put it in 7 I think to start off. The engine fired right up, but was running away and was extremely high rpm. I shut it down and messed with the governor spring location, moving it to various holes in the flag. Still the same thing. I dont think the governor is broken inside, as it will adjust rpm if I move it manually by hand. I have tried everything I can think of. All the parts are in the same way that they were taken apart. I has a new coil, on/off switch and spark plug, and all wires are secured tightly.

Why would this do this? Any help is appreciated.

 

Is the linkage from the carb to the governor arm pressed against or rubbing against the engine shroud, causing it to be hard for the governor to adjust rpm? Does it rev up even without the spring installed?

 

The linkage isnt binding at all. The engine revs out of control without the spring installed also. I can push it by hand and it will slow down, but other than that, it just goes from 0-50000 in a second

 

I would suggest you go somewhere that has a similar snowblower and check the linkage hookup, I have several diagrams but none for your engine and couldn't find one on the net. Have a good one. Geo

 

If you didn't remove or loosen the governor arm or the linkages, then I would suspect that the internal governor went bad, but I suggest making sure by re-setting the governor and see if it works, or if it offers resistance when it revs high or has no resistance at all. The governor arm should push the throttle linkage to slow it down. If you can move the governor arm back and forth freely, revving and slowing the engine with no effort, and the governor is set properly, then the internal part of the governor is bad.

 

The only problem with that is the governor linkage is hidden and requires me to remove the fuel tank and another cover

 

I think based on your answer, the internal part of the governor may be bad then. How hard is that to replace? Thanks for the answers!!

 

Not hard at all. You may be able to do it with the engine still installed if there is access and clearance. Remove whatever pulley(s) there are on the crankshaft, drain the oil, remove the crankcase cover, and the governor is right there. Don't take out the camshaft or anything, just inspect the governor gear and flyweights and lever. Replace whatever is wrong, put a new crankshaft seal in it while you have it open, clean off the old cover gasket and install a new one and reassemble. Adjust the governor to specs if necessary.

 

Cheese....thanks for the help. I will try to get into it this weekend and let ya know how it went.

 

sean506 have the same prob w/ same machine was it the coil, or the gov. although with the spring prob not sure can tell which was the real prob? Any help would be appreciated Joe D