Honda HRA214SX Hard to Pull Start with Blade Disengaged
#1
03-27-12, 05:13 PM
Honda HRA214SX Hard to Pull Start with Blade Disengaged
Hello,
I have a Honda HRA214SX mower that I purchased used about 5 years ago. This mower has been extremely reliable with just normal maintenance. The last time that I used the mower was November, 2011 and everything was operating normally. The mower was "winterized" and stored in an unheated garage.
While doing the normal Spring tune-up I found that that I could not pull start the engine with the mower blade disengaged. Surprisingly, I was able to pull-start the engine with the mower blade lever engaged (this is not normal!). Once the engine started it runs strong and the mower blade does spin and cuts grass as long as the mower blade lever is engaged. While the engine is running at high speed, I have tried several times to dis-engage the mower blade lever and this always causes the engine to stall out (this is not normal!). It almost seems like there is a brake on the mower blade roto-stop.
I am not sure what is causing this problem and would appreciate any help from folks who have seen this problem with the HRA214SX. Thanks!
I have a Honda HRA214SX mower that I purchased used about 5 years ago. This mower has been extremely reliable with just normal maintenance. The last time that I used the mower was November, 2011 and everything was operating normally. The mower was "winterized" and stored in an unheated garage.
While doing the normal Spring tune-up I found that that I could not pull start the engine with the mower blade disengaged. Surprisingly, I was able to pull-start the engine with the mower blade lever engaged (this is not normal!). Once the engine started it runs strong and the mower blade does spin and cuts grass as long as the mower blade lever is engaged. While the engine is running at high speed, I have tried several times to dis-engage the mower blade lever and this always causes the engine to stall out (this is not normal!). It almost seems like there is a brake on the mower blade roto-stop.
I am not sure what is causing this problem and would appreciate any help from folks who have seen this problem with the HRA214SX. Thanks!
#2
03-27-12, 08:28 PM
Forum Topic Moderator
Sounds like something has rusted or frozen up in the blade clutch. All I can say is either soak it with some penetrating spray and work with it to see if it will let loose, or take it apart until you find what is stuck. The blade does brake when you disengage it, so it sounds like the blade part is rusted to the engine side of the clutch.
#3
04-01-12, 12:25 PM
Honda HRA214SX Blade Brake Clutch Problem
Thanks for the advice cheese. I took apart the blade brake clutch (BBC) this weekend and found all parts to be operating normally (no rusted or frozen parts). I now suspect that the BBC friction plate might be the problem.
The BBC friction plate (Honda part #75150-VA3-J01) has two rings of friction material: the outer ring engages the brake plate and the inner ring engages the drive plate (attached to the engine drive shaft). Pictures of the replacement part seems to show that the outer friction ring should be slightly thicker than the inner friction ring. This makes sense since a thicker outer friction ring will insure that the BBC friction plate will fully separate from the drive plate when the blade brake is engaged. The BBC friction plate from my mower has the same thickness of friction material in both the outer and inner rings, so the BBC friction plate may not fully separate from the drive plate when the blade brake is engaged. This could cause both the drive plate and brake plate to be engaged at the same time and could explain why the mower is very hard to pull start when the roto-stop lever is dis-engaged.
I will try to get a replacement BBC friction plate from my local Honda dealer or through a web dealer. I hope that this solves the problem that I described at the beginning of my post. I would appreciate any further thoughts or advice from you or any forum members. Thanks!
The BBC friction plate (Honda part #75150-VA3-J01) has two rings of friction material: the outer ring engages the brake plate and the inner ring engages the drive plate (attached to the engine drive shaft). Pictures of the replacement part seems to show that the outer friction ring should be slightly thicker than the inner friction ring. This makes sense since a thicker outer friction ring will insure that the BBC friction plate will fully separate from the drive plate when the blade brake is engaged. The BBC friction plate from my mower has the same thickness of friction material in both the outer and inner rings, so the BBC friction plate may not fully separate from the drive plate when the blade brake is engaged. This could cause both the drive plate and brake plate to be engaged at the same time and could explain why the mower is very hard to pull start when the roto-stop lever is dis-engaged.
I will try to get a replacement BBC friction plate from my local Honda dealer or through a web dealer. I hope that this solves the problem that I described at the beginning of my post. I would appreciate any further thoughts or advice from you or any forum members. Thanks!
