TroyBilt mower dies, then runs

TroyBilt RZT50 (zero turn) with a Kohler engine.

Yesterday, while furiously mowing to beat the approaching rain, the engine just quit. Upon turning the key to re-start, it would run for 3 seconds then, nothing. Puzzled, I removed the rather-old fuel filter, blew through it and put it back on. 'Mowed for another 2 minutes, then it died again. 'Still "runs" when starting but never more than a few seconds.

Suspecting maybe an electrical issue, I started checking connectors at all of the many "safety" switches attached to the seat, handles, parking brake, etc. I didn't really find any problems. I tried it again, and it fired up. I mowed for another 45 minutes without an issue. (And was headed back to the garage when the clouds opened up)

Do we have any idea what could cause something like this to happen? I don't want to spend all summer dealing with this.

 

You said that you suspect an electrical problem, which is possible, but the first thing that I would do is clean and inspect the fuel cap; if plugged it will create a vacuum, preventing fuel from flowing. After that, I would check for spark the next time it dies, in order to confirm or eliminate an electrical problem. You have to move fairly quickly, obviously, because if it's something like a coil starting to break down, it may have time to cool down enough to show spark if you dilly dally.

 

Is the Kohler single or twin?
When it starts acting up, try nursing it with some fuel directly into the carb, if it will or tries to continue to run then you likely have a fuel delivery problem which includes the carburetor.

 

Twin. SV715

I haven't ran it since originally posting, since it won't quit raining...