# Kohler CV20 won't get fuel!!!



## jzhjr

This a great & informative forum, I love the internet its like having a world library of information at my every whim & question!
Kohler, CV20, 624, Spec: 65599 Ariens ZTR 1944 mower

Engine won't get fuel, was running great then died.

Has plenty of fuel, I found that if I pressurize the fuel tank it will start & almost stay running but only so long as I pressurize the tank. 
Oil qty full
Checked spark, both good, electrical circuit appears good

I suspect a possible fuel pump failure!!!!

Do they fail much? or could it be the fuel solenoid? 

not sure how much they fail & if I could blow fuel past it to the carb float!!!


----------



## 30yearTech

Both the fuel solenoid and fuel pumps are fairly reliable, but they do fail. Remove the solenoid from the carburetor and test it to see if it's working. You can also remove the fuel hose from the carburetor and place it in a container, then crank the engine over to see if the pump is delivering fuel to the carburetor. If I had to take a guess, I probably would suspect the solenoid first and then the fuel pump, but it could be either one of them and even could be a problem with the carburetor.


----------



## jzhjr

Thanks I'll check tomorrow & then post my findings, thanks for the quick response.

Leo


----------



## proctor

I also have a Kohler cv20s engine tractor and after I ran out of gas I filled it back up with new gas and it started to stall. I replaced the gas thinking it was bad or had water in it but it still keeps stalling intermittently. My fuel filter also does not seem to fill up completely with gas I wasn't sure if this was normal or not.
Can anyone give me some help with this?


----------



## 30yearTech

proctor said:


> I also have a Kohler cv20s engine tractor and after I ran out of gas I filled it back up with new gas and it started to stall. I replaced the gas thinking it was bad or had water in it but it still keeps stalling intermittently. My fuel filter also does not seem to fill up completely with gas I wasn't sure if this was normal or not.
> Can anyone give me some help with this?


If there was water in the fuel and you did not clean out the carburetor, it's not going to run even with good fuel in the tank. You will generally not see the fuel filter completely full of fuel, 1/3 to 1/2 full is normal.


----------



## walker1

jzhjr said:


> This a great & informative forum, I love the internet its like having a world library of information at my every whim & question!
> Kohler, CV20, 624, Spec: 65599 Ariens ZTR 1944 mower
> 
> Engine won't get fuel, was running great then died.
> 
> Has plenty of fuel, I found that if I pressurize the fuel tank it will start & almost stay running but only so long as I pressurize the tank.
> Oil qty full
> Checked spark, both good, electrical circuit appears good
> 
> I suspect a possible fuel pump failure!!!!
> 
> Do they fail much? or could it be the fuel solenoid?
> 
> not sure how much they fail & if I could blow fuel past it to the carb float!!!


I also have a Kohler CV20S. A few weeks ago I got gas that had some debris in it and it affected my Harley in my garden tractor. The bike definitely had trash in the tank and carb and once the fuel system was cleaned out it was fine.

As to the tractor I was having the same problem but it started differently. At first the engine ran fine on full throttle cutting the grass, but I noticed it would not idle at low speeds. I suspected there was trash somewhere in the system. I replaced the fuel filter and drained the tank replacing the suspect gas with fresh gas.

I dismantled most of the carb and cleaned it. I performed a solenoid and fuel pump check and both were working. I proceeded to mow my entire lawn and it ran like a champ. 

The next day I restarted the tractor and proceeded to mow another area. The engine ran fine until I started driving it under a load. Then it started surging and stalled out. It also was extremely difficult to restart the engine. The next day it started and I drove it around the yard for about 15 minutes with no problems. Then, the surging started again and it stalled out.

I emptied the tank and brought it to a Kohler repair shop. The mechanic blew out the tank without finding any debris. I reinstalled the tank with fresh gas and checked to see if the gas was getting to the carburetor. It was in the engine started and ran. As soon as I started driving it the surging installing occurred again.

The next day I took the carb to the Kohler shop in the mechanic disassemble the carb and cleaned it thoroughly without finding anything. I reassembled it and the engine started, but once again as soon as I put a load on it the surging installing occurred.

At this point in time the Kohler mechanic told me he needed the whole tractor to troubleshoot the problem. I'm beginning to suspect that this is not a fuel problem any longer and possibly something electrical. I'm also thinking that perhaps the solenoid or the fuel pump may not be working 100% of the time.

I will be posting when I can definitely find out what the problem is. Hope this helps.


----------



## walker1

jzhjr said:


> This a great & informative forum, I love the internet its like having a world library of information at my every whim & question!
> Kohler, CV20, 624, Spec: 65599 Ariens ZTR 1944 mower
> 
> Engine won't get fuel, was running great then died.
> 
> Has plenty of fuel, I found that if I pressurize the fuel tank it will start & almost stay running but only so long as I pressurize the tank.
> Oil qty full
> Checked spark, both good, electrical circuit appears good
> 
> I suspect a possible fuel pump failure!!!!
> 
> Do they fail much? or could it be the fuel solenoid?
> 
> not sure how much they fail & if I could blow fuel past it to the carb float!!!


Hi, Forgive me if I sound odd, but how exactly do you pressurize your fuel tank? I have not heard of that. How old is your machine?


----------



## hd4ou

walker1 said:


> Hi, Forgive me if I sound odd, but how exactly do you pressurize your fuel tank? I have not heard of that. How old is your machine?


either use your hand as a funnel and blow into it or use your compressor and and a rag.


----------



## jzhjr

Sorry I didn't get back sooner been a busy week! I just came back in from working on it.
I checked diaphram fuel pump output just prior to carb while cranking, no joy.
I checked just on outlet of inline fuel filter with a boat priming bulb to see if I could suck fuel from tank, no joy!! I could here & feel the bulb sucking air; of note I have two saddle tanks on my 2004 Ariens ZTR Model 1944 mower; tanks are selectable via a selector valve. 
So for the moment I suspect engine not running due to fuel starvation! Even though both tanks are a least half way full!! I also suspect blockage in the tanks although I'm not completely believing both tanks getting dirty at exactly the same time. 
On another note both tanks have about the same amount of fuel HMMM !!!!
So I removed the left hand tank because it has less other items attached to it, now my dilema is where to empty the fuel in it because nearly all my spare tanks are full, so in an effort to save time I emptied as much as I could into the right hand saddle tank. 
Once the right tank was full I again tried to suck fuel with the primer bulb & it started gushing out, so I reconnected it to the engine.

It started & it idles as always in the AM I will mow with a load.

I suspect at this point that it will only run until the fuel level gets to a certain level !! I'm going to get another empty fuel storage tank to empty the rest of the saddle tank to see what I can find that would keep the tanks from feeding the engine?
Anyone out there familiar with the Ariens fuel tank set up?
A hose on each of them on the very top of each tank comes out & goes to the selector valve.
I'm suspecting the engine sucks fuel from the tanks & is not gravity fed, I'll know more when I get it empty & have a look!

As for how I initially pressurized the tank, I just took the fuel cap off & put mouth into tank sealing it with my cheeks while at the same time trying to start it. 

But today with a little more time I found a beaker type tapered rubber plug (like in science class) with a hole in the center for a glass tube type straw, I removed the tube & just used low pressure air from a compressor to pressurize the tank in an attempt to get fuel to come out of the tank.

But still all I got was air which is why I'm thinking the fuel line that comes out of the tank at the top must be part of a suction type fuel feed system !

I'll post more tommorrow after I run the mower for a while or till she dies again!!! 

Leo


----------



## jzhjr

Sorry I didn't get back sooner been a busy week! I just came back in from working on it.
I checked diaphram fuel pump output just prior to carb while cranking, no joy.
I checked just on outlet of inline fuel filter with a boat priming bulb to see if I could suck fuel from tank, no joy!! I could here & feel the bulb sucking air; of note I have two saddle tanks on my 2004 Ariens ZTR Model 1944 mower; tanks are selectable via a selector valve. 
So for the moment I suspect engine not running due to fuel starvation! Even though both tanks are a least half way full!! I also suspect blockage in the tanks although I'm not completely believing both tanks getting dirty at exactly the same time. 
On another note both tanks have about the same amount of fuel HMMM !!!!
So I removed the left hand tank because it has less other items attached to it, now my dilema is where to empty the fuel in it because nearly all my spare tanks are full, so in an effort to save time I emptied as much as I could into the right hand saddle tank. 
Once the right tank was full I again tried to suck fuel with the primer bulb & it started gushing out, so I reconnected it to the engine.

It started & it idles as always in the AM I will mow with a load.

I suspect at this point that it will only run until the fuel level gets to a certain level !! I'm going to get another empty fuel storage tank to empty the rest of the saddle tank to see what I can find that would keep the tanks from feeding the engine?
Anyone out there familiar with the Ariens fuel tank set up?
A hose on each of them on the very top of each tank comes out & goes to the selector valve.
I'm suspecting the engine sucks fuel from the tanks & is not gravity fed, I'll know more when I get it empty & have a look!

As for how I initially pressurized the tank, I just took the fuel cap off & put mouth into tank sealing it with my cheeks while at the same time trying to start it. 

But today with a little more time I found a beaker type tapered rubber plug (like in science class) with a hole in the center for a glass tube type straw, I removed the tube & just used low pressure air from a compressor to pressurize the tank in an attempt to get fuel to come out of the tank.

But still all I got was air which is why I'm thinking the fuel line that comes out of the tank at the top must be part of a suction type fuel feed system !

I'll post more tommorrow after I run the mower for a while or till she dies again!!! 

Leo


----------



## jzhjr

WELL GUYS ITS FIXED & I FOUND THE PROBLEM

Here is a link of some else that had the same problem on a gravely, our trobleshooting was somewhat similar but different. 
The final problem was the same. Enjoy

http://www.handymanhowto.com/2009/0...fuel-line-part-1/comment-page-1/#comment-1553

I this identical problem on a Ariens Model#915055 Zoom 1944, about the same age 2004.
Troubleshooting lead me to believe it was the diaphram type fuel pump which I bought for my Kohler CV20 pulse fuel pump p/n 2439316 which our local Gravely deal crosses over to Briggs & Stratton # 808656.
In my case I thought it was the pump because when the tank was full the engine would run until it reached the fitting level. I did not know there were long lines inside the tank.
My mower failed with about half a tank of fuel in each saddle tank!!!
So far I have only repaired the left side my grommet was ok. 
But the right tank grommet is partially cut, I really only need the grommet. I used new 1/4 inch ID x 3/8 OD clear fuel line.
Those new kits look nice though, but pretty pricey considering fel line at most runs $1.05 a foot!!!, I reused those nice original brass fitting the Ariens version came with.


----------



## Setesting

jzhjr said:


> This a great & informative forum, I love the internet its like having a world library of information at my every whim & question!
> Kohler, CV20, 624, Spec: 65599 Ariens ZTR 1944 mower
> 
> Engine won't get fuel, was running great then died.
> 
> Has plenty of fuel, I found that if I pressurize the fuel tank it will start & almost stay running but only so long as I pressurize the tank.
> Oil qty full
> Checked spark, both good, electrical circuit appears good
> 
> I suspect a possible fuel pump failure!!!!
> 
> Do they fail much? or could it be the fuel solenoid?
> 
> not sure how much they fail & if I could blow fuel past it to the carb float!!!


----------



## K.I.T.T

Hi @Setesting , not sure why you would bump an old thread that has an answer? You also seem to have forgot to add a response to your post. I know you are new, and you may have just simply hit enter or clicked your mouse too fast, it happens. Thanks!


----------

