This from the Kohler manual. Oil Sentry(if equipped) This switch is designed to prevent engine from starting in a low oil or no oil condition. Oil Sentry™ may not shut down a running engine before damage occurs. In some applications this switch may activate a warning signal. Read your equipment manuals for more information. http://www.kohlerengines.com/engines/onlinecatalog/pdf/OM_3000_SERIES_18_590_09_REV_A_English.pdf
-THIS GUY- has over 1,000 hours on his Countyline 40 ton over 4 years.....and that was over a year ago.
Welp... sure thought I would have good news. Removed the spark plug and the tip end of it was completely severed. So, I sure thought that was the problem. Bought a new one and replaced, no change. Worth noting is that prior to discovery that it was broken yesterday, the day before, I had checked spark and it did have spark. Also, I suppose that it is possible that I broke the tip when I removed it. The spark plug has an odd kind of heat shield cover thing that I have to pry hard to get it off of the plug. Bummer, I am no small engine expert, just know basic stuff. I will read this thread and also older ones for diagnostic tips. I just checked spark again on this new plug and it's firing great. One thing I will add... very windy today, can't tell, but yesterday when I tried and tried to crank it, some black smoke would come out of the exhaust as I pulled it over. Is that normal? I never noticed that before because it has usually cranked on first pull. I don't guess I got some water in the fuel somehow... hmmm. I think I will drain some out and test it for water content.
Have you drained/changed the oil with the proper amount yet? I thought I had read that you overfilled it
Does it sit outside? I've read that on certain Countyline splitters with the smaller Kohler engines, they have a concave air filter housing that will let water in through the screw hole if it sits out in the elements. Someone on here or another site posted this and provided pictures and showed what he did to fix it. I don't know if you have this model splitter though. I found one -POST- of his where he mentions it.
Now it sounds like its flooded...turn the choke off, throttle wide open, give 'er a few pulls, see what happens...it very well may pop a time or two, then nothing...at that point you turn the choke back on for a few pulls. Or you could take the plug out and pull it over 5-10 times to dry out the excess fuel...then once the plug is back in try to start it with no choke first, if no luck then go to choke again.
This is like the comedy of errors. Or bad luck. Ok, I will do the flooded fix. That smoke certainly does seem to indicate it was flooded. It sits outside but I always have a cover on the engine. It was overfilled with oil at one point but I drained it so that it is now normal. As I was draining the carburetor bowl, a man drove up, wanted firewood, new customer. So, he could see I was working on the motor. Starts talking about small engines and before long, I could see that he either knows a lot or thinks he does. he kind of starts coaching, lol. I went along with it. I checked the gas out of the bowl for water, looked fine. Checked the float. Then he said we need to check the new spark plug again just to make sure it's firing. Can you believe, this guy wants to do this. He takes the plug out and it broke exactly like the other one! So, now this has happened twice. I did it and now he did it. I guess that metal shroud is the culprit. It seems that it would come off but we didn't get it off. Anyway, broken plug No. 2. I took the bowl completely off to inspect it and it looked terrible! Full of rust and corrosion in the bottom. Wonder if something got sucked into the carburetor. I have not checked the jet yet. I quit, had to do something else and commented I might just buy another carb and Mr. Fixit said that is what he would do. It's cold and crazy windy, I wish he would come back, lol. I did load him some wood in his truck. Mr. Fixit did actually know a lot about small engines. Was a very nice guy.
Do you use E10 gas? If so, stop, it makes a mess out of small engine carbs. I actually just went out to the garage where my splitter is and thought I'd start it. It hasn't been ran since this past spring and this is the first year it has sat over summer and wanted to see how it would start. I bought it new last fall. Well, I was concerned for a bit, as it would not even fire. Finally about 15 pulls in I decided to check the fuel. Ooops, it had a little bit, but not much. Put some fuel in and it fired right up. One thing I don't like about these engines is that the fuel shutoff and engine off switch are the same lever. I know why they do it, to force people to shut the fuel off when not in use. Those of us who like to shut the fuel off and then let the engine idle till the engine dies can't do that anymore with this setup. Although, I did notice right next to the bolt that holds the bowl in place there looks to be a drain bolt. I will just drain the bowl when I am done splitting in spring so that it doesn't sit all winter with gas in it.
I run synthetic oil in most of my small engines. I also dump in some seafoam every so often. Before winter, they get a dose of seafoam and sta bil and I run them all for about 5 minutes to get it through the carb. With everything, I let it idle for a few minutes after I use it. Figure that helps things cool down gradually.
I just run em. Mostly in the summer heat. I change the motor oil but never the hydraulic fluid. They just keep moving along.
