I've been using my gas lawnmower since April, every month, and it starts up in a few pulls each time. Yesterday, it would not start at all. It's got plenty of gas and oil (the gas is about 2 months old since it ran dry). I've read troubleshooting answers on this website and others, so I know the problem could be the spark plug, carburetor, or gunk in the gas. But the particular questions I'm wondering about are:

- When try to I pull on the cord, I cannot for the life of me pull it out very far. I can pull it about 10", where I can feel the piston rotate maybe once, but with all my strength cannot pull it any farther. What would cause this?

- How do I tell if the lawnmower is 2-stroke or 4-stroke?

I"ve searched the Internet a bit and not found an answer to this. I plan to remove the spark plug, connect the wire, lay the spark plug on the metal chassis and pull the cord to see if there's a spark.

Techumseh 6.5HP Centura Elite LE lawnmower

2 stroke requires you to mix gas/oil. You will also not have an oil sump that requires filling.draining oil. If you have a dip stick and use straight gas its 4 stroke. When you remove the plug and ground it on the block you should be able to pull the rope easily all of the way. You should also get a strong blue spark on the plug. I'd dump the gas and get fresh gas just to eliminate the issue of stale gas.

I would remove spark plug, and give it a couple of pulls, does cord come out any more?
I would check air filter.
Three basics you need are:Fuel, Compression, and spark at the right time.
After the spark test, drop teaspoon of gas in plug hole, insert plug, and try to start,
If it fires for a second and dies, it is fuel problem.

Thanks for your replies. It is a 4-stroke, then.

I removed the spark plug, connected the wire, grounded the threads, pulled the cord lots of time (pulls easily now) and there is no spark.

What would prevent a spark? The plug doesn't look rusted. Maybe just carbon built-up or a path of less resistance deep in the plug's cavity? (I'm as interested in the reason the plug won't spark as what to do to fix it.)

I suppose I should buy a new plug -- this one is about 5 years old (although I've only used the mower for the last 2 years).

BTW, there was gas on the spark tip when I removed it. So it was flooded, I guess. I dried off the tip before trying for a spark.

A drop across electrode could prevent starting. Can you disconnect the kill wire, the one that when it touches ground, engine will die. If it does start, and you need to stop, replace wire to ground with insulated tool.
Stuck needle or float bowl can cause the flooding. You might remove float bowl and empty in glass jar, and look for water in the bottom of glass. Clean tank, gas and lines can only help. If it has points, dirty contacts will prevent firing.
Some or all info may not apply to this Model? Not familiar with it.

Had any luck yet? Did you get it to fire?

Thanks all for your help.

Stratmando, thanks for reminding me about the kill switch on the handle. I was trying to see a spark without holding that switch. So I tied down the switch so I could get both hands on the cord and what do you know, this time there was a small white spark. No blue at all.

I put the old spark plug back in and after about 10 big pulls, it started, with a big puff of white smoke -- smelled like something was burning (not like a cloud of mist).

I turned it off, checked the oil - OK. Started it again, and after a minute it stopped belching smoke and was running smoothly.

So should I try to get a blue spark? Shall I buy a new plug?

-Doug

New plug would be good, have them set gap while your there, Or use gap gauge.
New plug and good fuel is cheap test. Good luck. Sounds like you about got it.
White spark is fine.