Ask Me Help Desk - Homelite gas push mower oil sensor location.

I cannot find an exploded view for my Homelite 20" gas push mower HCM 20/5-L anywhere on the internet. I need to find the location of the oil sensor wire.

The mower starts just fine when primed, but once the gas from the prime burns up the mower cuts off. My buddy told me that there is a sensor which cuts off the engine when the oil is too low. Originally the oil was low (I recently had it maintenanced for an oil leak) I put oil in and it ran for about an hour (showing occasional symptoms of cutting off) before stopping all together. This leads me to believe the wire to the sensor may be loose.

Any other suggestions would be helpful and an idea of where the oil sensor is located would certainly help! :)

Here is break down of mower.
Never heard of a low oil sensor on a mower, especially not a push mower. Generators have them but never heard of mower having one. Maybe, I can always be wrong.

Try running with gas cap off or only loosely installed.

http://www.ereplacementparts.com/hom...820_18831.html

Hi,
I could only find the one already stated.
The store behind Homelite that they started making generators(hence the name) and then branched out to chainsaws and other farm equipment. They ended up in the lawn mower business after they bought financially troubled Jacobsen.
By now they were in over their heads by being business in marketsthey did not understand and had no management skills to control.
If there is still a silver tag on the back of the mower, I can probably get you the exact breakdown. I may even be able to do it from the numbers off the engine.
There should not be an oil shutoff on the machine(as stated) since they were only on a rider made for two years.
It looks like the model is a two-bladed mulcher although I do not remember the Lawn King designation.
The sad story is that whaen the financials did not add up, both the rider and walk behind divisions were put up for sale(the generators, chainsaws, etc. were still profitable.) The walk behind tooling was sold to General Power(a division of True Value Hardware) and became their premium line. The "bean-counters" there decided that they could get 2-3 years worth of "free" mowers by trading it to MTD. Lowe's and Home Depot were already cutting deeply into their bottom lines.
Well, the line had aluminum deccks at the top, which "Papa" Mahugh swore he would never carry again from the 1960"s.
My belief is that if you cannot provide me with better info, is that you will have to contact Toro, whom they sold that part of the line to.
They too can be helpful and polite people! I wish I cooul be more helpful, but no 800 number still exists publicly. Try the Contact link here:
https://homeownersolutions.toro.com/...ions_home/222#
Peace,
Clarke

Quote:

Originally Posted by hkstroud

Here is break down of mower.
Never heard of a low oil sensor on a mower, especially not a push mower. Generators have them but never heard of mower having one. Maybe, I can always be wrong.

Try running with gas cap off or only loosely installed.

Homelite HCM20-5 Parts List and Diagram - (UT-30524) : eReplacementParts.com

Thank you for the link, the mower on the link and my mower look very similar though I'm still not entirely sure they are exactly the same.

I tried the gas cap thing and it worked even after I put the cap back on. However, it cut out after a few minutes. I tried taking the gas cap off again, but it wouldn't stay running like it did the first time.

I did notice that it stopped working when I was mowing along the curb of the road and the mower was tipped sideways at about a 45 degree angle. The side with the air filter was on the lower side at the time, so I took a look at the filter and found that it looked like it had been saturated in gas at one time or another and the sponge filter with it had stains that show it had gotten wet at some point as well.

It also looked and felt like oil might have gotten on the filter as well, it smelled like gas and was dark. I've seen similar style filters and I think the filter is suppose to be white (when clean).

Could a dirty filter cause these problems? Also, I was wondering if the filter can be washed or does it need to be replaced?

Clean the vent hole in the gas cap. Gas can't come out unless air can get in.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hkstroud

Clean the vent hole in the gas cap. Gas can't come out unless air can get in.

I don't see any vent hole in the gas cap to clean. The inside of the cap has a round silver looking disc protruding from the center of the inside of the cap, but no vent hole. Besides, I tried to run the mower with the cap off entirely after it quit running again and it still would not stay running.

What are your thoughts about the air filter I mentioned in the previous message?

By the way, thanks for answering so quickly! :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by crigby

Hi,
I could only find the one already stated.
The store behind Homelite that they started out making generators(hence the name) and then branched out to chainsaws and other farm equipment. They ended up in the lawn mower business after they bought financially troubled Jacobsen.
By now they were in over their heads by being business in marketsthey did not understand and had no management skills to control.
If there is still a silver tag on the back of the mower, I can probably get you the exact breakdown. I may even be able to do it from the numbers off the engine.
There should not be an oil shutoff on the machine(as stated) since they were only on a rider made for two years.
It looks like the model is a two-bladed mulcher although I do not remember the Lawn King designation.
The sad story is that whaen the financials did not add up, both the rider and walk behind divisions were put up for sale(the generators, chainsaws, etc. were still profitable.) The walk behind tooling was sold to General Power(a division of True Value Hardware) and became their premium line. The "bean-counters" there decided that they could get 2-3 years worth of "free" mowers by trading it to MTD. Lowes and Home Depot were already cutting deeply into their bottom lines.
Well, the line had aluminum deccks at the top, which "Papa" Mahugh swore he would never carry again from the 1960"s.
My belief is that if you cannot provide me with better info, is that you will have to contact Toro, whom they sold that part of the line to.
They too can be helpful and polite people! I wish I cooul be more helpful, but no 800 number still exists publically. Try the Contact link here:
https://homeownersolutions.toro.com/...ions_home/222#
Peace,
Clarke

Yes the mower is a two bladed mulcher, the silver tag is where I got the information for the mower in my original post.

Do you think a dirty air filter could be the problem? And if so, can they be cleaned or do they need replaced?

Yes, a dirty air filter could be part of the problem. Can be cleaned or replaced. To clean you can soak in gas and squeeze out. Check you oil level make sure not over filled. The gas cap will have a vent hole, very small. The silver paper disk is to keep gas from spilling out vent hole.

Hi,
It is probably a paper filter and only replaceable. The foam precleaner can be wash with warm soapy water and allowed to dry. My quess would be that you have a 491588 air filter.
Peace,
Clarke