Lawn mower / spark plug

[radm]

Have a Honda lm. I started her up early spring & ran fine. Decided to replace the spark plug. Got identical plug, gaped it to .030 & now won't start. After numerous pulls & waiting a bit she did fire & run for about 10-20 sec. then died & wouldn't restart. Any ideas? Bad plug? Try different gaps? I'm stumped.

[McGurk]

Did it start this season before you switched plugs? If you haven't thrown the old plug put it back in and see if the problem stays. Clean out or replace the air filter as long as you are swapping a plug. New gas, a little sea foam, and a few more pulls might be an order. Report back with any developments.

[radm]

Yeah I thru the old plug out since several weeks elapsed between taking old one out & putting new one in. Did the gas & filter thing. That's what's driving me nuts - it started on 1st or 2nd pull with old plug in.!?

[sparcebag]

Pull the plug ground it on the motor & see if it sparks.

[Whoaru99]

Not out of gas is it?

[Bobby Bass]

Starting fluid- give it a shot it sometimes just needs that little exra after sitting and changing the plug. Try starting it with the air cleaner off and see if it runs/ thens stops when you put the cleaner back on.

[upnorth]

This may sound a little too simple and you may have already done it, but make sure the wire is firmly on the plug, they don't always seat real easily.

[John Mickish]

Sounds more like a stuck carb float to me. If any of the above recomendations don't solve anything try tapping on the side of the carb with a wrench to see if that can free the float.

[eurolarva]

Verify the plug you got is correct. Look it up in your owners manual and buy another one. Also check to see if the kill switch is engaged. Best test now is as mentioned to pull the plug out of the cylinder, keep it in the spark plug boot and tie a wire around the threads to a metal screw on the mower and pull the starter in a dark room and see if you see a blue spark.