My Lawn Mower Will Not Stay Cranked

Bad Fuel

• One of the reasons a lawn mower will start up, but not stay cranked could be bad fuel. The gasoline you use in your mower sometimes sits in the tank all winter or comes from a jug that you may have filled and left in a garage or some other unsecured place for a while. If so, this fuel can go bad, be contaminated with water or may simply be the wrong type if you didn't label it. Regardless, bad fuel can give your mower engine enough juice to start up, but it may not keep it going very long. You'll need to siphon out the fuel in the tank and add fresh fuel to the mower to fix the problem.

Spark Plugs

• Like a car, mower engines need spark plugs to run properly. When a spark plug or two goes bad it could keep your mower from starting at all, but it may also be working just enough to fire the engine, only to have it stall a few moments later. You may need to buy new plugs for the mower to get it going again. Make sure the plug wires are connected properly and make sure the plugs are properly installed and gapped.

Fuel Level or Filter

• The fuel in your lawn mower may be just fine, but that doesn't help if the mower is having problems getting the fuel to the engine. If the fuel is too low or the fuel filter is clogged, then it doesn't matter how good the quality of fuel is in the mower. Low fuel is an obvious problem, but check your gauges or "eyeball" the tank to see if it is dry if your model doesn't have a gauge. If you know you have plenty of fuel in the tank, the problem may be with the filter. This in-line filter is meant to keep any impurities from jamming up the fuel system. But, eventually, like any filter, it needs to be changed because the impurities and debris in the fuel clog it up, which doesn't allow enough of the gas to pass through to keep the engine running.

Air Filter

• If your lawn mower can't get enough air through the carburetor, the engine will not run properly. This often results in the engine dying frequently. The air filter helps keep dirt and other foreign objects out of the engine to make it run smooth. When the air filter fills up with debris, it will block the airflow to the carburetor and could make the engine die. Changing the air filter will fix this problem and allow your mower to breathe again.