RJR49 121 #1 Posted February 10, 2017 Foot of snow here today. Hoped the horse would start but was pretty sure it wouldn't. It didn't! (Fortunately my Honda did but it was a lot more work.) I tuned the K341 in the fall (points, plug, condenser) but it seems to need some rpm to start. When it spins fast it fires before I can release the key (even before I did the tune). lately it turned over at a "moderately" fast pace but apparently not fast enough. Looking for advise. Is this typical? Then there's the subject of 10 vs 13 gears on the starter. Thirteen sounds awesome. 30% more RPM, but it puts 1/3 more draw on the motor. Then there's the question of fit. Are they interchangeable given the difference in the C/L distance between the motor shaft and the K341 flywheel gear? Any help would be appreciated. Randy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
refracman 166 #2 Posted February 10, 2017 Ive found that hard starting, at least on our older equipment, is caused mostly due is the gas not getting sucked in if everything else is up to snuff first check to see if the carb shaft were the governor linkage is attached has play, if it does youll either have to install a bushing/ shaft kit or replace the carb its possible the exhaust valve is causing your issue checking the valves is a often overlooked item when tuning up a small engine, anything with 500+ hrs should at least get looky look its easy enough to check them, pop the head and inspect, the exhaust is the usual culprit the kohler manual will tell you the steps on this. but it might be as easy as closing the point gap down some to 18-16 thou as for the starter not sure good luck! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
js5020 111 #3 Posted February 10, 2017 I have the K341 in a 16 Auto and it fires up with no problem even in single digits, machine sits in an unheated shed. In cold weather I pull the brake lever to disengage the hydro on initial start to help things out but I don't find the engine to be a hard starter by any means. I do know if the valves are out of adjustment, points are not set just right, or the throttle shaft is worn they start hard,,,,, I didn't have the points set just right once and it was a bear to get started, hard turning over in low temps. Of course there are the standard stuff like good compression, good battery, good starter, good spark. The K's have ACR so it should wheel over pretty well with a good battery and good connections on both the + and - side of things. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squonk 38,843 #4 Posted February 10, 2017 Check your battery and if the cables are original, replace them 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pollack Pete 2,273 #5 Posted February 10, 2017 My snow moving machine (520H w/2 stage) sits in the unheated area of my barn.I keep a battery tender on it all Winter.Has a new DieHard battery in it,but without the battery tender,it used to crank over kinda slow. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
953 nut 51,483 #6 Posted February 10, 2017 Two problems; starter motor turning slowly is likely from poor electrical connections. Clean and tighten all including grounds and have the battery load tested. Problem two; hard starting could be fuel and/or ignition. Most older fuel pumps tend to leak back to the tank and are not good at priming themselves, get an electric fuel pump and mount it lower than the tank. The points gap also sets your timing, use the method below to set the points. Kohler static_timing.pdf 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
can whlvr 991 #7 Posted February 10, 2017 I have 5 or 6 horses that all share the chores,so they all don't get fired up as much as they probally should,most of them wont fire up right away but I have a c160 8 speed that will allways fire in a split second,and a c160 auto that wont,if I start them weekly they seem to start much better,one day I'm gonna put squeeze primers in line,like on a boat or on my skid steer Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ericj 1,576 #8 Posted February 10, 2017 too small off col cranking amp battery in cold weather could be causing your slow cranking issue and like said above check points and fuel flow. I have D200 that if it sits more than a couple of days I have to spray carb cleaner in the carb to get it to fire off eric j Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JackC 616 #9 Posted February 11, 2017 The K Series hard starting problems I have run into have been solved by electric fuel pumps and or cleaning and setting points. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WH nut 553 #11 Posted February 12, 2017 If it cranks slow, that's the first place to start. If the voltage drops below 10 volts while cranking you wont get enough voltage to the coil for a strong spark. If you put jumpers on it and it fires right up then look at connections to the starter and ground. If all those are good do a voltage drop test to the starter. Connect volt meter from battery+ and to starter terminal. Crank engine and record voltage, Should be near 0. Anything above 0 indicates you have High resistance in the starter circuit. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
