wheel horse man 56 #1 Posted January 10, 2015 I never have had a problem starting my 312-8 went to the yard barn to start it with a wind chill of 20below zero throttle cables frozen took a hair dryer every year to un thaw choke and throttle cables tractor would keep cranking but no fire i choked it full and half . Then checked to see if i had spark plenty of spark checked for fuel i am geting plenty of fuel so i took the spark plug out and it was wet i turned engine over with choke off and spark plug out to get it un flooded then took spark plug and wire brushed it and heated it with a lighter to help it combusted the fuel better put the plug back in and still no start i also even ran a hair dryer in the the air filter to get warm air in the combustion chamber still not one fire of the engine i will not use starter fluid because its hard on an engine so what can i do to get it started Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lane Ranger 10,517 #2 Posted January 10, 2015 In this extremely cold weather an old battery may not have all the cranking power you need. Gasoline might separate a little too -giving water in fuel a chance to be troublesome. I would change plug just to see it that might be issue also. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Molon_Labe 731 #3 Posted January 10, 2015 I agree with Lane, sounds like a fouled spark plug. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tankman 3,515 #4 Posted January 10, 2015 (edited) Change the plug, jump the battery while trying the starter. Starter fluid is rough, just a quick squirt. No more. You can also try a quick spray of carb cleaner. At 20° below, starting any gas machinery can be difficult. Post results. Edited January 10, 2015 by Tankman Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wheel-mule 45 #5 Posted January 10, 2015 (edited) WD 40 makes great starting fluid and will not hurt the engine.I would also change the plug,just because it has spark out side the engine does not mean it will fire under compression.Also remove the float bowl and made sure it does not have water in it.Plug may be wet but it might be water not gas. Edited January 10, 2015 by wheel-mule Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wheel horse man 56 #6 Posted January 10, 2015 Can i use a e3 spark plug and if i can what part number would it be Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Forest Road 594 #7 Posted January 10, 2015 Agree with everyone else. Change the plug and do a jump start. That kind of cold makes everything hard to start. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skrusins 128 #8 Posted January 11, 2015 I use WD 40 also Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wheel horse man 56 #9 Posted January 11, 2015 Got it running to day put a new plug in it went to the dealer ship got me a new throttle cable run perfect now Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Molon_Labe 731 #10 Posted January 12, 2015 Glad you got it going, it pays to have a spare plug laying around! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites