Cub Cadet 127 hard starting
 

my problem is when every i am starting a cold engine esphly in the cold weather it is very hard to start ive run sea foam in it it didnt seem to help any advice is welcome
heres a vid of what it dose http://youtu.be/Ce6sgtEhcOo

Two things come to mind: points need gaping and/or ACR not releasing at low rpm.

1st thing, try setting your points to .20 inches at maximum opening. The engine sounds like the spark is firing the mixture way before TDC. That may be what is stopping the piston in its tracks. Pull the plug wire the next and see if it turns over OK without stopping it. If it turns over OK, then it may be your Automatic Compression Release not opening the exhaust valve a little until the engine gets to about 650 rpm or so. This would mean your exhaust valve is set to close without the ACR being able to keep it open until engine speed gets to 650 rpm.

When the engine reaches 650 rpm, the ACR cuts off and the valves close normally. It sounds OK when it runs.

Can someone post some pics or give a real good explanation of the compression release???
My 127 still wont start.

Try this link. It is from the OCC technical manuals.

http://www.kohlerengines.com/onlinec...df/tp_2379.pdf

once the motor starts it runs strong and will start right up but not with out the coke on and runs fine inless i hit a big bump then i have to run the choke for a wile witch is strang

I would try cleaning and resetting the carb maybe put a float kit in. I had a buddy with a 127 that was a pain to start and it helped to put a space heater pointing on Tue rearend for awhile to get the.fluid warmed up. Ended up finding out the headgasket was blown as well so after the carb rebuild/clean new headgasket and heat on the rear it fires up as good as my 123 now almost effortless

say it fires right up like your 123 thats like me i also have a 123 it will fire right up every time summer time i rarly even need to use the choke

just went and tried to start it today i pulled the plug wire and it would crank over with out stopping when i hooked it back up it still did that same thing as it did in the vid then my battery stated getting week so i couldn't get it started will charge the bat and set the points and see what happins

I've never understood why the first things that's always suggested in this situation is the ACR...it's almost never the problem, and is the LAST thing I would check. The engine turns over decently fast every now and then in the video, so it's not the ACR. The spring either fell off or it didn't, it's not going to work some of the time...

I finally had two minutes to watch your video. First, your battery seems weak. How old is it, what's the CCA rating, and have you had it load tested? Are your grounds clean and battery/ground cables in good condition?

The first thing I would do though is get the timing set correctly. If I understand your most recent post, the engine firing slows the cranking down, so disconnecting the plug wire lets it turn over at a constant speed. Sounds like the timing is too far advanced, causing the engine to fight the starter. Either use a timing light or the static timing method...gapping the points with a feeler gauge is not good enough. If that doesn't help, I'd check out the battery and your ground and battery cables.

Edit: You also need 10W-30 oil in the winter, or the engine will be very stiff, and a lot of wear will occur with every cold start.

ok the battery actually wouldn't surprise me i have no idea how old it is it came with my 123 and i drained the one that was in my 127 so i just switched them and never have had it load tested but it seems to hold a decent charge and i am running 10w-30 oil but ill check the timing i got this tractor with a 48 in deck for 135 last summer the guy said it had been sitting for at least a year in his back yard
ive also put a different s/g on it that i got used off ebay so idk the history of it

I was thinking poor battery as well.

well i gota go to the farm store in a couple days any way i guess ill look in to a new battery what kind of cca should i be looking for it a 12 hp

The higher the better... I got a little 275 I think it is on ny 123 and does fine. Got a 360 on the original and can defntly tell the difference

X2 on the highest CCA you can get. I went to my local TSC and got this one; http://www.tractorsupply.com/mower-b...g-amps-4700042 it turns over my 14 HP well.

Other things I checked when I was having problems with mine:

grounds are all cleaned up, and tight.
Spark plug gap is correct
points are gapped correctly
I use 93 octane fuel in winter, it helps
park it inside, or get a heater for your rear end

I also put a batt. tender on my battery to ensure it's good before i want to start it.

I would do as Matt says,make sure you points are good and do the static timing.I did not believe it till I tried it and now would not do anything else.The 123 I had would start so much better after ,like night and day.

Bob

new battery is in contacts on the battery are good haven't checked others yet and im still having the same problem

changed out the s/g and wow what a difference it cranks over so much faster now and starts right up

Glad you got it straightened out! :beerchug:

thanks also did a carb cleaning

My tractor, a 126, has this starting issue. What is this s/g you speak of?

S/g= starter generator

it is easy to overlook the starter generator especially if you have owned it for a long time. I had a similar problem with my 106 three years ago.
Having owned it for several decades. I never realized it how much the cranking speed had slowed because it happened over years. I changed batteries, switches, cables. I measure the RPM and was not breaking 600 RPM - minimum to shut off the automatic compression release. I finally thought to check the SG. with no load it spun very fast but as it coasted down, to almost stopped, it started to shudder. I opened it up. the pulley end has a bearing the other end had a bushing which was almost gone, the rotor was rubbing the stator, how it spun at all was amazing. I bought a replacement with bearings front AND rear. it was like a new tractor. other than a 6 volt farmall cub now running on 12 volts, I don't own anything that spins as fast. fuel squeeze and spark - you need all three