# gx345 JD lawn tractor



## oldlady123 (May 3, 2013)

My husband purchase this GX345 used, It ran fine when we first got it 2 years ago. Now I am having trouble getting it to start and stay running. It cranks but will not start. I have changed spark plugs, gauged them, check valve settings, checked liquids levels, electrical as much as I know, drained fuel tank (at first thought it had water in fuel) drained carb, replaced fuel filter, air filter, put new gas in with sea foam. I got it to run thru one tank of gas with starts and stops.

After that I have gotten it to run a couple of times then it quits. It will not idle properly, back fires when it runs enough for me to turns it off. When I do get it to run it will run so long and then quit like something like water or dirt clogs it. I drain the carb again, take out spark plus wipe them off and try and start it again, sometimes it will kick over but dies immediately sometimes it will run for a while. Right now it does not start at all just cranks. Got any ideas? I am not a mechanic. It has 540 hrs on it. I do have some hills and flat areas. 
The manual says to adjust carb at 500 hrs. I can not find for sure where carb adjustment is nor can if find a picture of where it shows how to adjust it. Maybe I have an adjustment wrong, or can it be the choke? It seems to be getting the gas all right. I would appreciate any suggestions, I am too old to fool with things that don't work and on a fixed income so I really don't want to take it in to be worked on unless there is nothing else to do. 
thanks for any suggestions
Oldlady123


----------



## mikey24ynt (Mar 27, 2013)

Sounds like a timing issue to me, if I'm not mistaken that tractor was made 2002- 06 maybe so it's not terribly old. Should have a kawi motor too. Could just be the coil causing it to not spark correctly or it's overheating possibly since you said it runs sometimes and quits. You have fluid levels but I wonder if its actually pumping coolant for the motor? Did you notice coolant mixed in with the oil on the last oil change?


----------



## oldlady123 (May 3, 2013)

Yes it is a 2005 with Kawi engine. I went thru it again with the hot wire tester and found a wire on the Time delay module some times would be hot and sometimes not light, so I replaced that. It starts okay now, and runs okay on the flat areas, but on the hills still will shut off. It will start back up again either right away or in a few minutes. I did not see coolant in the oil. I will keep an eye on that, thanks for telling me about it. I blew air thru the hole in gas cap in case it was plugged and it was not getting enough air. I have not used it on the hills since I did that. It just seems like it does not get the gas like it should into the carb on the hills. It also will not idle as you move the gas lever down when you go to turn it off, it just shuts off before you need to shut it off with the key. When it does run it runs well. It has me still puzzled. The fuel pump seems to be pumping okay. We have used John Deere's for about 47 years and this is the first one that I absolutely hate. Thanks again for your suggestion, oldlady123


----------



## mikey24ynt (Mar 27, 2013)

With the hills and it shutting off as you idle down would indicate to me the float in the carb is being hung up. Check that again and make sure the needle isn't the culprit. Sometimes the plastic float rides too close on the needle edge.


----------



## oldlady123 (May 3, 2013)

I can't do anything with the carb except replace it. It is one of those you can not repair. Now that it is hot, it has quit running after about 45 minutes of running on the flat ground. I am wondering if it is the fuel pump. When you take the hose off of the filter, it seems to pump okay, but I have been noticing that the plastic container that holds the fuel filter is only about 1/3 to 1/2 full of fuel. Would this be correct? I know nothing about fuel pumps, what are the symptoms of that going bad? When it sits about an hour usually it will start right up again, when you have 5 hours of mowing to do that gets old fast! It just acts like it is not getting gas. Or am I back to the carb.?


----------



## oldlady123 (May 3, 2013)

ok took carb apart some what. Cleaned the bowl, it had dirt in it. I did not get as far as the jet that takes the gas in. Can't figure out how to take it out with out a big tear down project that I know I can not do myself plus it says carb can not be cleaned. Right now tractor will not start. I have gas pumping to the carb but it does not seem to go into the carb. The fuel pump works fine. I am thinking it is the needle/jet is plugged with a bit of dirt. Any ideas?


----------



## joee (Nov 13, 2014)

My model 345 jd will not stop running when I turn off the key. It will stop when I get off the seat. after it stops running the oil light on the dash comes on and will not go out until I remove the battery ground. Is it the voltage regulator?


----------

