Honda izy Mower Slow Idle & Weak Self Propel

[mikerecike]

Managed to get idle up to 3000rpm by raising the star headed screw and pulling the throttle cable back about 3mm into the clamp. Is that the only way to do it - feels like there's nowhere left to go and the choke doesn't have that 'nice locking feeling' as you shift the throttle control forward. Could it just be tired springs all round? Should I reset the big governor arm (undo then clockwise turn the centre scew? )

Secondly - in pic of self propel cable fitting - the more it's screwed out the more engaged the drive belt? Doesn't look like there's much play left to me - not changed in years - stretching of cable or belt the cause of a slow propel? Thank you.

[GardenKit]

Hi Mikerecike, you seem to have been quiet for a while!

 

You have done the right thing with the throttle. The Honda linkage is particularly poor quality and getting the right balance of throttle movement and choke operation can be tricky, sometimes involving a little bit of metal bending!

To be honest they are only designed to achieve 2800 rpm anyway.

Best to get the cable set so as to apply full choke, with the choke coming off fully in the correct position on the throttle lever, but this can leave the torx throttle screw short of the lever and a bit of a compromise needs to be reached.

Don't be tempted to mess with the governor arm, it won't help. But the spring which attaches the governor arm to the throttle lever on the plate (you can just see it under the fuel tap on your first pic) is the thing that controls the revs, and tweaking this to make it shorter will increase revs if all else fails.

 

The transmission could be slow because the belt is slack, so replacing the belt and tensioning it correctly to stop slippage may help.

If the cable has never been adjusted it could mean that the clutch inside the gearbox has been slipping for a while and could be worn beyond the point of no return, but usually adjusting it as you have will restore some loss of drive, if only for a short period.

[mikerecike]

Excellent Barrie - thanks very much - yeh it's been ages! (and I was hoping you'd be manning the customer service dept tonight ) Noted about revs - so potentially a bit of metal- bending on that spring when I reset the throttle cable for the choke to properly engage. I'm gonna have another look at belt. Thanks again.