Service & Maintenance Question
Trying to get a Husqvarna GT52XLSi fixed.
I had a...
Service & Maintenance Question posted July 20, 2015 by Tony Miklos
162 Views, 4 Comments
Question:
Trying to get a Husqvarna GT52XLSi fixed.
I had a boatload of complaints but the dealer basically laughed at me. They didn't repair anything and refused to give me a work order showing my complaints and their inability to repair them. I've since forgotten getting help for the smaller repairs and am trying to get the engine to work properly. It developed an intermittent miss. Took it to a different place that is a factory authorized Briggs & Stratton service center. They told me up front that the problem will most likely be a fuel related problem and wont be covered under warranty! Wow they knew that before looking at it! Even though the problem started in the first 3 weeks of ownership, they did say it was bad fuel from sitting too long and made me pay the bill. $52.68 Hmm, old fuel after 3 weeks? When I told the counter person that I have 40 year old garden tractors that have never had a fuel problem, he told me that in today's newer Briggs and Stratton Engines "the quality just isn't there". Hear that Briggs and Stratton? Your authorized service centers are saying your motors lack quality and cause fuel to go bad!
So it worked for 1 day and the misfire returned. He claims he missed a tiny bit of dirt in the carb.
Yes you guessed it, it still has a misfire and an occasional backfire out the exhaust. So it's there again for a third time, dropped it off friday and today monday I didn't hear from them so I guess it's not fixed.
Oh, also the blades were evidently not tightened properly from the factory, one came loose and stripped the star shaped piece it fits onto. I bought a new one since they told me it was my fault, that's another $54.47 for the part WITHOUT the labor. So if you buy a Husqvarna mower be sure to have a large torque wrench to properly tighten the blades before each use!
So, does anyone here have any idea what could be wrong with it? I've been guessing it's a bad ignition coil. Any ideas to tell the "tech" what to look for besides bad fuel?
I had a boatload of complaints but the dealer basically laughed at me. They didn't repair anything and refused to give me a work order showing my complaints and their inability to repair them. I've since forgotten getting help for the smaller repairs and am trying to get the engine to work properly. It developed an intermittent miss. Took it to a different place that is a factory authorized Briggs & Stratton service center. They told me up front that the problem will most likely be a fuel related problem and wont be covered under warranty! Wow they knew that before looking at it! Even though the problem started in the first 3 weeks of ownership, they did say it was bad fuel from sitting too long and made me pay the bill. $52.68 Hmm, old fuel after 3 weeks? When I told the counter person that I have 40 year old garden tractors that have never had a fuel problem, he told me that in today's newer Briggs and Stratton Engines "the quality just isn't there". Hear that Briggs and Stratton? Your authorized service centers are saying your motors lack quality and cause fuel to go bad!
So it worked for 1 day and the misfire returned. He claims he missed a tiny bit of dirt in the carb.
Yes you guessed it, it still has a misfire and an occasional backfire out the exhaust. So it's there again for a third time, dropped it off friday and today monday I didn't hear from them so I guess it's not fixed.
Oh, also the blades were evidently not tightened properly from the factory, one came loose and stripped the star shaped piece it fits onto. I bought a new one since they told me it was my fault, that's another $54.47 for the part WITHOUT the labor. So if you buy a Husqvarna mower be sure to have a large torque wrench to properly tighten the blades before each use!
So, does anyone here have any idea what could be wrong with it? I've been guessing it's a bad ignition coil. Any ideas to tell the "tech" what to look for besides bad fuel?
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Answer
I would try a new set spark plugs as they can sometimes be bad right out the box before replacing either one of the two ignition coils. These engines do use a wasted spark system which could possible cause a after-fire in the exhaust from a miss fire under compression as the wasted spark is on the exhaust stroke.
As for possible bad fuel ethanol fuel can go bad in as little as 30 days but I would first try rule out other possible problems first.
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I picked it up again today, maybe mowing tomorrow. I hope it works. The shop owner told me he didn't change any parts, that they found a problem in the carburetor (for the third time).
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Well I don't know what happened to my last reply, I had picked it up for the 4th time, the 3rd time at this shop. Again they said they found a problem in the carburetor.
It worked for about 1/2 hour then it acted up again. :( I don't know if they even tried new spark plugs yet, but I'll ask on Monday. Is there a "lemon law" for lawn tractors? I'm getting tired of this. This will be it's 5th time to be repaired and still the same exact problem. I called Briggs and Stratton and they told me that the shop should call them on their special dealer/service center hotline. I'll have to ask if they tried calling Briggs and Stratton for help.
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My last visit to the service center I got the new tech all hot and bothered. I asked him if they even tried changing the plugs and steam came out his ears. Told me yes and many other things too! I said well why didn't you tell me what you did so I know you are at least trying? I asked him why it wasn't on the work order? Forgot his reply. I told him that Briggs and Stratton told me they should be calling them for tech help. Oh man did his ego take over then! He said we are trained technicians and we don't call anyone for help! Wow, last time I talked to him he was still in school, weeks later he's too smart to ask Briggs for help! Evidently he told the owner something and he came in and well I can't quote him but said something about how I even told him intermittent problems are the hardest to find. I agreed. Somehow he got to asking me why I'm upset. I said I'm not. I was a few weeks ago but do I look upset now? Eventually told him about calling Briggs for help. He said "what are we going to tell them, that it's working now?". I said no, tell them the whole story and maybe, just maybe they have had similar problems with others! Still sounded like he wasn't going to call. Even told him that I am a technician for other things and I'm good at my job but I never hesitate to ask for help. There is always someone else out there that knows something I don't! Still sounded like he was too proud to ask for help. Sorry for the long rant again. I wish Husqvarna would step in and help.
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