# Ariens stalls @idle



## Harry Doyle (Oct 21, 2018)

Hi folks, new member here. I just bought a used ariens 926le model 926001. It runs fine, but when I move the throttle down to idle it dies after a few seconds. Im guessing a carb cleaning and or mixture adjustment? I'm not sure if the carb has the adjustment screws though.


Thanks in advance! 
Michael


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## Motor City (Jan 6, 2014)

Most likely needs the carb cleaned and rebuilt. Or just replace the carb with a Chinese knockoff.


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## nwcove (Mar 2, 2015)

Harry Doyle said:


> Hi folks, new member here. I just bought a used ariens 926le model 926001. It runs fine, but when I move the throttle down to idle it dies after a few seconds. Im guessing a carb cleaning and or mixture adjustment? I'm not sure if the carb has the adjustment screws though.
> 
> 
> Thanks in advance!
> Michael


welcome to the forum ! 

if you throttle up just a tiny bit will it stay running ? if so, you should be able to set the idle speed a bit higher.


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## Harry Doyle (Oct 21, 2018)

nwcove said:


> Harry Doyle said:
> 
> 
> > Hi folks, new member here. I just bought a used ariens 926le model 926001. It runs fine, but when I move the throttle down to idle it dies after a few seconds. Im guessing a carb cleaning and or mixture adjustment? I'm not sure if the carb has the adjustment screws though.
> ...


Yes, if I raise it up just above idle it will run. Also, won't start on idle. Need to bring it up almost half way.


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## 1132le (Feb 23, 2017)

Harry Doyle said:


> Yes, if I raise it up just above idle it will run. Also, won't start on idle. Need to bring it up almost half way.


Is all the way down the kill switch?


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## Harry Doyle (Oct 21, 2018)

1132le said:


> Harry Doyle said:
> 
> 
> > Yes, if I raise it up just above idle it will run. Also, won't start on idle. Need to bring it up almost half way.
> ...


Yes, it clicks into the idle spot, then to stop.


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## 1132le (Feb 23, 2017)

Harry Doyle said:


> Yes, it clicks into the idle spot, then to stop.



get a 12 dollar tach and check idle and max rpm i leave my ide a lil higher then stlck spec


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## Harry Doyle (Oct 21, 2018)

Is there a screw I can tune on the carb? I haven't had much time to look yet, let alone print out the engine manual.


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## vinnycom (Nov 6, 2017)

pics of carb would help.
if its old enough there should be low and high screw mixtures which will help getting it to run good.
if not theres always a idle set screw that controls how far the throttle plate opening is allowed to close.
cleaning carb and getting a digital tach is always a good idea


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## Motor City (Jan 6, 2014)

Harry Doyle said:


> Is there a screw I can tune on the carb? I haven't had much time to look yet, let alone print out the engine manual.


Yes, to adjust the idle. Like stated above it would help to get a small tach. I just bought a new one on ebay. If you remove the cover over the carb, you will have access to the idle screw. and at the bottom of the throttle lever you will see another screw, to adjust the engines high speed. I usually set the idle to around 1,700 or so and high speed should be at 3,600. See below, first pic is the idle screw, second is the high speed adjustment. I think they are a T10 Torx bit.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Runleader-...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649


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## Harry Doyle (Oct 21, 2018)

Silly question, but is there a reliable go to aftermarket carburetor manufacturer?


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## Harry Doyle (Oct 21, 2018)

Motor City said:


> Harry Doyle said:
> 
> 
> > Is there a screw I can tune on the carb? I haven't had much time to look yet, let alone print out the engine manual.
> ...


. Awesome, thanks for the pictures. I'll give it a try tonight.


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## tadawson (Jan 3, 2018)

Harry Doyle said:


> Silly question, but is there a reliable go to aftermarket carburetor manufacturer?


I'll stick my neck out and say no . . . Like a lot of inexpensive Chinese stuff, QC can be hit and miss. Despite being slightly more work, unless really beat, I have not found a stock carb that would not clean and run well, and they aren't much more complicated than a bowling ball . . . real simple stuff to work on. 

Myself, I'd always clean first, and only replace as a last resort . . .


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## Harry Doyle (Oct 21, 2018)

tadawson said:


> Harry Doyle said:
> 
> 
> > Silly question, but is there a reliable go to aftermarket carburetor manufacturer?
> ...


Thanks, I've cleaned a few myself too. First one I learned the hard way the the carb cleaner eats the rubber. That was fun. I think I got it now though. Will cleaned tonight and report back. Soak or spray out is the next question.


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## tadawson (Jan 3, 2018)

It depends on how bad . . . I have recently been using spray over a pass, a toothbrush, pipe cleaners, and welding torch tip cleaners. Everything gets soaked, brushed, all jets opened withthe tip cleaners, and then sprayed again to get rid of anything loosened. I also realized how simple it is to pull the welch plugs to be able to get to everything, and do that most of the time as well.

Other than the bowl gasket, which should be removed, I've not encountered rubber parts in the carbs I have worked on - auto or small engine.


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## 1132le (Feb 23, 2017)

Harry Doyle said:


> Thanks, I've cleaned a few myself too. First one I learned the hard way the the carb cleaner eats the rubber. That was fun. I think I got it now though. Will cleaned tonight and report back. Soak or spray out is the next question.



Harry many on this site have used them and had no issues ive use 3 myself

you can get the adjustable carb for 8 to 15 bucks
there are rubber o rings on the adjustable carbs


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## RIT333 (Feb 6, 2014)

tadawson said:


> and they aren't much more complicated than a bowling ball . . . real simple stuff to work on.



OK, now you are stepping on my toes. When is that last time you have been in a bowling alley, and watched a top-notch league bowl ? Just about every bowler will show up with 4-6 different bowling balls, and they will all have different surface friction, different drilling patterns with different weight cores within the bowling ball to perform best on the lane conditions that they are faced with, and it will change during the night depending on who they are bowling against and where people are playing on the lane and also the temperature and humidity.



All bowling manufacturers have a slew of physicists on their staff that help them to design the newest bowling ball, and it costs $200-300 for a "good" bowling ball.


So, a bowling ball IS complicated !


Recently I threw away a Honda HSS1332's worth of bowling balls because they were not current technology !


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

i agree with tadawson that suggested cleaning out your carb first .

otherwise i have had good luck with carbs from everestparts.com for honda. either on amazon or ebay


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## tadawson (Jan 3, 2018)

RIT333 said:


> OK, now you are stepping on my toes. When is that last time you have been in a bowling alley, and watched a top-notch league bowl ? Just about every bowler will show up with 4-6 different bowling balls, and they will all have different surface friction, different drilling patterns with different weight cores within the bowling ball to perform best on the lane conditions that they are faced with, and it will change during the night depending on who they are bowling against and where people are playing on the lane and also the temperature and humidity.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


And are all still round, with one moving part . . . .but if it makes you happy, then go with 'rock' . . . .small engine carbs are crazy simple devices . . .


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## Harry Doyle (Oct 21, 2018)

Harry Doyle said:


> Motor City said:
> 
> 
> > Harry Doyle said:
> ...


I adjusted the idle screw that part of the throttle, and she hums nicely in idle now. I think I'll still clean it though. 

Thanks for the help.


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## Harry Doyle (Oct 21, 2018)

After fixing the idle I flipped it into its service position and to my dismay I found the intake housing cracked in two places. Plus some weird blue paint.


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## Harry Doyle (Oct 21, 2018)

orangputeh said:


> i agree with tadawson that suggested cleaning out your carb first .
> 
> otherwise i have had good luck with carbs from everestparts.com for honda. either on amazon or ebay


Thanks!


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

Harry Doyle said:


> After fixing the idle I flipped it into its service position and to my dismay I found the intake housing cracked in two places. Plus some weird blue paint.


that's very very minor. actually the bottom of that bucket is in pretty good shape. usually if the scraper bar and skid shoes are not adjusted right , it's all tore up.


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## Harry Doyle (Oct 21, 2018)

The Ariens continues to start on first pull with the throttle set to idle. I've run it a few time and it hasn't stalled out since the adjustment. Thanks for the help folks!


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## Harry Doyle (Oct 21, 2018)

Hi Folks,

I thought I'd add an update. The Ariens still starts and idles perfectly. But this last storm we got a foot of heavy snow. The machine now bogs down, and nearly shuts off. I started a thread with this issue already but thought I'd add it here.

Could it have anything to do with the adjustment I made to the governor to help it idle correctly?


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## tadawson (Jan 3, 2018)

You should *NOT* be adjusting the gov to deal with idle - idle isn't controlled by the gov! Idle is solely controlled by the stop screw that is there for that purpose . . .

And yes, if the gov linkage is wrong, then it can't react to load and may bog. Do the gov setup procedure (gov at max, throttle at max, tighten screw . . . check your manual for specifics) and then set the idle speed correctly. If it still bogs, it might be too lean.


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## Harry Doyle (Oct 21, 2018)

tadawson said:


> You should *NOT* be adjusting the gov to deal with idle - idle isn't controlled by the gov! Idle is solely controlled by the stop screw that is there for that purpose . . .
> 
> And yes, if the gov linkage is wrong, then it can't react to load and may bog. Do the gov setup procedure (gov at max, throttle at max, tighten screw . . . check your manual for specifics) and then set the idle speed correctly. If it still bogs, it might be too lean.


It was the idle screw that I was adjusting. Sorry for the confusion.


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## tadawson (Jan 3, 2018)

OK, better . . . If the gov has not been worked on, it should be OK, but you might want to verify it to be certain. If this had been running OK and now isn't, it sounds like something causing it to go lean . . .


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## Harry Doyle (Oct 21, 2018)

tadawson said:


> OK, better . . . If the gov has not been workedon, it should be OK, but you might want to verify it to be certain. If this had been running OK and now isn't, it sounds like something causing it to go lean . . .


I check the governor, and 0layed with it under load. It was maxed out and still wanting to die. I took apart the carb and cleaned it and all holes with a wire poker. Now it dies under load. 1 foot snow bank load. 

So, should I get a rebuild kit? Or a new carb?


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## tadawson (Jan 3, 2018)

I'd go the rebuild, or at least overhaul the carb properly. Noting that you say the throttle is full open, and fuel is running out, it sounds like the float is not sealing and you are stupid rich on the mixture. Not difficult to correct, but there is a specific procedure to clean and overhaul a carb, and it's not just dinking with it randomly . . . You need to take it off, clean completely, change the float valve seat, set the float level, preset the needles, and reinstall . . . If really dirty, knock out the welch plugs, clean behind them, and replace as well . . . All parts are in a kit you should be able to get from any decent OPE dealer for $12 or so . . .


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## Harry Doyle (Oct 21, 2018)

tadawson said:


> I'd go the rebuild, or at least overhaul the carb properly. Noting that you say the throttle is full open, and fuel is running out, it sounds like the float is not sealing and you are stupid rich on the mixture. Not difficult to correct, but there is a specific procedure to clean and overhaul a carb, and it's not just dinking with it randomly . . . You need to take it off, clean completely, change the float valve seat, set the float level, preset the needles, and reinstall . . . If really dirty, knock out the welch plugs, clean behind them, and replace as well . . . All parts are in a kit you should be able to get from any decent OPE dealer for $12 or so . . .


Thanks, I ordered a new knock off. However I will order the rebuild kit and try that. Driveway is too big to be without a blower.


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