Cultivator: Hard To Start

Your cultivator’s carburetor is essential for proper engine performance. Its job is to ensure the correct ratio of fuel and air enter the engine. If your carburetor is plugged, the right fuel-to-air ratio may not enter the engine, which will make it difficult to start. If you are having difficulty starting your cultivator, you can attempt to prime the carburetor using the primer bulb (if your primer bulb is damaged, see our section about how this could be causing the same issue). This will pull fuel into the carburetor and hopefully allow it to start. However, if this does not start the engine normally, you can attempt to clean the carburetor or purchase a new carb kit to replace any stuck or brittle carburetor parts. If this still doesn’t solve the problem, you may need to replace the carburetor entirely.

A plugged air filter can cause your cultivator’s engine to become difficult to start. The air filter is designed to protect your engine from airborne dirt and debris. However, this debris can collect over time and end up clogging or damaging the air filter. If the air filter is clogged, it will not allow enough air into the engine, which can reduce engine performance. Eventually, you will notice that your engine is difficult to start. At this point you can attempt to clean the air filter or you may decide to replace it entirely. It is recommended that you clean your cultivator’s air filter about once a year to avoid this and other engine performance issues.

To prevent debris from your fuel tank from entering your carburetor and engine, your cultivator has a fuel filter at the end of the fuel lines. Over time, this filter can be clogged by debris, and this will prevent fuel from reaching the engine. This will make your cultivator very difficult to start. In many cases the fuel filter can be cleaned, and the problem will be solved. However, if the fuel filter is damaged, it will need to be replaced. Otherwise, not only will your cultivator become difficult to start, but debris can find its way into the engine, which can lead to bigger, more expensive issues.

Your cultivator’s spark plug is responsible for taking current from the ignition coil and converting it to a spark that ignites fuel in the engine. Occasionally the spark plug can become fouled by carbon deposits, and this makes the engine very difficult to start. Usually, the spark plug becomes fouled by an engine that is running rich (too much fuel in the air/fuel ratio). This can also indicate an issue in the carburetor, so if you discover that your spark plug is coated with carbon, your carburetor may be the cause. The spark plug can also become fouled by an engine that is flooded. This can be caused by repeatedly starting the engine at full choke. It the engine is flooded, you will need to remove and clean the spark plug, and drain the cylinder of any excess fuel. Sometimes simply cleaning the spark plug can fix the issue, but sometimes a fouled carburetor can be indicative of a larger issue, and it (and possibly other parts) may need replacing.

The primer bulb in your carburetor is essential to starting the carburetor’s engine. The primer bulb allows fuel to enter the carburetor by creating a vacuum, which draws fuel from the fuel tank into the carburetor. When you clean out your carburetor, or install a new one, you will need to prime it by depressing the primer bulb several times. This will draw fuel into the carburetor. If you notice that there’s a crack or a hole in your primer bulb, it will not be able to create the vacuum necessary to draw fuel into the carburetor, and it may also draw air into it, disrupting the fuel/air mixture further. Fuel may also leak out of the bulb, which will be an easy indication that there is a crack or hole. If your primer bulb is damaged, it will need to be replaced.