Hi Guys,

I just bought a new Honda Izy 415 4-stroke petrol mower. I checked the oil and filled it with brand new Shell unleaded. It starts perfectly and runs for a bout 2 or 3 minutes before it starts banging and popping and then stops.

I checked the plug and it was extremely sooty so I cleaned it with a brass bristled spark plug brush. Also checked the airfilter and it was pristine, I don't think the mower has been stored or tipped over the wrong way...

The weird thing is, if I turn the petrol cut-off to 'off', it will start again instantly and run perfectly for 20 minutes until it runs out of fuel and shuts down .

Any advice appreciated .

Guy Wood, July 2005

it seems to me that the fuel tap poitner is incorrectly positioned in that its probably runnig on cold start when you get the sooty plug {over rich mixture} and runs on normal mixture on the other setting.

Andy, May 2006

Same thing happend to my honda, checked everything in desperation changed the spark plug for a Volskwagen one even though the old one seemed OK. Bl**dy thing nearly took off now going great.

Llanellen, October 2005