OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions On Ride On Mowers Questions On Ride On Mowers Frames Viking Ride-on problem

Purchased a Viking Ride-on at the weekend off eBay for $1000 - Looks good - runs -electric start (battery struggles) Few splits in the plastic bits but only cosmetic - haven't worked out how the headlights work or if they do yet.

Petrol leaks from the perished hose - easy fix - but no tap to turn it off

Blows smoke but grossly over filled with oil - could also be reason hard starting on the battery.

Main issue I have at this point is when running it kills the TV reception - no sound and digital signal pixalates like mad - family not happy

It's a B&S 13.5HP electric start - do they usually have ingnition suppression - or where do I look / what to do to stop the problem?
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The Briggs website says they introduced radio frequency interference suppression in 1972. The standard setup can be enhanced a bit for sensitive applications, but if you are getting large-scale RFI it sounds as if something is wrong, such as poor grounding of the ignition module for instance. If so it may be causing poor spark as well. You should post the engine model number information that will be on your engine somewhere, depending what kind of engine it is.

Thanks for the info - I'm in Brisbane for 3 days - back home on Friday will look at it then and need more help will post again .

Since there seems to bee no fuel tap, the probable best way to drain the fuel before replacing the line would be just to pull the line off and drain it into a big coffee tin or glass jar until the tank is empty.

Its very possible that the oil being overfilled will make it smokey, I have seen this case more than once

As for the slow starting, I would imagine either your starter motor or battery is tired, it could even be the earths/ connections to the starter are dirty.

Re the RFI problem, this was/is something that has been around for a long time with analog transmission.....I was not aware that it would cause probs with digital reception.
Thoughts anyone?

Darryl, AM radio is the worst affected by RFI partly because it is an analogue signal, but at least as much because it is at a relatively low frequency (Medium Wave) - close to the even lower frequencies where most of the transmitted power of the RFI is concentrated. FM radio is both somewhat immune to random noise, and at a higher frequency (VHF). Conventional television is also FM-VHF, with a few FM-UHF channels at even higher frequencies. All of those don't see much RFI from low-power sources such as engine spark ignition systems - though a commutator motor attached to the same 240 Volt mains feed can mess them up considerably. Digital TV is even more noise-immune than FM, and is at even higher frequencies. So, the different frequency range is probably more important than the different modulation system, but both of them are important factors. However if you are in a weak signal area, it doesn't take much to mess you up. This is a key factor.

Thanks grumpy for your excellent advice, as always.
As someone once said, "You learn new things everyday"
Cheers grumpy and a Happy New Year to you and yours.

Weekend and I'm back home to look more closely at the Viking - model number is MT433H and Google reveales it is/was subject to an Australian Consumer Affairs saftey recall over the petrol tank developing cracks in the plastic tank and causing petrol to leak with a potential fire hazard. Hmm.... will be ringing the 13 number Monday

hi all,
They do have resistor spark plugs to aid in suppression of interference from ignition systems on mowers ect. Next time you go to the mower shop and ask for a NGK resistor spark plug to suit. This may fix your problem. The resistor spark plug has the tip of the electrode within the color of the plug and is generally a larger socket size to the standard cj8 or equivalent. As to the recall, if you can not get it fixed just buy a second hand tank of the mower shop. Last one I bought was about $7. Another good idea is to install a fuel shut off tap and filter inline. I believe they are about $5 each, and by turning off the tap between uses you will avoid leaks and cut down loss of expensive fuel.
Regards jay

Briggs also makes a shielded plug-end boot for the plug wire. However both R-series spark plug and shielded boot make a small difference, unless you are trying to listen to AM radio in peak hour traffic while stopped in an underpass. If you have major-league RFI in the TV band there is something wrong with your ignition system and it will not be helped noticeably by changing the plug or plug boot.

The problems with plastic fuel tanks are mostly associated with using fuel with ethanol in it. Unless someone has deliberately bought fuel containing ethanol, Australian fuel does not have the problem. However the stuff with ethanol is a bit cheaper so it may have been used in your mower at some time, and you should inspect the tank carefully then refrain from using any fuel containing ethanol in future. By all means call the consumer affairs number and pay attention to their advice. There are plastic formulations that are especially susceptible to ethanol damage: I seem to recall that typical glass-fibre-and-resin tanks are vulnerable, but you should check that in case my memory is faulty.

Turned out the plug installed was not a restistance plug - a BP2LM now has a BPR2LM - we'll see how that goes.

The problem with the fuel was a crack in the tank - which was a reason for a product recall back in 2004 - tank has now been replaced under warranty - other issues are emerging