Your Husqvarna Lawn Mower Quits When Hot (Solved!)

You’re mowing along when your Husqvarna mower’s engine becomes extremely hot and stopped running. You may have experienced some smoking on your mower as well.

You definitely need to figure out what is wrong with your mower before running it anymore so you don’t cause additional damage to your mower.

A Husqvarna lawn mower can quit when it gets hot because of a plugged air filter; bad fuel clogging the fuel system components; a dirty carburetor; or using an insufficient level of engine oil. A plugged mower deck, bad ignition coil, or dirty spark plugs can also cause your Husqvarna to shut down when it runs hot.

I have listed more items that should be checked on your mower. Most items can cause your mower to overheat and shut down while others can cause your mower to stop after it has been running a while which can be easily confused with a mower that shuts down because it is hot.

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Follow all safety instructions provided in your equipment operator’s manual before diagnosing, repairing, or operating. Consult a professional if you don’t have the skills, or knowledge or are not in the condition to perform the repair safely.

Reasons Your Husqvarna Lawn Mower Quits When Hot

Plugged Air Filter in Your Husqvarna Mower

An air filter on your Husqvarna is essential to keep dirt from entering the engine and causing extensive damage. Your mower requires air to run. When the air filter becomes plugged with dirt, the amount of air to your engine is greatly reduced. This can cause your engine to get hot and quit.

To protect your Husqvarna mower from the negative impact small particles of dirt can have on your engine, you must check, clean, and replace your air filter periodically. Cleaning your filter is a simple task that can prevent your mower from overheating and shutting off.

Change your Husqvarna’s air filter at least once a year. Clean your air filter several times during your mowing season. Check and clean it more frequently if you are mowing in dusty conditions.

Repair: Clean your air filter by removing it from the air filter housing. Take care not to knock dirt into the air intake. Wipe out any dirt that remains in the housing with a dry clean cloth. Follow these instructions to clean your filter type:

Clean a paper Husqvarna air filter:

• Tap your paper filter element against a solid surface to loosen and remove dirt. Get as much dirt out as possible. Do not use compressed air to clean the filter as this will damage it.
• Hold your filter up to a light source to check for light shining through the paper.
• Reuse a filter where you can see light through the paper. Replace with a new filter when you cannot see light.
• Reinstall the filter into the air filter housing and reinstall the housing cover.

Clean a foam Husqvarna air filter:

• Check the condition of your foam air filter. Replace it with a new one if you notice it is dry, brittle, has any tears, or has developed brown spots.
• If your filter is in good condition, proceed with washing it with mild dish soap and water. Remove the dirt and oil from the filter.
• Rinse the filter until it rinses clear and all soap has been removed.
• Lay flat to air dry. Place it in the sun to help it dry faster.
• Use filter oil to coat your filter. Squeeze out any excess oil from the filter. You don’t want the filter to be dripping with oil.
• Reinstall the filter into the filter housing and reinstall the cover.

Bad or Old Fuel in Your Husqvarna Mower

Old gasoline in your Husqvarna lawn mower will break down causing the ethanol and moisture buildup to separate from the gas. The gummy deposits left behind can clog your fuel system and cause it to quit after running for a while.

The water and ethanol mixture that separates can run through your mower causing the engine to run hot and quit. Learn more about the right gasoline to use, proper storage, and the effects of ethanol in this article.

Repair: Drain your fuel tank into an approved fuel storage container using a siphon. Recycle the old fuel. Fill your Husqvarna with fresh gasoline that has an ethanol content no greater than 10 percent. Add a fuel additive to clean and stabilize the fuel.

I recommend a product called Sea Foam Motor Treatment. It is a petroleum-based product that won’t hurt your engine. It contains cleaning agents for your engine and fuel system. Read more about why I prefer Sea Foam here.

If you still have a clog in your fuel system after completing the above procedures, check out my article Reasons Your Husqvarna Mower Isn’t Getting Fuel.

Dirty Carburetor on Your Husqvarna Mower

Your carburetor is designed to regulate the amount of fuel mixed with air to form combustion in the cylinder.

Old fuel can cause your carburetor to gum up and clog the jet so it is no longer able to provide the fuel your engine requires. This can cause your mower to quit after it has been running for a while.

Before tearing your carburetor apart to clean it, remove your air filter and spray carburetor cleaner into the air intake. Start your mower. If it runs for a bit and then shuts down, you will need to disassemble your carburetor and clean it.

Repair: If you are a little mechanical and don’t mind working with a lot of small parts, you should be able to handle cleaning your carburetor. Follow the instructions in this article to clean the carburetor on your Husqvarna.

You can replace your carburetor or have your local lawn mower repair shop clean it if you don’t want to tackle the cleaning job yourself.

Wrong Type of Engine Oil in Your Husqvarna Mower

The best kind of oil for your Husqvarna mower is air-cooled engine oil that contains a high concentration of zinc. Zinc is used as a cooling agent. The cooling procedure differs from cars. Cars use liquid to cool their engines and small engines use air to cool.

Most lawn mower small engine manufacturers recommend using SAE30 or 10W-30 engine oil. While this is the recommendation and good for most areas, you may have to change to using a different viscosity, like 20W-50 when operating in higher ambient temperatures.

Use this chart provided by Kawasaki Motors along with your operator’s manual to select the correct engine oil for your Husqvarna. Running the wrong engine oil can result in overheating your engine causing it to shut down.

Repair: When you find the engine oil is not correct, drain the oil and fill it with the appropriate fresh air-cooled engine oil.

Too Much Engine Oil in Your Husqvarna Mower

Overfilling the crankcase with engine oil can cause the crankshaft and rod to push through excess oil so they are unable to move freely. It can also increase the pressure in the crankcase.

This can put the internal engine parts under load causing the engine to get hot and quit.

Another effect of having too much oil in your Husqvarna lawn mower is smoking. Excess oil can cause smoke that clogs the air filter. When the air filter becomes clogged, the mower will shut off due to a lack of air.

Repair: Remove excess oil to bring it to the recommended oil level as indicated on the oil dipstick. Before you start, disconnect the spark plug wire(s) so your engine doesn’t start.

You can drain a little oil through the drain plug, oil filter, or oil fill hole. You can use an oil evacuator or turkey baster as well to pull a little oil out of the engine oil fill.

Once you have drained a little oil, check the level and drain or add more oil as needed to correct the engine oil level. Check your air filter to make sure it isn’t plugged from the smoke if your mower started to smoke before it quit. Reattach the spark plug wire(s).

If you still experience problems after correcting your engine oil level, have an engine mechanic check it out. Read this article for more information on running your Husqvarna mower with too much oil.

Too Little Engine Oil in Your Husqvarna Mower

It is necessary to check your engine oil level before you operate your mower. A low engine oil level can indicate you have developed an engine oil leak or you have other internal problems where your engine is using or burning oil.

Running your Husqvarna with a low engine level can cause your mower to get hot and quit.

Engine oil provides lubrication to the internal parts so they can move freely. When there isn’t enough lubrication, the increased friction builds extreme heat in the engine and causes it to shut down.

Repair: You can attempt to correct the engine oil level and try to start your mower to see if it runs. Most likely, once your mower shuts down due to a low engine oil issue, you have already caused extensive engine damage.

Have an experienced small engine mechanic perform tests on your engine to determine the extent of the damage. Running your Husqvarna with a low oil level can result in needing an engine replacement.

Damaged or Clogged Engine Cooling Fins on Your Husqvarna’s Engine

The cooling fins help push air to keep your engine block and cylinder cool. The cooling fins should be cleaned annually and kept free of debris that will prevent it from circulating air around your engine. When the engine isn’t kept cool, it can overheat and quit.

Repair: Remove debris around your cooling fins and replace any broken fins. Remove any dirt collecting around your engine shroud and make sure the heat shield is firmly in place.

Bad Spark Plug in Your Husqvarna Mower

A fouled spark plug that has carbon buildup on the tip can cause your Husqvarna to stop. It may have provided enough spark to start your mower, but now it can’t keep it running.

Repair: Check the plug for signs of buildup on the tip and clean it if necessary. If you find the tip to be extremely dark or find damage, you must replace your spark plug.

Check your spark plug wires and make sure they are securely attached as this can also cause your mower to quit running.

Bad Ignition Coil on Your Husqvarna Mower

When the coil gets hot, it can stop working causing your Husqvarna lawn mower to quit running. The windings on the coil can separate and short out. A bad ignition coil will not be able to provide sufficient voltage to the spark plug.

Repair: Use an ohmmeter to test your ignition coil to confirm there isn’t a break in the continuity. Replace the coil when you find your coil is bad.

Clogged Fuel Cap on Your Husqvarna Mower

The fuel cap on your Husqvarna mower has a vent to allow air to pass through the cap. When the cap is plugged, a vacuum is created in the fuel tank that doesn’t allow fuel to get to the engine. This can cause your mower to die after it has been running.

Repair: Check the condition of your gas cap by allowing your mower to run with and without the gas cap. If your mower eventually shuts off when the cap is in place, but runs fine when it isn’t in place, you most likely have a problem with your fuel cap.

You can attempt to clean out your fuel cap to try to remove the plug. I choose to replace mine with a new gas cap.

Plugged Husqvarna Mower Deck & Dull Blades

A mower deck that is packed full of grass and dirt can put extra strain on the engine causing it to overheat and shut down.

The engine must work harder to turn the mower blades through the plugged deck. Running your mower with dull mower blades further magnifies the problem.

Repair: Scrape your deck periodically and sharpen your mower blades. Not only does it provide a better cut, but it also prevents an overload on your engine. Prevent the amount of grass buildup by not mowing in wet conditions.