I have a 19 HP B&S on a craftsman riding mower. The fuel is spitting out the top of the carb. Also when it does die (after 10 sec) some more comes out of the two little holes just in front of the choke. I read some other articles here so I pulled the plug wires and get the same reaction. Would this eliminate the ignition???? Thanks.

I'm assuming this is a 19HP B&S twin cylinder engine with a down draft carb. If it is, a mist of fuel coming out of the top of the carb is normal and it is the reason this particular motor has the sheet metal cover underneath the air filter.

If the carb is just cutting out on you, you can take the drain plug out of the side of the carb, drain the fuel in the bowl, and remove the jet (straight behind the drain plug). Depending on the carb it is using, you will need either a hex key or a flat head screw drive to remove the jet. Once you get the jet out, just get a can of carb cleaner and blow through it good. Then put the jet back in, reinstall the plug, and turn the engine over to see if it will start (it will need to turn over 4 or 5 times to pump fuel back into the carb bowl).

If this does not fix the problem, you will need to remove the air cleaner holder (make sure the choke is on when you do this so you don't drop a screw into the intak) and then remove the 4 screws that hold the two halves of the carb together. Once the 4 screws are out, carefully pry the upper half straight up (you may have to jiggle it a little bit because of the way the float sits in the carb bowl). After you get the upper half off, you should be able to see 2 or 3 holes in the body of the carb towards the front (they should line up with the same holes you were talking about earlier). One of the holes may have a tiny jet in it that needs to be removed (use a small flat head screw driver) and cleaned out with carb cleaner, otherwise you just need to blow a good shot of carb cleaner through all of the holes in the carb.

Thanks for the info (you assumed the right engine) I will try your advice. Will let you know how It turns out.

Thanks, cleaned the main jet and shot some carb cleaner in the bowl and bam she is up and cutting.....Had to use the flat head to get the jet out. Could'nt tell if the jet was dirty until I blew some air throught it. After doing so It looked like it had cob webbs in it. I know it didnt but thats what it looked like. Thanks for your time and your generous advise. You saved the day...

Glad I could help....when you've worked on a million of those engines you kind of learn what to look for :thumbsup:

yeah, next time you get a mower when they've been setting for a while, expect things like that. for some reason bugs like carbs.