[Scott Douglas]

Went thru this just the other day with the neighbors mower. He'd hired a gardener about a year ago but only had him doing his lawn once a month. With the rains we got this winter the grass really has taken off so he wanted to do an in between mowing. His mower sits outside, under a tarp. He noticed it was dirty so 'washed' it off some. Pulled the plug and took sand paper to it. It still wouldn't start even with the fresh gas he put in it.
So, we pulled the plug to check for spark. Got it, but it wasn't what I'd call real regular (Honda engine BTW). I shot some MAF cleaner down the throat of the carb, pulled the carb drain plug, twice and got nothing but nice clean gas. Fired up my compressor and gave the carb a blast from the front of the intake. Checked the plug again and it was wet. Still not showing a real regular spark so I had him go buy a new one.
Worked like a champ was the report I got later.
Air, fuel, spark=run.
Ah, the basics of internal combustion.
If you knew my neighbor you'd understand why I have to break it down to the basics.