Engine Shut Down and Wouldn't Start

[Timbo]

I have a Kohler Command 20HP.
On the tail end of a 2 hour ride my engine started to sputter for a few seconds and then turned off. It seemed like it was running out of gas. I then tried unsuccessfully to restart it. To confirm if it was a fuel problem I sprayed some starter fluid in the carb throat and when I tried to start it she just kept turning but wouldn't fire over. I did notice a big puff of white smoke come out of the exhaust which I have never seen before.

Over a 20 minute period I tried a few more times to start it with no luck. I then proceeded to winch and paddle it home. Once I got it home about two hours after everything started I tried to start it and it fired right up and I drove it without any problems about 100 yards into the garage.

I am thinking it was a spark issue. I replaced both ignition coils and spark plugs about 10 hours ago and am stumped on what it could be. Any thoughts on what may have caused this? I really don't want to have to manually pull her home anytime soon.

[ARGOJIM]

Water in the gas?

[Noel Woods]

The new motors have an electronic fuel shut off solenoid that very often goes bad. There are multiple videos on youtube that show how to take this feature out. I've defeated the solenoid on a Kohler 20hp myself and the motor has never run as good as it does now.

[Timbo]

Thanks for the replies. I disabed my fuel cutoff solenoid a few months ago. I also forgot to mention that when it cutout it backfired right when it turned off similar to how it backfires if I turn the engine off with a high idle now that the carb solenoid is disabled. My point being that this would make me think its not a fuel problem, also because I sprayed starter fluid directly into the carb, but maybe I am wrong. Not sure about water in the gas. I will add some Seafoam to the tank.