Recent content by Elkins45

The gear is under the shroud. It's going to be single digits here for the weekend so if a heat gun doesn't pep it up tomorrow morning then it's going to wait a few days. I have a spare starter I pulled of a scrapped engine but I really suspect the only issue is the cold.

It's a Briggs 22HP V Twin from around 2005. I checked the battery and it tests full, and when I put the charger on it anyway it showed the same.

It's a Briggs 22HP V Twin from around 2005. I checked the battery and it tests full, and when I put the charger on it anyway it showed the same.

It’s just around freezing here and I decided to move my riding mower from the garage to the barn for winter storage. The battery is fine but when I turn the starter it just spins and doesn’t engage the flywheel. I assume the cold is causing the bendix gear to not rise, maybe from cold grease...

I tried it today and it cranks with the parking brake engaged and the seat flipped up. If I ever need to jump it now I know what to do. Thanks to everyone.

It’s a Craftsman made by Husqvarna.

No, I didn't, but I will now. My only question would be if it bypasses the start circuit as well as the run circuit. It would be easy enough to find out.

One of my mowers has the battery under the seat and has a safety switch that requires the seat to be down and depressed before it will start. With someone in the seat I can't see any way that a set of jumper cables would fit under there without running the very real risk of grounding the +...

Have you actually verified that the new battery is functional and capable of delivering enough current to turn the starter?

If it starts with a jump using the same wires that are hooked to the battery then logically it follows that the wiring is functional. That leaves the battery as the only variable that could be defective. It's not impossible that a new battery is defective. Also, if the dealer can't figure out...

Have you verified the condition of the new battery with a load tester?

Then the problem is the battery. Probably an internal short and it's completely dead.

Actually if the engine has a compression release it makes a huge difference. My B&S became harder and harder to crank over the years, up to the point I had to spin the flywheel before it would crank. When I adjusted the valves it cranked like it was new. If there’s enough slack in the lifters...

Just to clarify: when you say it starts when you jump it are you connecting the jumper cables directly to the battery terminals? If you are and it starts then this means all the wiring from the battery to the starter is still functional. That makes me think the mower battery is bad, or the...

It started right up and the ammeter indicates it's charging. I guess the Lord really does look out for fools.