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Hi all, new member here.

My neighbor has a stock Ferris 3200z that wont run. He is not very mechanically inclined, so he asked me to have a look at it.

Situation:
It was running for approximately an hour, when he got off the mower to move some rocks and stuff out of the way (like he has has several times before) the mower shut off. When he sat back down to try and start it, it wouldnt even turn over.

Ive tested the seat, ignition, PTO, and brake switches. All are good. It has 195 hours on the clock, and he has it serviced annually. Its not a commercial machine.

Oil and fuel levels are good (for oil cut off questions). The battery tested tested 12.XX volts going into the starter solenoid. Mind you the motor was running just before it shut off.

When the PTO is off, the starter solenoid buzzes, with the PTO on it seems to engage the starter but the motor doesn't turn over. All of the fuses are good.

To me it sounds like some sort of safety switch... JMHO

He's a good family man, and Id like to help him out.
Im out of ideas...

Thank you in advance

Kb

And please don't post multiple threads.

StarTech said:

And please don't post multiple threads.

Click to expand...

Dude is new. Not some super computer hacker. He sounded very polite asking for help. He probably used up 8k of disk space on here double posting LOL.

That why I typed Please. Not trying to be pain.

It just that different advice can be post in different threads and can lead to confusion on everyone's part. It is just like trying to deal with multiple posters with different problems hijacking a thread.

1.Try cracking the gas cap and see if it fires off.
2.Check for spark. Gap an old plug to 1/4" wide. Spark should be a nice blue color.
3.Check for good fuel flow at carb. Remove fuel line and drain into a glass jar. Crank key couple times. Should pulsate or gravity flow.
4.Double check safety switches.
5.Air filter plugged up? One can plug a filter in a couple mowings. Disregard the 195 hour useless figure. Check everything over.

Sorry about the double post. I had too many windows open, and wasnt wearing my glasses LOL.

Kb2112 said:

Hi all, new member here.

My neighbor has a stock Ferris 3200z that wont run. He is not very mechanically inclined, so he asked me to have a look at it.

Situation:
It was running for approximately an hour, when he got off the mower to move some rocks and stuff out of the way (like he has has several times before) the mower shut off. When he sat back down to try and start it, it wouldnt even turn over.

Ive tested the seat, ignition, PTO, and brake switches. All are good. It has 195 hours on the clock, and he has it serviced annually. Its not a commercial machine.

Oil and fuel levels are good (for oil cut off questions). The battery tested tested 12.XX volts going into the starter solenoid. Mind you the motor was running just before it shut off.

When the PTO is off, the starter solenoid buzzes, with the PTO on it seems to engage the starter but the motor doesn't turn over. All of the fuses are good.

To me it sounds like some sort of safety switch... JMHO

He's a good family man, and Id like to help him out.
Im out of ideas...

Thank you in advance

Kb

Click to expand...

I'd have a look at the PTO switch first.

Thank you. The PTO switch tested good. The mower is still under warranty, so he didn’t want me to dig too far into things. The dealership picked it up yesterday.

I had a similar situation with my old Simplicity ZT mower - the battery showed 12.6V, but the engine wouldn't turn over normally. The starter would just barely turn and/or the solenoid would click/buzz, so I figured one or the other was fried. I took it in for service and it turned out that it actually was the battery. Though it showed 12.6V, it failed under load (I didn't have a battery load tester at the time). New battery installed and it started normally.

rj45 said:

Though it showed 12.6V, it failed under load (I didn't have a battery load tester at the time).

Click to expand...

Agree, must test it under load.

Kb2112 said:

Thank you. The PTO switch tested good. The mower is still under warranty, so he didn’t want me to dig too far into things. The dealership picked it up yesterday.

Click to expand...

Any feedback on what the dealer has found?

They said that the voltage regulator went bad, and the battery was drained beyond recovery.

And? What was wrong with it????

Pete6114 said:

And? What was wrong with it????

Click to expand...

He just said what was wrong with it.

Kb2112 said:

Hi all, new member here.

My neighbor has a stock Ferris 3200z that wont run. He is not very mechanically inclined, so he asked me to have a look at it.

Situation:
It was running for approximately an hour, when he got off the mower to move some rocks and stuff out of the way (like he has has several times before) the mower shut off. When he sat back down to try and start it, it wouldnt even turn over.

Ive tested the seat, ignition, PTO, and brake switches. All are good. It has 195 hours on the clock, and he has it serviced annually. Its not a commercial machine.

Oil and fuel levels are good (for oil cut off questions). The battery tested tested 12.XX volts going into the starter solenoid. Mind you the motor was running just before it shut off.

When the PTO is off, the starter solenoid buzzes, with the PTO on it seems to engage the starter but the motor doesn't turn over. All of the fuses are good.

To me it sounds like some sort of safety switch... JMHO

He's a good family man, and Id like to help him out.
Im out of ideas...

Thank you in advance

Kb

Click to expand...

I was mowing in middle of summer snd mower just turned off. Battery went belly up. Replaced battery checked charging system has been fine since. I'd be very suspect of the battery my battery was only 2 year's old and was fine. Just started mower 15 to 20 minutes before. Do a load test and see how that battery checks out.

Also install a Battery Tender in the winter months. Most importantly bring the battery indoors. Left out in -29F temps will kill it quick.