Broke my mower, dang!

[Tornadoman]

Most old timers would walk the yard, prior to mowing, as to retrieve items like log chains, dog stakes, fence posts, bottles, cars, people, barbed wire, trailer hitches and so on.

My son-in-law, v-twin had a mouse nest under the shroud. Engine overheated and is shot!

 

[fordman55]

have you tried looking at the owners manual to see if there is a listing for trouble shooting??

 

[bentrim]

Tip the mower on it's side and check to see if the blade shaft is bent. If the blade turns this will be easy to see as you watch the center of the blade or compare where the each end of blade passed a spot on the housing. If good review the manual for a fuse or circuit breaker.

 

[ttimtucker]

I've worked on a few electric mowers. Here is a speculation/theory on what may have happened. When you power-on an e-mower, the control board initiates a slow start of the motor until it spins up and begins to generate some back-EMF which reduces the amount of current that the motor requires (EMF is elctromotive force: think of it as voltage). If the motor suddenly was halted (hitting a metal stake), there would be no back-EMF and excessive current would be flowing. I had a mower where the control board was fried, and I tried to power the motor directly from the 24v battery. A fuse internal to the battery blew very quickly because I wasn't "soft-starting" the mower. I replaced the fuse (it is a soldered part) and eventually constructed a frankenstein of a replacement control board, just to understand how it all worked. So the first question I would ask you is whether the battery is still working. You'd either need a multimeter to measure the battery voltage, or power some other device that uses the same battery. If the battery is good, then the control board may be fried.

 

[Hammermechanicman]

Remove motor. Apply 24v from a couple batteries.
Motor does nothing. Bad motor

Check voltage at mower battery terminals. No voltage. Bad battery.

If motor and battery test good then most likely controller bad.

Not many DC motors like stopping in a couple milliseconds. I have seen windings twist on the shaft and break the connections to the commutator.

 

[guitarman4805]

Mostly good advice on here (excluding the anti emowers). Get on the WWW for Lowes or Kobalt Operators Manual for the specific part numbered mower. Read the book; don't skip to the back for the surprise ending. In the manual pay attention to the dos and donts as to batteries, safety interlocks, loss of power and or foreign object strikes. A severely bent blade can cause an impossible start load for a battery; battery internals shut down, or blow fuses. Battery checks can easily be performed with the charger. Mowers with two batteries usuallly have a higher operating voltage if paralled, or a demand for higher current if configured in series. The best way to test the batteries is with a standalone charger; specific to the battery. A charger plugged into the mower can verify battery fail due to internal failures, but has to have special circuitry for multiple battery configuration and that circuitry can fail if you have a combination of events clouding the issues. Issues include but not limited to:; such as reading the manual, driving while under the influence of tall trees blocking the view of the forest, tall grass, short grass, grass offering safe harbor for the dogs screw anchor!....the list goes on. If the mower lurched when you hit the stake it is possible the start stop safety interlocked control took a hard lick. It is fixable; it may not be practical unless you wish to further your education. Parts are probably not available. Warranty is highly disirable in these mowers and paying attention to normal wear and tear will help prevent bent or broken belts and blades, broken or faulty interlocks and especially electrical components. Motors have an internal temp sensing device and will disconnect the battery to prevent further damage to the motor. Safety interlocks are external to the motor; are mechanically interlocked to open a switch, or mechanically brake a rotating blade. Hope this doesn't discourage you.....anything is simple once you understand it.

 

[sailingharry]

A little Googling, and some thoughts.
* Does the charger give useful lights indicating that it is "charging" and then "charged?" That shows the battery is good/wires are connected.
* Do any lights at all come on when you try and start it? In other words, is it trying and giving an error, or completely unaware you are even asking it to start?
* This link

https://www.reddit.com/r/KobaltTools/comments/uo9373

has two useful thoughts. First, the handle has interlocks requiring it to be fully extended and seated, something that seems to be temperamental. Second, it seems to have a safety protocol to prevent starting if the blade doesn't spin easily -- turn it over and try and spin it a few revolutions to check if it is free/loosen any impediments.

 

[Alan46]

Hey OP, what’s the latest?

 

[sailingharry]

Oh, one final thought on the "no parts" folks. This thread prompted me to do a search for used electric riding mowers -- my property is right on the ragged edge of too large, but I sure would love to ditch my gas version. I found a Ryobi 30" electric riding mower for sale dirt cheap (but 400 miles away, so non-starter) with a dead drive motor. It took me 10 minutes to figure out the model number, get the exploded parts list, and find the motor for about $270 (I forget exactly), in stock and ready to ship. How is this "not supported, too hard, not worth fixing?"

 

[Hammermechanicman]

No offense but open a mower shop. Charge $50-$100 per hour to diagnose, repair and time to lookup parts. Most ICE stuff it is fairly easy to lookup parts with sites like Jack's and others. Electrix stuff not so easy. Most folks won't pay you what it costs to fix some electric stuff. If you want to fix stuff or do it as a side hustle thats great but we shop guys have reasons.