My Husqvqrna lawn tractor YTH 2548 electrical system is completely dead. New battery didn't help. I discovered the hour guage was smashed apparently when I removed the old battery. Could this be the problem causing a dead electrical system?
No
On the starter solenoid battery lead will be a red wire with a ring terminal ( not the one at the bottom with a spade / blade terminal ).
Follow that and it will lead to a fuse, replace the fuse .
Follow the negative battery lead to where it bolts onto the mower, make sure the bolt is tight & the joint is clean .
Not on your machine
Get your parts book from Husqvarna and look at the wiring diagram
The hour meter is just that a clock powered on a circuit activated when the key is turned on
On some other mowers where the hour meter is part of a control module then it is a different matter .
Without that fuse, the fuel solenoid in the carb can not open so the engine will not run.
If it blows the fuse again look for a bad connection both ends of the battery cable , the ground to the rectifier & the power return from the rectifier to the battery.