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I was mowing the lawn recently and the deck stopped working and the mower shut down to half power (approximately). I pulled up to the house and cut it off and it is as dead as a doornail. I took the battery and had it checked and it is good. A friend mentioned that the alternator may have gone bad and I should take it to a service center. I am not a mechanic but can do small repairs, and the small engine places are 3 weeks behind due to it being spring. And my grass keeps growing . . .

I pulled up to the house and cut it off and it is as dead as a doornail. I took the battery and had it checked and it is good.

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By this I take it you get no response from the ignition switch, but the battery is charged and in good condition. If that is true, then your charging system is good. How else cound the battery test good, if it wasn't charged ?

Start with checking the starter interlock switches on the seat, control arms and parking brake. When those switches go bad, they tell the safety circuit that (for instance) no one is sitting in the seat... so for your own safety it then cuts the power off to the PTO (the blades stop) and the ignition key gets no response. The seat switch sees the most action and so is slightly more prone to fail. These are easy to test with an Ohm meter (aka VOM). And are easily replaced by the owner with very little cost or trouble. (However you may have to endure some jabs from the wife about your weight crushing the poor little switch. )

DO NOT get "stupid" and try to buy-pass this feature. Should the mower ever throw you off, you'll be glad the blades stopped !!

Hope this helps.