I purchased a house that sits on one acre last September. Prior to that, I lived in a townhouse. So, I am still getting used to the repairs and upkeep of an older house on some land.
When we bought the house the previous owners were kind enough to leave a Craftsman ride on mower for us. From what my father in law tells me it is a 2004 with a "kohler" engine in it.
The mower has worked fantastic until last week. I just finished mowing the yard (it took me a little over an hour) on Saturday and when I was driving to put the mower in the garage it completely stopped. I tried to re-start it but when I turned the key, NOTHING happened. No clicking, no whirring, no activity on the gauges. It seems like it may be the battery since nothing is showing on the gauges (which are digital). However, I was driving all morning for over an hour with no problems. Would the battery just stop working when I was going to put it away? Maybe the alternator?
Any ideas you could provide would help me greatly.
Thank you in advance,
pepperjack
#2
NorthBama
check the fuse first
check the battery and battery connections
and post your results
Hate to be Captain Obvious but any chance the PTO (Blades) are still turned on and are you out of gas? Model number and or pictures really help a lot. Also if the mower is as old as you think and has the original battery it might be time to have it tested and possibly replaced.
Tom
#6
Teds
They were nice to leave the mower, did they leave the operator's manual too? If not, it's almost certainly available for download, and/or I would bet the manufacturer would be happy to mail you a copy. Manuals aren't what they used to be, but there will be at least some useful information on operation and maintenance.
Batteries can fail suddenly and without warning. Not always, but it's not unusual. It is good practice to put infrequently used equipment on a battery tender, they use virtually no electricity and can be left connected indefinitely. This way the battery will be in good shape after a long winter/hot summer. They are inexpensive and extend the life of the battery, sometimes considerably.
Thank you to everyone who has responded. Sorry for the delay in posting but I have had some home related issues come up. I am feeling like Tom Hanks in Money Pit.
I bought a multimeter and tested the battery. At the terminals it is putting out 12.65 volts. The battery cables appear to be intact.
I have also purchased a new fuse and replaced the old one that looked like it had much be better days.
I also located the owners manual that was left for me by the previous homeowners. It is a 2000 craftsman electric start 48" mower that was purchased in 2001. It is red and has a model number of 917.272243
Also, the pedal is depressed and the blades are disengaged when trying to start the mower. It seems that this is a 100% electrical problem. It has an "amps" Guage and "hours" lapsed guage that do not respond when the key is turned. Even in the "accessories" position. The headlights do not respond either.
Any help you could provide would be greatly appreciated. My lawn is knee high
#8
Teds
Consider renting, or borrowing, a mower in order to cut the grass until you get this one straightened out. Taking off too much at any one time is a severe shock to the turf, so you'll probably need to cut in steps, too. Don't wait.
A battery will typically show a reasonable open circuit voltage when not under any load, even though it has failed and is no longer serviceable. Has it been or did you charge it up back when it failed? How old is it? Batteries have a date code on them, if it's several years old it is almost certainly spent, they are usually neglected in lawn equipment.
The fact that the lights don't work, is a tell. Either a main battery or ground connection is loose or corroded and is not providing the juice, or the battery has failed, or maybe both.
Even an invisible layer of corrosion on connections, terminals, or grounds is enough to prevent proper charging voltage from getting through.
Measure the battery voltage at the terminals while under load, or remove it and have it tested. Many auto parts stores will perform a battery test for free. My guess is the battery is most likely done. When they fail it is oftentimes without warning.
#9
Boobala
First off .... your lawn .... is NOT a CRISIS !! there is no blood involved here !! worst case scenario is you may have to pay
someone to cut your lawn until your machine is back in action ..
This Forum exists because we ...people like you ..have been in your shoes ( needing help ) at one time or another .
and we have a good idea of you are going through ( not quite child-birth..BUT close ) ...( LOL ) ..:laughing:
your battery voltage (you stated 12.6) should be plenty to start the eng. I'm enclosing a link to a video ..which I hope you will watch entirely ...as it will give you some good knowledge about your mowers electrical system ....
after watching the video ... come back and post your findings AND any questions .. You already have several
members jumping in...to HELP YOU !! ..:thumbsup:
I was looking at the mower again today and noticed the black ground cable from the battery to the chassis was a little corroded and stiff near one end. Could this be the problem? Would a bad ground cause the mower to lose power while driving and not re-start/no power at all?
Clean all of the wire connections.
Power goes from the battery to the solenoid then via a small wire from the solenoid to the fuse and on to the key switch.
From there it goes to the PTO switch, the brake switch and back to the trigger wire on the solenoid.
The switch should have letters on the back of them
B Battery
S Start
G Ground
M Magneto
A or L ( some times more than one ) Alternator & lights.
Check the switch and the wires going into the switch.
Either the switch is bad or the connection to the B terminal is bad ( wires break at the crimp connections) and some times even the plug on the back of the switch can fall off.
There is a wonderful product called "Liquid Electrical Tape".
A thick gooey liquid that does not wick in between close surfaces and dries to make a waterproof plastic cover which is easy to scrape off.
Clean the wire & contact points, get a brand new bolt do them up tight then paint over them.
Same thing on both the solenoid terminals , starter motor terminal and everywhere a cable is bolted to anything.
It is not unusual to find a mower with 13V at the battery but only 5 V at the controls because of dirty connections.
Every time a dirty connection happens, the current draw increases so you get things like melting fuses.
Last week I replaced the ground cable, started the mower, and mowed my lawn. So, it seemed that it was the ground cable.
Today, I went to start it to mow again and nothing happened. No turning, no clicking, no nothing. I took out the ignitiins switch, messed with the connection, and got it to start. Phew! Not so fast! I hit the reverse pedal to back it out of the garage and the thing wouldn't budge. I then hit the forward pedal and it doesn't move. The whole time the engine is running and "squealing" when i depress the forward or reverse pedals. So, I go to the back and pull out the "nuetral lever" to see if I could push it. No luck. The rear wheels are locked up. What could this problem be?
Remove the rear right wheel and check the brake
It is a simple disc floating on the splined end of the layshaft.
If it can not be moved back & forth on the spline, it is locked on.
They get full of crud + water = corroded solid.
the two small bolts either side undo it the one in the middle is an adjustment.
