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I have a Scott's By John Deere riding mower I purchased from Home Depot many years ago ( between 6-9 years ). 42 inch deck with a 17.5 HP Kohler gasoline engine ( I believe that is the HP rating ). It has performed perfectly throughout the years. Until recently.

I didn't post in a manufacture specific forum because I believe this is more of a general motor/electrical related issue. Here's my story:

I was using the mower and it ran out of gas. I didn't have any gas left in the can and waited till the next day to fill it up. Filled it up and tried starting it. No luck... I left the key on and the battery died. Put it on a charger, stated her up and off I went mowing the lawn as usual.

About 20 minutes into mowing the mower died. Tried starting it off the mower and nothing. Found a blown fuse. Replaced it and back to mowing. About 15-20 minutes later... dies again. Fuse is blown. No additional fuses so I put it away and put a charger on the battery, thinking maybe the battery wasn't fully charged and it is causing an issue.

Next day I got another fuse and started her up. Started no problem... died 5 minutes later, blown fuse. Now I know it is something else... I do some checking with a multimeter for high draw. I hear something clicking in the bowl of the carb that I never heard before, but I never listened for it so it may have always been there.

The lights are not on when the fuse blows. The fuse does not blow unless the engine is running. I could turn the key on and the light on and it doesn't blow until the engine is running.

Do you think that maybe because I left the mower on and drained the battery it could be causing a problem while trying to charge the battery? I have had to jump start the unit after long periods of sitting but I never left the key on to drain the battery.

This unit has worked flawlessly for years and the above story is everything that happened. When it died the first time it was simply because I ran out of gas.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Where in the electrical circuit is this fuse?

Is there an electric PTO clutch on it?
There are a couple things that come to mind. ...


:smile:KennyV

You said you hear a clicking form the carb bowl. Sounds like maybe the solenoid on the bowl has gone bad.

Sounds like it could possibly be a bad voltage regulator or magneto. If it's putting out too much voltage then the fuse will blow, as it's designed to.

The fuse is located right near the battery. It is 15 amps and looks like just about everything runs through it.

There isn't a PTO on the mower. Just a lever that engages a belt to the mower deck. Fuse blows without engaging mower deck.

Could any of the proposed issues from the above posts be caused by leaving the key on and allowing the battery to drain overnight?

I have a hair under 12 volts at the battery when not running and a little over 12 volts while running.

I really believe the issue has something to do with leaving the key on overnight. Before that the unit ran flawlessly. It would be VERY coincidental if the problem was unrelated.

indypower said:

You said you hear a clicking form the carb bowl. Sounds like maybe the solenoid on the bowl has gone bad.

Click to expand...

It clicks when I turn the key on and clicks again when I shut the key off, without the mower running. The fuse does not blow if I turn the key on and leave it on, only after the engine is running.

When you charged the battery... you didn't charge it backwards did you... neg on pos and pos on neg?

You can reverse charge a battery when it is completely dead... not good for the battery and will blow the fuse when the charge system tries to charge in the correct polarity... :smile:KennyV

KennyV said:

When you charged the battery... you didn't charge it backwards did you... neg on pos and pos on neg?

You can reverse charge a battery when it is completely dead... not good for the battery and will blow the fuse when the charge system tries to charge in the correct polarity... :smile:KennyV

Click to expand...

I would say no I didn't but I will check that with a multi-meter to be 100% sure. Would the mower still start if the battery was charged backwards?

This sounds like an intermittent ground where insulation has rubbed off a wire.

jross,that's what it sounds like to me also.check your wires for bare spots. russ

Hi David,

If I owned that mower, I would be looking for a short circuit in the electrical wiring to the frame of the mower. It is usually a black or red wire. Look for a place where the plastic coating is worn down to the copper and rubbing on the frame. It may be a pinched wire under the seat.

The noise you hear near the carb is a fuel solonoid that get pulled open when the key is turned on to let fuel through the carb. That sounds okay.

Rick

i have seen this several times and most time it is the wires going to the amp gauge or the guage it's self

I have the same problem (for the most part). John Deere G110. About an hour ago i went out to hook up the snow plow to the mower. but i knew it wouldn't start. so i pulled it out to see if i could find the problem. fuse is blown. so i get another to replace it. as soon as i put the fuse in and turn the key to just the run setting it hear a click and the fuse blows.... i did a few days ago discover that the cables to the lights had been melted and there is wire exposed....however, they are not touching anything....what do i do?

jross said:

This sounds like an intermittent ground where insulation has rubbed off a wire.

Click to expand...

This is where I would start.

Did you ever fix your mower? This is the same identical problem I am having with my Scotts mower with a 17.5 Kohler engine.

I have checked thoroughly for a shorted wire. I pulled the flywheel off and checked the armature for damage and it is fine. Measures about .3ohms so no excessive resistance. Not sure if this is a good spec or not. I have had one of these before that the magnets came off of the flywheel and ate up the armature.

Regulator has high resistance, in k ohms range between all poles and ground.

Does not blow fuse with regulator unplugged but does not charge battery. (Duh)

With regulator plugged in it charges 13.5v and blows the fuse in approx 10 seconds. The fuse in 15a, does not blow a 20a fuse but it does get hot, and it does charge that battery.

Thoughts? Does anyone have regulator or armature specs?

Thanks for the help

60f500 said:

...
With regulator plugged in it charges 13.5v and blows the fuse in approx 10 seconds. The fuse in 15a, does not blow a 20a fuse but it does get hot, and it does charge that battery.

Click to expand...

It sounds like part of your rectifier is shorted... you are charging your battery with AC voltage. Not Good. It will cook your battery.
Check the rectifier. :smile:KennyV