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This spring, my mower started to blow fuses when trying to start it. I figured it was due to a dead/dying battery, and the low voltage was causing a higher amperage draw from the starter when cranking over..... I frequently had to boost the battery with another 12V battery. I checked the grounds and battery connections to the starter and they feel tight.

Finally broke down and got a new battery from the local TSC. The old battery was only reading 12.3V after sitting a week from the last mow. The new battery was 12.6+V from the store, and I put it on my battery tender until it read fully charged.

I installed the new battery in the mower. Starter turns the motor over well, and it starts with choke within 10 seconds of cranking. Great! Success!

I decided to stop the mower, and double check that the battery leads are tight, I go to start the mower one more time, just to make sure, and the fuse is blown when I go to start it. I am pretty (99.9%) sure the fuse gets blown when the starter tries to engage. My key switch is 4 positions - off, on with lights, on without lights, and start. I distinctively remember holding my breath and going from off, on with lights (lights lite up), on without lights, and then start, and that's when I can hear the fuse pop.) When you have gone through almost 10 fuses, you kinda can guess the point when it's going to happen.

I'm going to check the wiring harness for damage, look for spots that might get pinched and clean connectors tomorrow, but I am wondering....

Can a solenoid go bad from a low voltage/high amperage scenario? The original fuse was a 20amp, but I am running low on those, and have put a 25 and 30 :ashamed: amp fuse in there to get the lawn done in the past.

I did have a mouse nest up in the cooling fins of the cylinders 2 winters ago, but cleaned that out... I mothballed the mower in the shed this winter, as well as removed the food source (darn corn meal fertilizer / weed killer - most ineffective product known to man), and I haven't seen any mouse droppings this spring.

I found a wiring schematic for the L100 series of tractors from another mower forum, and at quick glance it looks similiar to the Scotts L2048 that I have.

I am not familiar with some of the jargon, I know what a PTO is, (mine is a electrical switch), but what is:

RIO Latch Relay
RIS switch
RIO switch?

We got the mower with the house, from my research, it looks to be 2002 vintage, so about 10 years old, Our lot is just under 1/2 acre, no hills, but the house, and driveway, trees etc take up probably at least 25% of the lot size. The hour meter says 150h. I've changed the oil twice since we moved here in 2005. I've replaced a leaky fuel line, and that's about all. I put stabilizer in the tank for the last mow / leaf pickup in late October, and the 1st mow in the spring is usually late March.

Thanks,
Peter

Problem fixed?

It's a bright sunny morning, but not too hot yet... perfect for fixing this mower.

Solenoid works. I youtube'd some videos on solenoid relays, and there are some pretty decent tutorials on how it works.

Looked into the wiring diagrams and googled the short forms... RIO is Reverse Implement option, which is a safety that I bypassed the 1st season I used the mower.... RIS is Reverse in Service... neither of those is in the starting circuit so I'm good there...

I shorted the 12V side of the solenoid with a jumper wire with a fuse inline.... starter motor engages and turns no problems, and the fuse is good....

The only 2 switches that are in the starter circuit are the PTO and the brake... both are functioning... I follow the purple wire from the key switch through the PTO and brake switch, and it looks good insulation is intact, and not rubbing on any parts of the frame.

That left the key switch.... There is a bunch of crud around the backside of the switch. I cleaned it with some spray contact cleaner, and cleaned the connector as well.

Wait for the connectors to dry and reconnect it up.... starter works without blowing the fuse.... I've got the battery fully charged, and I'll put a tiny dab of dielectric grease on the connectors (once I find where I put the grease) and put it back in the shed.... I'm thinking the crud was either adding too much resistance to the circuit or possibly causing an intermittent short in the starter circuit....

P