Starter

[mechanic mark]

Either you have a bad new battery or alternator under flywheel is shot, not keeping battery charged up

 

[ellahgrace20]

Realized the slight whining noise was the fly wheel seized up. Need to take it apart and check. What would cause this to happen?

 

[Rivets]

Flywheel being seized and bad starter are two very different problems. To my experience a seized flywheel would not create a whining sound. You need to start over and see what the real problem is. Finding out if you have a tight engine is where you need to start. If the engine is tight, no reason to worry about the starter. Start by removing the spark plugs and try turning by hand and then using the starter. Report back and we’ll tell you how to proceed.

 

[ellahgrace20]

Took apart the flywheel assembly and found a mouse nest along with several acorns that had logged into the assembly preventing it from rotating. Cleaned up and put back together, all is good in mower land.