Zero turn mower negative terminal sparks and jumps itself

[lawndude88]

I purchased a used 2018 Hustler Raptor 52" 24 HP zero turn mower. I got it running and was able to cut my lawn. I then put a brand new battery in. The following week I went to start the mower and the battery was dead. I went to jump it and as soon as I connected the negative terminal there was excessive sparking. To top it off the key was out of the mower and it was turning over and starting itself as soon as the negative jumper cable was connected.

What should I look for to fix this? Thanks in advance and any advice is greatly appreciated. I am uploading a photo of the new battery I connected.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Those two small wires on the battery are a good place to start.
The factory did not put them there
If the engine cranks without the key in place it has a major wiring fault in the cranking circuit.
So start by getting the wiring diagram for your mower
Hustler put them in both the service manuals and parts books which are a free download
For us to get the right one we need the full mower details from the ID tag, model & serial numbers.

Most Hustlers use a cranking relay which powers the starting solenoid
It could be bad or the OP could have installed the wrong one

If the mower had a kawasaki then it may have a piggy back starting solenoid
If it has a Briggs then it will have a remote solenoid so we need more information to proceed

 

[lawndude88]

Those two small wires on the battery are a good place to start.
The factory did not put them there
If the engine cranks without the key in place it has a major wiring fault in the cranking circuit.
So start by getting the wiring diagram for your mower
Hustler put them in both the service manuals and parts books which are a free download
For us to get the right one we need the full mower details from the ID tag, model & serial numbers.

Most Hustlers use a cranking relay which powers the starting solenoid
It could be bad or the OP could have installed the wrong one

If the mower had a kawasaki then it may have a piggy back starting solenoid
If it has a Briggs then it will have a remote solenoid so we need more information to proceed

It is a Kholer KT735 (24 HP)

Here is a more zoomed out image of the setup.

There is also some component on the back that does not appear to be connected to anything. This may be something extra that was added by the last owner.

I will see if I can find the wiring diagrams.

Thank You,

 

[Scrubcadet10]

https://www.jackssmallengines.com/jacks-parts-lookup/hustler-model-locator.aspx

model locator

 

[Born2Mow]

Middle photo.... the seat switch seems to be disconnected at the switch.

 

[StarTech]

Middle photo.... the seat switch seems to be disconnected at the switch.

Yes but will not cause the starting problem; although, the operator will not be able operate the control arms unless some bypassing has been done.

OP disconnect the main starter cable at the starter for test purposes. Tape or place where it will not make contact anything metal. This way you can test the rest of the electrical system. At the starter solenoid (relay) is +12 at the Red/Blk wire? If so then either someone attempted to bypass the start relay or it is stuck in the start position. If no voltage on the red/blk wire at the main starter solenoid (relay) then starter solenoid (relay) is stuck in the engaged position.

The rest of the troubleshooting is simple.

 

[lawndude88]

Thanks for your responses.

I made a video of the wiring setup.

New video by Corey Skocik

photos.app.goo.gl

 

[bertsmobile1]

Videos of wiring are never a good idea and even worse when done hand held
What we need to see is the whole thing in a single image or at worst overlapping stills.
Then to make matters worse, you did what all video takes do, you rolled the camera which is dissorientating.
It also makes it difficult to follow what is happening and requires constant rewinding which is a thorough PIA when compared to simply looking at the previous photo.
And of course it continually goes in & out of focus