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My goddamn riding mower....


F_in Ray Of Sunshine

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When I was in school after the Navy I worked at a Sears auto center installing batteries, alternators and regulators.  Hint:  Before you rush off to buy a battery, make sure it's the batteries fault.  Hint 2:  My tractor disables the weight on seat switch when the parking brake is applied.  Hint 3:  Instead of just a charger you need to have a jump box/compressor around the house.  They are very useful.  Mine is from Stanley and has a jump battery, compressor and even usb charge jacks to keep your phone up during power outages.

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1 minute ago, maddmaxx said:

Before you rush off to buy a battery, make sure it's the batteries fault. 

That’s step 2, the logical, thinking part. 

You can’t just go to step 2, you have to perform step 1 first, which is “get pissed off and jump to conclusions”.

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1 hour ago, F_in Ray Of Sunshine said:

I just used it last week and it ran fine. Yesterday, when I went to use it, I turned the key and -nada-. 🤬All I can figure is that I left the key on last time.

I put the damned thing on the charger.

Today, I go out to use it, the light on the charger is green, so I guess that’s good. Take off the charger, and give it a whirl. Nothing. 🤬 I can’t even use the “jump start” feature on the charger because the battery is under the seat and has a safety switch that kills the motor unless there’s weight on the seat. 🤬

Great. Now I gotta mow an acre and a half with a push mower and I’ve got other things I need to do. 🤬 Now I gotta add “go buy a battery” to my to-do list for this weekend, like there isn’t enough on it already. 🤬

How the hell can a battery just die like that? I mean it worked perfectly last time, and if memory serves, it’s not that old! 🤬

...and I’m positive I turned the key off last time because I remember shutting the mower off with the deck engaged so I could figure out if the belt is jumping off when I shut it off or when I start it. 🤬

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

.....wait, if the deck is still engaged, it won’t start.....you don’t suppose......?

 

 

 

Once again my methodology of “bitch first, ask questions later” pays bountiful dividends....😬

 

Pebcak error.

 

 

Problem exists between chair and key

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1 or 2 years ago I had to buy a battery for my 20 year old John Deere 325 lawn tractor.    It didn't want to start.  Yeah the battery just died.    That has happened to my cars over the years a few times too.  Some times batteries just die.

The battery for the JD cost a LOT, almost as much as a car battery.

 

 

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1 minute ago, Philander Seabury said:

His desire to always do the right thing and his strong safety consciousness preclude such chicanery. :)

 

I tried to reconnect all that safety crap on my old zero turn before I gave it to my son and granddaughter to use. It all seemed to work as designed.

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5 minutes ago, Longjohn said:

I tried to reconnect all that safety crap on my old zero turn before I gave it to my son and granddaughter to use. It all seemed to work as designed.

Remember I had to prop the dryer door closed tightly with a crutch to get the thing to run? Now it runs even with the door open. :D

 

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47 minutes ago, F_in Ray Of Sunshine said:

It was easy on the old mower - this one is buried in the damned seat.

It's a positive contact switch.  Find the 2 little wires running to the seat - snip, snip, strip, strip, twist, electrical tape.

 

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21 minutes ago, F_in Ray Of Sunshine said:

I  might be able to just jumper it at the connection. 
 

I’ll worry about it next time I’m pissed off for no reason.

And then there is the switch for the brake.  It needs contact for the starter to operate but not for the engine to operate.

Last year on our old tractor the wife complained again that the thing wasn't running.  I got home and started it right up.  As I went to drive it forward it stalled.  I started it up and when I went to move it it stalled again.  repeat... repeat... It ran just fine as long as you didn't want to move it.  It was frustrating.  THEN i figured out it wasn't the moving it - it was removing my foot from the brake pedal.  Pedal engaged = engine ran just fine.  Pedal not engaged the engine stalled.  OK it's I have a clue... Something was wrong with the safety switch.  The next day I stopped at the local Cub Cadet dealer.  A week to get the new switch.  The grass need mowing.

I got under the thing and epoxied a piece over the plunger of the brake safety switch to depressed.  Problem solved and we no longer had to engage the brake to start the engine.

 

 

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My mower wouldn’t start a while back, immediately blamed the battery and hooked up the charger. No go

Looked a bit deeper and found the motor was only able to turn about a half a revolution. Pulled the spark plug and drained about a cup of gas out of the cylinder.

 The guy that sold it said he always turned off the gas, now I know why

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48 minutes ago, Further said:

Pulled the spark plug and drained about a cup of gas out of the cylinder.

Oh god.... Story time....

My ex FIL was a real mellow guy. His other SIL is a good dude, but has a penchant for fucking things up.

FIL picked up a push mower from the side of the road or at a garage sale, I forget. He went through it and got it running.

I pull in the driveway one day and there’s the mower parked behind FIL’s truck, all beat to hell and back. I asked him what happened, but he wouldn’t say. I thought someone left it behind the truck, he didn’t see it and backed over it.

I finally got the whole story.

SIL went out to use the mower. It wouldn’t start. Went and got FIL who came out, went to start it and it wouldn’t pull over. He assumed SIL had fucked up yet one more of his things....flipped his shit and took a sledgehammer to the mower.

Come to find out the stupid shit had put gas in the cylinder when he was trying to start it.....

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