electric start push mower

[crokett]

My fiancee has one of those high-falutin' fancy 'lectric start push mowers. But it still has the good ole pull rope on it. If I'm of a mind to just use the pull rope, shouldn't it still start? I mean all the electric start is is a starter motor to turn the engine over like the pull rope does, right? I was messin' with it over the weekend. The battery to run the starter wasn't charged. I tried the pull start but it didn't want to run, though I didn't try all that hard either.

[Sam Conder]

Does the ignition have an "on position" like a car? In other words, do you need to turn the key one click and then try the pull start?

Sam Conder
http://www.bt3central.com

[Craig]

I've got the Sears electric start and the key only engages the starter. Does not affect rope pull starting. This turkey was not one of my brighter purchases all things considered. Travel speed is a little too fast and the bloody thing's as heavy as a dead preacher. Cut quality is only so-so, but it is quite.

[LCHIEN]

quote:Originally posted by crokett

My fiancee has one of those high-falutin' fancy 'lectric start push mowers. But it still has the good ole pull rope on it. If I'm of a mind to just use the pull rope, shouldn't it still start? I mean all the electric start is is a starter motor to turn the engine over like the pull rope does, right? I was messin' with it over the weekend. The battery to run the starter wasn't charged. I tried the pull start but it didn't want to run, though I didn't try all that hard either.

I have a Sears electric start, self propelled, stand behind gasoline mower. There's a start button but you can also pull the cord. Its a pretty easy-starting mower, the electric start was great tho because my wife and son could start it if need be. The battery died and sears wanted about $60 for a new one of the same size. I looked for a 12V cell for a while that would fit the cavity they had for it but could not find one. I started it by hand for quite a while but now have a yard man...


Loring in Katy, TX USA
If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.

[crokett]

It does not have an on position like a car does. I could be wrong. Far as I know you just turn the key till it starts and the key moves back to its original position. All I know is I can't get the silly thing started with the pull rope. Problem is she may have lost the key. It is a Stanley self propelled and 2 years newer than my self propelled but mine starts when I want it to.

[Sawduster]

Electric starting push mower? My age is showing here a bit. "Push Mower" in the olden days was one of them mowers which had the blades powered by being geared to the wheels. The ones with a motor powered blade were called "Power Mowers". Thought maybe you had an extension cord plugged in you butt to shock you into pushing that bad boy around the yard.

Has the beast been stored for a while, or is the gasoline old? Last year when I went to start the mower at the beginning of the season, it would occassionally sputter to life for a few seconds but wouldn't keep running. Old gas in the mower and gas can that overwintered in the storage shed. Got rid of that, poured in some fresh gas, pushed the little priming button 3 times, pulled the rope and she started right up. I thought it was overkill to get a mower with them great big rear wheels and self-propelled. But an electric starter?

And Craig, after reading that "... thing's as heavy as a dead preacher..." thought sure you had to be from Texas. I'm still rollin on the floor laughin.

Jerry

"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
~ Thomas Paine ~

[crokett]

I can try fresh gas. The gas in the tank and the can were both overwintered. The engine won't catch at all when I pull the rope. I charged the battery this weekend but still have to find the key.

[Sam Conder]

quote:Originally posted by crokett

I can try fresh gas. The gas in the tank and the can were both overwintered. The engine won't catch at all when I pull the rope. I charged the battery this weekend but still have to find the key.

I once saw McGuyver hotwire a lawnmower engine with a Wrigley's Spearmint gum wrapper...

Sam Conder
http://www.bt3central.com

[MikeC]

quote:Originally posted by crokett

I can try fresh gas. The gas in the tank and the can were both overwintered. The engine won't catch at all when I pull the rope. I charged the battery this weekend but still have to find the key.

Change the plug too. Cheap insurance, and "non starting mowers" are often fixed by a new plug. Hondas seem particularly amenible to this remedy. (Check too that you're getting spark first!)

--
In the past, precision woodworking wasn't the domain of some power tool or clever gizmo bought from a modern scratch n' sniff catalog. That chore was left to the skill of the woodworker, which as it should be, to separate the men from the boys. -- Patrick Leach http://www.supertool.com/layknife.htm

[Sawduster]

quote:Originally posted by sconder

quote:Originally posted by crokett

I can try fresh gas. The gas in the tank and the can were both overwintered. The engine won't catch at all when I pull the rope. I charged the battery this weekend but still have to find the key.

I once saw McGuyver hotwire a lawnmower engine with a Wrigley's Spearmint gum wrapper...

Sam Conder
http://www.bt3central.com

I'm trying to imagine what sort of predicament he got himself into that he needed to hotwire a lawnmower to get out of. [?]

Is the lock really a tumbler lock, or is it like a lot of Old John Deere tractors that just required something to be inserted so the thing will turn? Finally, if the new gas and new spark plug don't solve the problem, the biffest thing that goes wrong with small engines is the little diaphram fuel pump in the carb. Of course that is from my experience with them low tech Briggs motors, and not the high tech hondas. I would almost bet it is the gas. Modern gasoline doesn't weather well, and the newer motors are a bit more persnickety than some of the old workhorses.[8)]

Jerry

"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
~ Thomas Paine ~

[Sam Conder]

quote:Originally posted by Sawduster

I'm trying to imagine what sort of predicament he got himself into that he needed to hotwire a lawnmower to get out of. [?]

If I remember correctly, he built an ultralight aircraft out of an old lawnmower, an inflatable raft, an an old bicycle. The only tool he had was his Swiss Army Knife...

Sam Conder
http://www.bt3central.com

[mleichtle]

I would think you need the key to turn it to the on position then use the rope start if you have to. If you turn the key to off the thing shuts down? Right?
Just My $.02

M. Leichtle
Beer is proof that God exsists and wants us to be happy.
Ben Franklin

[Pappy]

Crokett, if it has been sitting all winter, you may have to clean the carb. It doesn't take much varnish from bad gas to clog those little ports and passages. make sure to remove ALL rubber parts, including the seat under the needle, and soak it overnight.

Don, aka Pappy, aka SicPup
I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy it!

[Bam-Bam]

Just hot wire it....Probably 3 wires...2 need to be connected together to energize the ignition system and the 3rd needs to be briefly connected to the other 2 until the engine starts....you can probably tell by looking at the way the switch is wired to figure out which wires are which....At least, that's how it works on an old Harley or Chevy Pickup....But, I would go ahead and put in fresh gas and a new plug....My Honda has always started on the first pull, even after sitting all winter....Finally, in it's 5th season, I had to replace the plug, now we're back to 1 pull....The Honda's are expensive, but well worth every penny, in my opinion (which I think very highly, lol)...

[MountainMan]

Hmmmmmm - Personally I would take this as a sign from God that he doesn't want you mowing that lawn. Obviously you need to spend more quality time in your shop building a good reclining lawn chair. Then you need to set that chair up in the overgrown lawn, get a cold 6-pack and enjoy watching the world go by.