#$%^@# Mower!

[LinuxRandal]

Because of a long court battle, I found out about the seat switch, and how they are known to have issues in things like riding lawn mowers and bobcats. Everyone was surprised I had never been on a riding mower at the least, yet growing up, there was a woman that quit mowing her lawn (nearly an acre) with her antique, reel mower, and hired a service, around her 70th birthday.

I was told bounce in the seat, it can make a difference with the connection.

[crokett]

Well I am more or less sure I am replacing this thing. I did some testing with my multimeter and everything looked good. Pulled off all the covers I could and started looking. Pulled the connector for the blade safety shutoff, blew the dust out, replaced it, no joy. Did the same on the clutch/brake pedal and it tried to turn over but wouldn't turn the engine over. Acting like dead battery. So at that point I decided I am prolly gonna replace it. Even assuming I get it to crank again it has had gas in with the oil twice so I've no idea if the engine is good. If I have somebody fix it, I've still lost my bonus/tool fund.

[LinuxRandal]

Acting like a dead battery? Have you pulled the cable and ran a test light, to check for a draw?

[crokett]

It's not the battery. Battery is 3 weeks old. Also, I disconnected it from the mower and put it on the charger overnight after it wouldn't turn over yesterday. Either way, I am done messing with the d@mn thing. May get it fixed, may just replace it.

[cabinetman]

It might be a simple fix that just an estimate would tell you if it's worth fixing. Hit and miss guesswork just gets aggravating.
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[crokett]

It might. But then I won't have time to take it anywhere before the weekend and they'd charge me for the estimate. Besides which I just want the problem of a mower that doesn't work fixed.

[LinuxRandal]

Put it on CL. Someone will either buy a rebuild kit, or a new carburetor on it, and probably find the problem fairly quickly. (either bypassing the safety's or know what commonly goes wrong)
Either way, you get some cash towards that new mower you want, and someone else gets a good deal on something they have more time then money for.

[cabinetman]

Put it on CL. Someone will either buy a rebuild kit, or a new carburetor on it, and probably find the problem fairly quickly. (either bypassing the safety's or know what commonly goes wrong)
Either way, you get some cash towards that new mower you want, and someone else gets a good deal on something they have more time then money for.

There ya go. Problem solved.
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[Mr__Bill]

If you go fourth to buy a new one, here is an article about Borg verses dealer in the lawn tractor selling arena

Should You Buy John Deere Mowers at Box Stores?.

I know it's obvious but sometimes we forget.



Bill

[luteman]

Here is my take on your problem(s): You said the battery is new, but could it be a defective one? I have had to take brand new 12V car batteries back within 24 hours of purchase cuz they were defective right off the shelf. Also. You mentioned you had the needle& seat replaced, but was the carb float replaced? When they develop a leak, they will not let a needle and seat work properly causing flooding. Hope this helps.

[cabinetman]

Here is my take on your problem(s): You said the battery is new, but could it be a defective one? I have had to take brand new 12V car batteries back within 24 hours of purchase cuz they were defective right off the shelf. Also. You mentioned you had the needle& seat replaced, but was the carb float replaced? When they develop a leak, they will not let a needle and seat work properly causing flooding. Hope this helps.

You're right, a battery can go down faster than you think. It could have a bad cell, and not take a charge. If it's one of the ones where water can be checked, it may need a topping off, and use distilled water.

When the float doesn't, that can be a problem, and the needle may not be seating.
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[dewi1219]

I know how you feel David. My 15-year-old weedeater died at the end of last season. I didn't want to get rid of it because it has the attachments for edging, brushcutting, etc. But it was hopeless. I found a used replacement on CL for $20 that didn't run and bought it since I have quite a bit of experience working on weedeaters now (that's how I kept the old run running for so long...). Rebuilt the carb and replaced the fuel lines on the used one, tuned it, and still couldn't get it to run right. Got fed up and just went and bought a new one yesterday. I figured after 15 years on the old one it was worth it to start over. If you fix an old machine that takes the abuse most mowers and trimmers do, more likely than not something else will break on it soon.

OTOH, I'm still hanging on to my 13-year-old Lawn Boy walk-behind. They don't make them any more (not like the one I have anyway), and it still runs perfect. It has a niggly issue with the transmission that I am fixing, but once that's taken care of it should be good to go for some time.

I don't pay to have lawn equipment repaired any more. If it gets to the point where I can't fix it, then it's almost always a better investment to go buy a new (or decent used) one.

[crokett]

I did some more on the mower Sunday evening and last night. I am satisified it is not the battery, unless it isn't putting out the amps all of a sudden and I really can't test that. It most likely the starter since the ground seems to test out ok. It could be a seized engine, but I am done messing with it.

I am going to pick up the new mower Thursday. I have a handshake deal with the HD gardening manager - his wife is our babysitter - to honor the Lowes 10% coupon plus an extra 50 bucks. It is overall same specs as the current mower but has a slightly better engine and the design is better than the Toro. The old one I will sell to somebody who wants to fix it.

[pelligrini]

The old one I will sell to somebody who wants to fix it.

You'd probably be better off selling it to someone you don't like.

[JimD]

I have two mowers. I have a little Yard Man Yard Bug I bought when my son went to college 8 years or so ago. I haven't used it much because it scalps the lawn. It went through batteries quickly the first few years when I used it some but it has sat unused for several years now. I should sell it. The only repair I had to do was the cable that actuates the mower deck. I couldn't back up with the mower engaged and my yard requires a lot of backing up. So I wore the cable out. When I replaced the cable, I wired the switch out (actually I fixed the switch so it is always closed so the mower doesn't know the blades are engaged).

Bigger reason to write is my other mower, the one I use. It is a Sears craftsman self propelled. Nothing special. It uses a little oil now so I stopped changing it. And I rarely sharpen the blade. I decided after dinner I should mow the weeds and pick up some late dropping leaves. Started on the third pull. I can mow the lawn as quickly with this mower as my rider - between an hour and a hour and a half either way. I've gotten used to it and consider it good exercise. I'm sure there are better mowers but $300-400 every 10 years or so seems like a pretty good deal to me.

Jim