Outdoor Power Equipment and Small Engines - Trouble starting a riding mower

Hey All,

I'm trying to help a friend, so please excuse me if I don't have ALL the needed info yet. Just wanted to lay out what I do know and get a headstart on any info you may be able to give in general.

His riding mower will not start UNLESS he jumps it off from his car battery. He tested the battery and it showed GOOD, he also tried a replacement battery. Same results, it would not start until he jumpered it from his car and then it cranked and ran fine UNLESS he cut it off. Then he has to jumper it again.

Any ideas where to start or what this sounds like ? Thanks for all your help in advance. Take care and best wishes.

CoolBreeze

Sure sounds like a weak battery or more likely connection. A bad connection can show like this as a car battery has a bit more kick to it than the standard lawn tractor battery,(Especially if the car is running while jumping) Start with the grounding connection from the battery, where the ground cable connects to the chassis of the mower. If no help trace the positive wires from battery to solenoid and starter and clean all connections.
Also just because you have bought a new battery, dont assume that it is all charged and ready to rock, I have bought many a battery that required a full charge before it was able to be put in service. The charging system on lawn tractors are not designed to fully charge a dead battery and would take several hours of running to do so. If suspect take the battery to place of purchase, they should be able to test it by charging it and putting a load on it to test.

Hello CoolBreeze!

I'm going to hazard a guess here. I'm betting he has a Briggs single cylinder overhead valve engine. If so, you need to adjust the valves. Set both to .005" and you should be fine.