Outdoor Power Equipment and Small Engines - Simplicity Broadmoor hydro won't turn over

Today my 13 yo son was mowing for friends and their mower died, keep in mind it had about 10 minutes of use after having just been serviced. First the blades stopped and he was trying to figure out what happened , fiddling with the PTO switch, etc and the engine stopped and wouldn't turn over. Kaput. So I just went over to check it out and first thing I found was that the belt chewed up the harness for the pto clutch and most likely shorted it which is what killed the blades, the wires weren't broken, just stripped of insulation. I then managed to start it by holding down the clutch/brake and shorting the terminals on the selenoid to get it to crank. So the engine is ok, but when you let up on the pedal the engine dies. So I pulled the plug on the interlock module and restarted it with the screwdriver method and drove it back to the shed, but of course key start, blade, safety interlocks, etc don't work anymore. I couldn't find any fuses and a breaker should have reset, so I have to assume the interlock module has burned out. They're going to be out of town for a while & don't need anything else to worry about at the moment so I'd just like to take care of it myself but don't want to waste money on the module if that's not the problem, and if I have to take it back to the "professional" that IMHO shouldn't be allowed to repair a wheelbarrow, I'm just going to get my BP up because they'll charge arm/leg for a new clutch and interlock module because I don't see taking accountability for this, they've done this in the past where I feel they should have acknowledged that they screwed up and made things right but they didn't. I advised them not to deal with them anymore but....... Sigh too much info, sorry. Long & short of it, any experts out there think it's the interlock module? New one can be had for $39. I think the machine itself is about 5-6 years old, 18HP v-twin vertical shaft BS engine. Thanks!!! :wall:

There should be a fuse in the small red wire coming off the positive lug on the solenoid.

I doubt the interlock module is bad, but could be. Start by repairing the clutch wires and the fuse which is most likely blown. That may be the extent of necessary repairs.

Replying to this because it may be of value to someone in the future. Turns out this short circuit destroyed the PTO switch, the seat safety interlock switch, and the interlock module. So much for the circuit breaker. I'm going to install an inline fuse, cheap insurance. Thx for the help! :)