Electrical Diagnosis of Riding Lawnmower that Won't Start
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- Опубликовано: 1 май 2021
- Step by Step!
Today we'll be working on a Craftsman riding lawn mower that won't start, due to an electrical issue.
The solenoid clicks, but the engine doesn't turn over!
I'll show you how to test all the electrical components, and explain just about everything you'll need to know in order to eliminate certain electrical components, and isolate exactly what is causing the issue.
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most informative riding lawnmower troubleshooting video ever. you are a natural teacher.
Best instruction video on electrical diagnosis of riding lawnmower I have watched so far. Thank you!
I have watched many, many videos while attempting to do all sorts of repairs. This video, by far, is the most informative one I have ever watched. I went from just trying to get my mower running (which I did) to getting a full blown tutorial on the entire electrical system. Now I actually understand how it all works, which will certainly pay off in the future. Thank you so much for this.
Glad it helped, thanks for watching!
I fully agree with Gregory Orr's comment above. The best electrical troubleshooting video I've seen. Well done!!! This should help anyone who takes the time to watch it. Simple, complete and spot on.
Thank you for making your diagnostic information easy to understand even to me, being a 70 yr old woman. While watching ur video on my cell, I was able to diagnose my ride on by my self. U were so helpful.👍🏼
Thanks for the kind words, glad it helped!
As a complete novice with a multimeter, I followed your steps and located the problem.
Clear, easy to follow instructions, with no waffle. The best instructional video I have seen on RUclips. A lesson to others on how to do it. Good job
Amazing presentation. Not a single um, or aaaah, or "you know" or "like I said." This man knows his stuff and, our good luck, he knows how to share it clearly and efficiently. He could be a college professor; he talks like one. Knowledge, confidently delivered, is like the proverbial gold to watchers like us. Eliminator Performance is THE MAN and this video sets a very high bar for others to attempt to reach.
Thanks for the kind words Lee! I try my best not to say uh, you know or like I said but sometimes they slip in. Thanks for watching!
Simply the best all-around instructions on the internet !!!! Thanks!
Thanks for watching!
Thanks for the video…it was awesome! You helped me self diagnose the problem with my Husqvarna lawn tractor…it was the starter solenoid. $10 part on Amazon and it was fixed! Thanks again.
Glad it helped, thanks for watching!
Even myself with a lifetime of Auto mechanical experience, you still learn something new or things forgotten because of lack of repetition. I put myself in the seat of someone that has zero experience and realized YOU ARE AN AWESOME TEACHER. Thank you and keep up the excellent video work.
Thanks for the kind words!
This gentleman's video was exceptional and is deserving of viewership and $$$$$
Most clear and complete diagnostic on the web! thanks
Although I am not mechanically incline, the more I watch your videos, the more I understand. Your teaching will help many of us diagnose our own lawn tractors. I thank individual like you that share your skills. Your continuation of videos on diagnosing Electrical issues will make you a great instructor. Again thanks and God Bless.
Great information given in a way that someone who has little knowledge can understand and I thank you
I can't thank you enough. I am a 63 year old wife, and my husband has dementia. My craftsman zero turn quit on me last week, and I had to fix it myself. You made the job very easy for me. I didn't realize that even though my battery showed it had 12.5 volts, it won't hold the charge under a load. I went through half of your tests and was getting 12 volts at all the contact points. So I put my battery charger on and it said the battery was bad. You are my new mechanic and you are a GREAT teacher!
🙏
Hands down the absolute best video I've ever seen to find a problem. Thank you so much!
Gj. This is by far the best, simplest riding mower electrical diagnostic tutorial on Utube.
Excellent video, probably the best that I have seen 👍👍👍👍👍
Thank you very helpful. Step-by-step was very easy to follow you Have a great day.
Worth mentioning for your subscribers -- a quick elimination of the solenoid could have been done using a screwdriver to short between the nuts on the main posts on the solenoid, pulling the solenoid out of the picture.
Hurray! I was able to fix my mower. I went to one of your other videos where you talk about carburetor problems, and I was able to get the mower running by spraying a liberal amount of carb cleaner into it. The carb itself looked really clean, but there must have been some gunk in one of the jets that broke loose when I sprayed it. It now runs like a top! I bought a used mower engine off of eBay, cleaned it up, installed the carburetor off my old blown engine and saved myself $600! My mower now looks and runs amazing - not bad for a Sears Craftsman mower that was built in 1997.
The best lawnmower electrical troubleshooting video I have ever seen. Kudos.
Cheers!
Straight information, clear speaker with no additional nonsense. Excellent video bro.
Thanks for watching!
This video is electrical testing for DUMMIES!! Exactly what I need!! Great video!
Thanks for watching!
DAM!!! I have been searching for a trouble shoot video like tgis for 2 years!!! All of them seem to start half way thru a test and never give any good details. YOU ARE THE MAN!! I AM NO LINGER ELECTRICAL DUMB!!! Thanks brother!! Subbed!!
Excellent information! Well done, indeed.
It's this kind of video that I am talking about when I talk about being a proud graduate of RUclips University. Thank you so much for this tutorial.
Thanks for the kind words, and thanks for watching!
Excellent video in every aspect! Great planning. Great camera work, Clear and concise narrative. Absolutely one of the best instructional videas I've ever watched on RUclips. Screw lawnmowers. You should be making videos for a living!
brother you are genius
The best I have seen so far. Excellent !!
Thanks for watching!
OMG! That was my first riding mower owned!
I have used RUclips to research things from A to Z. Never have I found a video that was so informative AND enjoyable. Thank you very much.
Hey I have been a mechanic for 33 years I just came across your video and man I wish my instructors could explain things the way you do would have made apprenticeship school a lot easier. Very nice job you did with the video 👍🏻
Thanks man, I’m still watching and trying to find where my repair is.
That's a really good tutorial, many thanks!
Excellent demonstration. Thanks!
Just wanted to add to the others and tell you what a great you've done with this video. I do a lot of my own repair work with everything from the battery and screen on my phones to the heater core on my car and this is propably the *best* problem troubleshooting tutorial I've seen. Seriously. You explain not just what you are doing well but also why. I've never known *why* you need to test car batteries under load but don't have to with my flashlights; now I do.
Excellent work!
Great teaching, and without a camera man!
Thanks!
thank you so much! fixing my issue was as easy as removing the solenoid and scraping the metal off to make a good ground connection
Thank for the detailed video. I just changed deck and drive belt on a troy bilt bronco. After 3 days of figuring where the springs go back, I went to start the engine and it did not start. So now on with the trouble shooting. I'm tired and will have to do this another day. Much appreciated for your expertise. 😢
U are a great teacher thanks for sharing with us this appreciations for the good explanations .u did save my money for buying a new start. Thanks once again for that 👌👍🇩🇰
Great video explaining the electrical system. !
Thanks for watching!
I have watched numerous RUclips lawn mower, repair videos and yours is, by far, the most comprehensive and easy to understand. I have a 2005 Troy-Bilt with a Briggs & Stratton 18.5 hp engine and I'm doing my best to make it last as long as possible. Lawn mower prices today are roughly twice what they were when I purchased that one.
Very informative video! Love the step by step
You explained the electrical sequence from battery to starter extremely well. Thanks for the tutorial.
Thanks Jerry
I like your step by step teaching. I learn something’s. Thanks
Thanks ,helped me narrow down what is wrong with my mower,as others have said you did a great job on the vidieo an explaining the wiring an what controls what,thanks again
I just wanted to say Thanks!!! I didn’t have a problem troubleshooting an electrical problem on the Abrams Tanks I worked on for years, but for some reason? I was intimidated by my Badboy Mower, maybe the name? Idk.
But thanks to your helpful walk through? I was able to locate the problem & figure out the root cause of the issue.. Which, was a little different than your problem here, so I’ll explain what I went through to help anyone else in my shoes.
Symptom: No response when I turned the key, no solenoid click, nothing. It gave out after 3 hours of cutting grass on a hot day, going down a hill. At first I thought it needed fuel because it was low, added fuel, then checked engine oil.. No, nothing.
Started at the battery which was good & well connected, tested the ground which had voltage going through the frame. But because I wasn’t getting any type of power response? I immediately thought it was a safety switch acting up, so I tested each one, but they were all good.
So, went back the battery, checked the solenoid, & it was getting power to it, but not across it. So when I tested the started side of the solenoid, & turned the key? Nothing. Instead of following my gut, I tested the ignition switch which was great to learn, but nothing.. The switch was working fine, but while I had the switch off? I decided to test the wire, & I was only getting 3.03 volts coming to the switch. When I traced it backwards, it lead me right to the 25amp wide blade fuse on my mower.
After seeing that the fuse from the solenoid was blown, a quick run to the store, & $3 dollars later? It was running again, but I noticed the throttle cable was stuck in the full open position, maxing out the rpm’s. Apparently the plastic melted around it? So once that was fixed, it was running back to normal.
Thanks again, for all your help. Every video I watched from the switches to the solenoid were all yours, so thanks man! You saved us a ton of money over a $1.50 part.
Glad to hear you're back up and running!
WOW. Great info. From the battery to the starter. Tests all the way. Thanks for explaining each step.
You are a king amongst men. Thank you for this wisdom. It has helped me greatly!
As someone who is terrible with electrical troubleshooting, this is by the far the simplest and easiest to understand guide I’ve seen to date. Thank you for making it so simple lol
Thanks for watching!
2 Wa aaa
Man I found your videos today. I wanted to understand how to troubleshoot starting issues on my craftsman mower. I love and respect you simplify how and why you did things. Thank you.
Thanks for watching!
Excellent video. Thank you for the breakdown.
Extremely well put together step by step electrical tutorial that explains everything you need to know. You should get a raise!
Good day Wayne Boy you are right with that , he should have a raise. Thanks
I spent hrs on a Husky rider did all kinds of things then found it was a 20 amp fuse....when it was narrowed down to that it took a while to find the thing as the schematic is horrible. Just happened across it noticing a clip barely visible that held the housing. grrr
Just the most concise plain spoken video I've seen on RUclips and needing plenty of help I've watch hundred's. You'd be great in a college class sending young people into the world with knowledge that they could earn a living with. Bravo Sir!
Thanks for the kind words Clay!
Excellent clear explanations.
Awesome step-by-step instructions!!! Video is clear, multimeter information is great.
Excellent, well thought out and well presented video. If you are not a teacher you should be!
Thanks for the illustrations on trouble shooting the electrical components you made it some what easier to understand components and there importance to establish the solution and eliminate problems your excellent tutor thanks a bunch
Very good step by step diagnosis instructions. Keep up the good work.
Superb knowledge of subject AND camera work/video editing. Other vids contain “um’s” and the camera is moved with no care to the point I get nauseous. Well done young man Can’t wait to dive into my rider which has been trouble free but joined the won’t start brigade last week.
Thanks for the kind words Don, good luck!
Brilliant vid. Great shots, angles and lighting. Everything explained without skipping over things. After 3 days of a RUclips crash course on rideon mower electrics, this vid helped me solve my issue. You are a legend in the RUclips Community, many thanks.
Thanks for the kind words Ron, glad it helped!
This is the most informative, clear and concise "how-to" of any kind that I have ever viewed! step by step, well articulated, clearly filmed and edited. GREAT job!!! THANK YOU!!!!
can't wait to see your video on basic Brain surgery. fantastic work !!!
Thanks for watching!
yeah I would totally agree. Very well done. Saved me money and time.
Where have u been all my life. If I could get my people to explain things like this....Thank you for making it make since
You do the best video for diy no no how to fix lawnmower because you do it for people don’t know how to fix it ❤it not like other videos do it for pro and it is not understand it at all
No nonsense video - loved it 🙌 I hope your channel kicks off
Thanks for the kind words!
Brilliant Video my lawnmower has an electric issue. I will update tomorrow to see if I can finally find the problem
I’ll give you a “thumbs up” for sure as almost everything is correct and you were pretty thorough. However, continuity testing alone is not sufficient when testing a cranking (or any other higher amperage) circuit. The reason is simple, a cable with broken strands may show perfect continuity, but cannot deliver the amperage necessary to operate the circuit properly. The way to test for this possibility is to dynamically test the circuit by checking for voltage drops while the circuit is loaded (being operated). In this instance, you would put one side of the volt meter (properly set for the voltage expected) on the positive battery post (not at the cable) and the other side at the starter cable lug (when checking the positive side) or the negative battery post and the case of the starter itself. By turning the key and loading the circuit while monitoring the voltage, you would’ve seen that the starter was properly grounded, but wasn’t getting any power at all. With one simple test, you would’ve eliminated the entire ground circuit and narrowed the problem to the positive side. In this case, the next place to look would’ve been to check the larger cable connections at the solenoid and you would’ve easily found that the loss was inside the solenoid itself. As far as checking the primary side of the solenoid, since you could hear the actual solenoid heavy “click” of the solenoid when the key was turned, you would know that the solenoid was moving, but since it wasn’t delivering the power necessary, it was failing internally. One other point, I know that the solenoids might corrode as well, but the main problem I’ve seen is that the internal contacts get burned due to excessive amperage draw in the circuit. Very often when that is the case, the starter is the root cause as when the starter draws excessive amperage, it will cause the solenoid contacts to burn. This would necessitate replacement of both the starter and the solenoid to correct the condition. Regardless of my comments, I believe that you did a good job overall and that anyone following your testing recommendations would almost always find their specific problem. I would personally recommend that you start doing the dynamic voltage drop testing to eliminate the possibility of any erroneous electrical diagnosis.
Man, this video is going to save a lot of people a lot of headaches, including me! I'm going to pick up a new multi meter since I left mine outside. Thanks for the awesome video!
And you better believe I saved this video. I have 5 acres in Florida and 4 of it needs to be mowed and my mower just took a shit.
Thanks for watching!
Thanks a bunch. I've Been searching for clear mower electrical info - you nailed it. You've got me as a long term subscriber.
GOOD INFO FOR THE D. I. Y. GOOD COMMON SENSE.
Great video. Never used a multimeater before and followed your step by step instructions to solve a Kawasaki equipped riding zero turn lawn mower lawnmower engine no start problem.
Keep up the good work.
George
Decent instructional video. Few points to make, there is a difference between 'Engine will not start' and 'Engine will not turn over'. I know in the sub text it specifies but main header and in his instruction is misleading. You can quickly check Starter by running a jumper wire from Positive wire post at solenoid to Starter wire post and lastly, always disconnect the ground wire from battery first. That way it prevents inadvertent arcing if you touch the lawnmower when removing positive wire with a bare metal hand tool. Also a quick safety tip, never wear jewelry around anything electrical. Most batteries have almost unlimited amperage stored and a gold chain is a great conductor.
Thank you so very much for your videos. they are very helpful.. maybe one comment you could make is before troubleshooting your starting problems; make sure that your blade is not engaged!!!!!!!🤣😂 No kidding!!! i watched both of your videos. PULLED my solenoid and tested it as per your instructions and all was good.... Followed the white wire from the solenoid to the cut off switch at the blade engage lever and from that position, my face was half in the engine compartment and I looked at the switch and at the same time my eyes moved up and seen that the blade was still engaged!!!!😆😆 The last time I cut the lawn it started poring rain and I drove it up and shut it off quick, never realizing that the blades where still engaged!!! The next time I tried to start it it wouldn't.. Never even thought to notice that the blades where still engaged!!🤣😂🤣😂
Thank you so much for the informative video!!🤣😂🤣
very clearly i can understand your video , thanks bro
You sir and the most elegant Taryn Dactyl helped me alot getting my mower running. Thank you
I have 7 old Bolens tractors that I am attempted to restore your video's have helped me more than you know.
Thank you for your time. Dave
Wow! Excellent job of explaining the step-by-step troubleshooting steps. Seriously, I watch a lot of RUclips "How to" videos and yours is one of the clearest I've ever come across. You've got a new sub!
Thanks for watching!
Great video. Many thanks!!
Thanks for the vid. The ground screw to the chassis had backed out. Lol! I expected the worst and got off easy as could be. Need to stop myself from going worse case and working backwards! Cheers!
Glad you solved the problem, thanks for watching!
Many thanks...great video hits on a multitude of issues!
Great video. Reversed battery poles by accident so it is helping me to diagnose a no start. Thanks.
Best DIY on riding mower electrical issues. You are a GREAT Instructor!!
Thanks for the kind words!
Great Video, my mower is now working again. Thanks so much.
Update from my electrical trouble shooting based on these steps; I am in the process of refurbishing a JD SX85 mower that had been sitting outside for the last 6 plus years. After getting a new battery and ignition switch (due to last owner not knowing where the keys were), one of the things that threw me for a loop (my fault) and caused me to buy a new solenoid I did not need was the fuse. When I checked the fuse, I made the mistake of checking continuity while fuse was in holder. Also when I took the fuse out, I did not look closely at it in the light. So after pulling my hair out checking the grounds and safety switches, I still could not figure out why I was not getting 12V key power to the starter. I could do the old solenoid screwdriver method but that was it. So finally with the sun shining in my shop, decided to pull the ignition fuse again and look at it in the sunlight and sure enough could see the break in the plastic. I went ahead and grabbed the fuse out of my 2020 JD and put it in this little SX85 and sure enough, engine came alive with the key:-) Moral of the story is check fuse in sunlight or with a flashlight :-)
This was awesome, I’m going to check
Tomorrow thanks
Excellent video, learned a lot, thanks
Today my mower just wont click with a fully charged battery so i will be looking for electrical issues using ur video thnks i hope to find my issue and learn alot.
Great troubleshooting Sir, very talented. Thank you for sharing.
Your videos are one of the best and I enjoyed it very much. Thank you!
Excellent video on this topic
Great video with clear info!!
Best video ever!! Step by step logically working through every possible inch of electrical testing multiple ways. Superbly explained! Thank you. I feel like a pro now.
Glad it was helpful!
this is the best video I have seen so far .easy to understand, very well done
I have Toro rider with a brand new battery and absolutely nothing when I turn the key. I'll be following your video to diagnose my issue. Thnx for the very informative video.
Awesome video very comprehensive.
have to like the video for the clear and excess data/description of everything it could be where what goes and how it works thanks for reading us the circuit map with video to prove location of information ℹ️❤😊
Interesting how mowers work simple systems but if your not able to get a diagram you don't know what to expect at some terminals, I am working on a sears version of this same mower that has 2 relays dangling from the harness and they look OE, not sure how to test them, Ill watch more vids to see it you have addressed this item.. Thanks for the assistance
Thanks this video was helpful I have a craftsman 👍.
Excellent video
Can't thank you enough for the great tutorial here! Your logical and thorough process helped me diagnose what turned out to be the same issue with my ancient craftsman rider. Very grateful for such awesome content. Subscribing now for when my mower takes a dump next year!
Excellent video, Thankyou