Hey guys, well i'm having a lawntracor problem.

Its a 2000 Craftsmen 13.5Hp I/C Gold Briggs and Staton motor. Problem is it wont turn over, the motor is not seized, and i just put a brand new battery in. All the wiring is good i replaced the fuse still nothing.

The startor dosnt even spin, when i try to start it there is just nothing, no whizzing, whirring, the startors not even spinning. I'm thinking theres no power at the startor or the startors gone?

I removed the starter and spun it by hand and it spins fine. Any ideas i got grass to cut! Thanks.

Neil SWRules

by the way if i got an electriacal tester gauge or whatever its called can i put the positve end on the positve wire that would attach to the startor and ground the other wire on the frame while holding the key in the "start" position to see if i'm even getting power to the startor?

Do you have a safety switch underneath your seat? There should be a button type safety switch under their that shuts the engine off if you aren't sitting on the seat. I used to run a John Deere mower and we unplugged this as we used to pull irrigation pipes to set hand lines and it would always shut off.

You might want to make sure that switch is ok.

I would bet you have a bad safety switch somewhere also,,, I had one go on one of the arms of my grasshopper this spring and it took forever to figure out which one it was,,,
take a meter,,, put your positive probe on you positive wire going into the starter,,, put your ground probe on a good ground,,, try to start the starter,,, see if you get 12 volts,,,, you could have a bad key switch also,,, the starter has power to it all the time, your key switch engages the starter and it then turns over,,,,
if you understand car amplifiers,,,, you have a positive from the battery that is constant, a ground from the battery that is constant but then you have a remote turn on from the radio that only has power when the radio is on,,,, same thing with you key switch,,,, you can possibly jump the key switch to see if it is bad,,,, when you pull the 2 wires and touch them together,,, she may start turning over,,,,if she does,,,, the switch is your problem,,,,

off-topic, but, puree, you used to be in the car audio business did you not? I got a couple basic questions for you if you wouldn't mind...

thanks guys, i unplugged the saftey underneath the seat, still dead. i will have to pick up the tester, but in the meantime, for the switch over-ride, theres more than 2 wires coming out of the switch?

Russ start another topic for that before this one goes out of topic.

Thanks tips.

good2go, when you get your tester, pm me and I will help you out,,, if I have to, I will give you a cell number and you can call me and I will walk you right through testing it. I dont have a craftsman mower, but my neighbor does, and I can take a look at his to walk you through testing your wires,,,,

Russ,,, sure did, pm me with your questions and I will help any way I can,,,,

There are several switches. Besides the seat, you have another one that works in conjunction with it, that will allow the engine to run with the mower in neutral, and the blades disengaged, and nobody in the seat. The ignition switch on my former Craftsman was always flaky as well. Check it. The mower that I had, also had some sort of obnoxious failsafe that wouldn't allow the mower to start if one of these switches were "disabled."

Not to overstate the obvious, but both my Craftsman and Mastercraft mowers (both made by MTD in Kitchener, Ont.) won't start unless the brake is set or you depress the brake pedal all the way to the bottom. If you're doing that, that may be a source of 2 more safety switches to check out.

Good Luck

Jeff

alright thanks guys. well i got it to start, i jump started it by boosting it with the battery in the tractor, hooked booster cables to the battery, then grounded the other one on the frame and touched the positive terminal on the starter to the postive cable on the booster cable and she started right up.

but, i've tried everything through the ignition and cant get it to start. i'm starting to think that the solenoid is gone or the key switch because all the wiring is fine, not corroded or anything.

i havnt got a tester but when i do i'll give you a PM puree.

trailblazer, yepp i even had the pedal depressed all the way and even used the "lock" to lock the pedal depressed still nothing. :(

if you just jump it,,,, dont touch the wire directly to the starter,,,does it start??? if it does, you simply have a bad battery,,,,
if it doesnt, then we are back to solenoid or a switch,,,,

when you get it running, if you get on the mower and then pull the jumper cables off,,,does it continue to run, will it run well,,,,, if it does, then your switches should be good,,,, if one of them were bad, it would short out the system and you would die,,,,,

solenoid,,,, honestly, check for the price,,,if its cheap, take a shot and replace it,,, bet thats your problem,,, good luck
Brian

hey Brian, yes once it starts by jumping it with its own battery it will continue to run normal and i can drive it around and cut grass etc... just like it normally would.

the battery has a full charge as its brand new and turns the motor over fine.

i'll look and try to find another solenoid.

-Neil

well when you get it going, if you had a bad seat switch or safety switch, it would cause the motor to die,,,, but when you bypass that solenoid circuit and go straight from the battery to the starter and it starts fine and stays running,,, I would say problem solved,,, wonder if they can test the solenoid for you,,,, take it off and take it to an autozone or advanced auto and see if they can test it for you,,,, then you will know,,,
good luck
Brian