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Damn Riding Mower

fasteddie

By fasteddie,
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fasteddie Grand Master

fasteddie

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I bought a Troybuilt Bronco  mower in 2006 after my knee surgery . It has a 17 hp Kohler engine and leaked oil the 2nd year I had it . I guess the seals dry out and this happens . I put engine stop leak in it and that seemed to work okay . Anyway I tried starting it yesterday and had to do some battery work on it but it was running fine . I started it up today and it seemed like the starter motor didn't want to crank worth a darn . I had it idling while I moved an obstruction and it quit . Now when I turn the key ...... nothing . The headlights normally go on when the key is turned but not now . The battery terminals are tight .

 

Looking at buying a Cub Cadet . Not sure which model . Some reviews are 1 star and several are 5 stars . Any suggestions on a Cub cadet LTX1040 , LTX 1045 or 13RX91AT056 ?

 

Things are slow so I figured this was a good time to post something non hunting ......

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fasteddie Grand Master

fasteddie

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have the battery tested (most parts stores do it for free) and make sure where the cable contact the terminals are clean.  just experience. 

 

Did that .. battery is good and terminals are tight . I am going to try connecting a wire to the negative terminal and frame and see if that might be a problem . I don't want to spend a lot of money on a 6 year old mower either . Thanks for the suggestion .

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tuckersdaddy Newbie

tuckersdaddy

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Did that .. battery is good and terminals are tight . I am going to try connecting a wire to the negative terminal and frame and see if that might be a problem . I don't want to spend a lot of money on a 6 year old mower either . Thanks for the suggestion .

 

Did you wire brush them before you reinstalled the cables? the terms will get a dark grey coating if corrosion on them that wont conduct. i cant tell you how many times people have thought they needed a new battery, but just needed an unhook, scrub and reassemble. or a fuse in the fuel tank!

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burmjohn Newbie

burmjohn

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Follow all the wires, I've seen mice go to town on wires. We tried to start up a ATV after sitting for 3 months, some reason it would run then die.  Well long story short we had to re-wire everything.  They ate the whole damn thing!

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wdswtr Newbie

wdswtr

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Take a set of jumper cables, put the ground on the frame, turn the key to run and touch the starter with the positive, if it turns over one of two problems other than dead battery you eliminated, solenoid or bad battery contacts.  For the record I think Briggs and Stratton is making junk motors now also.  I have a 24 hp B&S in my mower and from day one its been junk.  Carburator vapor locks and makes it skip if until it cools down, the block is alluminum which is fine but both plugs were cross threaded from the factory and after trying to replace them in the begining of year 2 one stripped threads out the other broke off in the motor.  Warranty would not cover it either and I turn wrenches for a living so its wasnt a rookie mistake.  Ended up helicoiling both plug holes. Air box knurl knobs that lock it in place are plastic and all 4 broke off first time servicing the air cleaner with just turning them with my fingers. The only thing I like aout it is when the snow starts falling and I dont have to use the darn thing again for the year.  Never been so dissapointed in a motor in my life. 

Edited by wdswtr
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fasteddie Grand Master

fasteddie

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I will try a few of the suggestions today and see what happens . The push mower with the grass catcher gives me a good workout but takes me two days to mow . Getting too old to mow in one day . With the rider , it's done real quick .

Sheesh , i've gotten more hits on this thread than any of my pics ! B)

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Cabin Fever Mentor

Cabin Fever

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Follow all the wires, I've seen mice go to town on wires. We tried to start up a ATV after sitting for 3 months, some reason it would run then die.  Well long story short we had to re-wire everything.  They ate the whole damn thing!

For this reason, I always keep mouse poison, glue boards, or mouse traps in my sheds where I keep my ATV and tractor! Mice suck!!

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fasteddie Grand Master

fasteddie

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No problem with the safety switch .

I put a jumper cable on the Hot and touched the other end to the starter screw . The starter motor turned a little bit ( slow ) but it wouldn't crank enough to start the mower . So it must be somewhere in the circuitry . I was running the battery down trying this so I will have to keep playing .

Thanks again for the suggestions .

Mothballs smell terrible plus it's hard to get their little legs apart !

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burmjohn Newbie

burmjohn

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Mothballs smell terrible plus it's hard to get their little legs apart !

 

I havn't laughed that hard in a while.  My wife was like what the hell are you laughing at (was on my phone).  I tried to explain it to her and she was oblivious. 

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fasteddie Grand Master

fasteddie

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Update --- I got out the multi-meter and was going to check the solenoid and key switch but all that is behind the front mounted gas tank . Got some tools and was going to remove the gas tank . Hmmmm , there is a fuse . Maybe I should check that for the hell of it . Pulled it out and it was burned plus a prong broke off . Got the broken prong out and replaced the fuse . Hooked the battery cables up and retried the key switch . Voila ! It started . Mowed part of the lawn and it conked out . When I popped the hood to check the new fuse , the engine was smoking a bit . Added some oil stop leak plus oil , replaced the fuse and finished mowing the lawn .

The 2nd year I had the mower it smoked and I had to add oil . Apparently the oil would leak onto the manifold and smoke . I had 2 mechanics tell me that the Kohler engines were known for this because the seals would dry out allowing for the leakage .

I doubt the problem is solved unless there is a thermostat or something that lets the mower the engine is heating and blows the fuse for safety .  Hmmmmmmmm ?

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wdswtr Newbie

wdswtr

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Heat would trip a thermal fuse but they reset.  Not a common application in a gas motor however.  There is something electrical going wrong to blow the fuse or possibly it was replaced at one point with an undersized fuse.  If I recall correctly some of the early motor seals can not tolerate sythetic oil for long periods of time without dry rotting them.  This could be the problem you are seeing, I would have to take a guess its something that has been resolved with the onset of synthetic being common place these days.  Try Lucas oil next go around and see if it helps with the leaks. Also remember ethanol is raising havoc with seals drying out as well, run high octane or non ethanol gas in these small engines is a good choice for longevity.

Edited by wdswtr
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