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Craftsman lawn tractor will not start

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nobdenobde
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 4 Erie, Pa
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2008-05-17          153746

My neighbors lawn tractor will not start. She has a Craftsman 15.5 hp OHV, Kohler Command. The tractor ran last fall, but now after the winter months are over and trying to start it now, it does nothing. She installed a new battery, but it still does nothing.
I went over and checked the battery first thing and found the battery was good.
I followed some of the wiring, thinking maybe a ground, but all looked ok. I checked a fuse that I could reach without taking everything apart, but that checked ok. There was an inline fuse I could not reach.

Anyone have any other ideas. Turn the key and nothing.

I could not find the model or serial number, but just did a quick check until I wrote this forum and got a reply to help.


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Craftsman lawn tractor will not start

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candoarms
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 1932 North Dakota
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2008-05-17          153750

Nobdenobde,

Since it was running last Fall, then sat over the winter -my first guess would be a rusted ground connection to the frame of the tractor.

Disconnect the ground from the tractor's frame and clean both the electrical connection and the frame. A little bit of rust is all it takes to prevent a connection from being made.

Follow the ground wire from the battery to the frame of the tractor. This is a very common problem.

Joel ....

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Craftsman lawn tractor will not start

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kwschumm
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 5764 NW Oregon
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2008-05-17          153753

Does it crank if you jumper it at the starter solenoid? ....

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Craftsman lawn tractor will not start

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nobdenobde
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 4 Erie, Pa
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2008-05-18          153761

Today I want to check for the negetive ground connection. If that is ok I will try the jumper. What is the procedure for jumping the solenoid.
If it does turn over by doing this, what have I learned besides the starter works. Could it be, besides a bad ground, a ignition switch? ....

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greg_g
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 1816 Western Kentucky
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2008-05-18          153763

There are likely two or more ignition lockout switches; one under the seat, one under the stop pedal. On mowers with an electric PTO clutch, that's a third. They force the operator to be seated AND have the stop pedal depressed (AND in some cased have the PTO disengaged) in order to complete the electrical connection between the keyswitch and the starter solenoid. You may find one of these switches damaged/corroded/disconnected - or the PTO switch inadvertently engaged.

//greg// ....

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crunch
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 271 Niagara County, NY
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2008-05-19          153786

I once had my garden tractor tuned up and then it didn't work when I got it home and off the trailer. Brought it back and they fixed it again. I went to tie it on the trailer the second time and realized that I had bent the "out of seat" safety contacts with the way I was tying it when I first brought it home. Whoops! ....

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Craftsman lawn tractor will not start

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kwschumm
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 5764 NW Oregon
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2008-05-19          153794

Quote:
Originally Posted by nobdenobde | view 153761
Today I want to check for the negetive ground connection. If that is ok I will try the jumper. What is the procedure for jumping the solenoid. If it does turn over by doing this, what have I learned besides the starter works. Could it be, besides a bad ground, a ignition switch?


Here's a link to a site that shows how to jumper a starter solenoid. This is for an automotive solenoid but it will probably work for your Kohler engine (the Kohler engine on our generator is identical to an automotive setup). If it cranks when jumped it tells you the starter, solenoid, battery and battery cables are OK and the problem is in the start switch or interlock wiring. ....


Link:   Jump starter

 
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Craftsman lawn tractor will not start

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nobdenobde
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 4 Erie, Pa
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster

2008-05-20          153799

Problem solved. I checked grounds, fuses and lockouts. It ended up being the ignition switch. It was corroded. Used a little emery paper and electrical cleaner and it started right up.
Thanks for all the help. I learned quite a bit. It was rewarding when the owner, the neighbor girl jumped up and down and screamed when it finally started. She almost had it hauled away to the shop. ....

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