Hi, wonder if anyone can help. My lawn tractor has sat since January 09 without being run. As a result when I tried to start it tonight the starter solenoid chattered because of the low battery and the engine didn`t turn over. I attempted to jump start the lawn tractor using a fully charged car battery and heavy duty jump start cables. When I did this the solenoid chattered violently, the engine partially turned over the dashboard display went dead and no further attempts to get the engine to turn over produced any electrical or engine activity.
I found the main fuse block and saw that one 10 amp fuse had blown. I replaced that fuse and attempted to turn the engine over again with no luck at all, and the dash was still dead.
Anyone got any ideas please?

Check ignition switch and in line fuses

. Remove and fully charge the battery. Since it's a garden tractor, you may need to hook your regular battery charger up to an ampere damper. Remove caps and ensure each cell is properly filled. Add distilled water, if necessary. If you damaged the battery, by jumping it, replace the battery.

. Clean battery terminals and cable connections.

. Check all fuses with a test light or multimeter:

Multimeter. Set multimeter to DCV, turn ignition switch to ON, touch the black test lead to ground, and touch the red test lead, in turn, to each test point on the fuse. The meter should record battery voltage. Voltage must be recorded at each test point on a fuse; otherwise, the fuse is bad.

Test Light. Turn ignition switch to ON, connect alligator clip to the tractor's ground, and touch the probe to each test point on the fuse. The test light must come on at each test point on a fuse; otherwise, the fuse is bad.