I was mowing my lawn yesterday, and it had been running for about 15 minutes before I turned it off to answer a question from my son. When I turned the key to start the mower again, there was nothing, no sound, no clicks, no motion, nothing.

A neighbor suggested replacing the spark plug, which I did. I also checked the battery (it was at 90%) so I did a top-off charge and had the charger running on start mode, but again nothing when I turned the key.

I checked the 30 amp fuse I can see from the side of the tractor, and I unplugged and re-plugged all the conections I could see, but still nothing.

I also turned the key to the headlight position to see if power was going to the headlight, but the headlight didn't go on either

This is the extent of my mechanical abilities, so I really don't know what to do next.

Please help!!

Thanks in advance,
Erik Harris
[email protected]

Hi,
Just a stupid question, but did you turn the deck off?
Peace,
Clarke

I should have also mentioned in my original post that I did slide the lever up and down to ensure the deck was not engaged. I did this a few times, and I also checked underneath to see that the belt was slack, and therefore the deck not engaged.

Thanks,
Erik

Hi,
The easiest explanation of the system is to say that 12V goes to one side of the solenoid and to the ignition switch. The switch is turned to the Start position and the voltage goes through the clutch/brake switch and the blade switch to reach the trigger post on the solenoid. It then "throws" the solenoid to crank the machine. One of those four components is at fault (at least one.)
The solenoid is nothing but an electromagnetic switch that is controlled by a small amount of current and switches a large current circuit (starting.)
Peace,
Clarke