Spark plug?

Dave

"DJS" wrote in message
om...
My son was mowing the lawn and the tractor just stopped.

When we try to start it, nothing happens. I mean nothing! No turn
over, no clicking or anything. The hour meter and lights still work
when the key is turned. I do have the owners manual with schematics. I
changed the 30amp fuse as a shot in the dark but that did not help.

One thing confusing to me is what part would fail that would stop the
mower when operating that also will not allow it to start.

May or may not be related but we had just put a new mandrel, blades,
mower/mover drive belts, oil filter, fuel filter, air filter getting
reading for the summer. He got about an acre cut before it died.

Its been a great tractor with just normal maintenance - only about 500
hours.

Any suggestions on where to start?

Thanks in advance,

David

I heard the coil can cause this to happen. I'll check with one of the techs
and let you know for sure.

"DJS" wrote in message
om...
My son was mowing the lawn and the tractor just stopped.

When we try to start it, nothing happens. I mean nothing! No turn
over, no clicking or anything. The hour meter and lights still work
when the key is turned. I do have the owners manual with schematics. I
changed the 30amp fuse as a shot in the dark but that did not help.

One thing confusing to me is what part would fail that would stop the
mower when operating that also will not allow it to start.

May or may not be related but we had just put a new mandrel, blades,
mower/mover drive belts, oil filter, fuel filter, air filter getting
reading for the summer. He got about an acre cut before it died.

Its been a great tractor with just normal maintenance - only about 500
hours.

Any suggestions on where to start?

Thanks in advance,

David

Sounds like your battery died, with just enough juice to power your lights
and hour meter but not enough to crank the starter. It could be a battery
failure or the generator may not be charging the battery and your one acre
of mowing was draining the life out of the battery. I would start with
replacing the battery first, it may be under warranty.

"DJS" wrote in message
om...
My son was mowing the lawn and the tractor just stopped.

When we try to start it, nothing happens. I mean nothing! No turn
over, no clicking or anything. The hour meter and lights still work
when the key is turned. I do have the owners manual with schematics. I
changed the 30amp fuse as a shot in the dark but that did not help.

One thing confusing to me is what part would fail that would stop the
mower when operating that also will not allow it to start.

May or may not be related but we had just put a new mandrel, blades,
mower/mover drive belts, oil filter, fuel filter, air filter getting
reading for the summer. He got about an acre cut before it died.

Its been a great tractor with just normal maintenance - only about 500
hours.

Any suggestions on where to start?

Thanks in advance,

David

I just spoke with one of the techs at the service center ( a guy I trust).
He said that it sounds like, with a 22hp Kohler, you have one of the newer
tractors. He didn't recall an older unit with that size Kohler off hand.
His first suggestion was that it was most likely a relay. Most of the
larger tractors have 2 or 3. Probably the one that causes the engine to
shut off when you get off the seat. That would allow your lights and gauges
to work but would send no power to the engine. With a newer tractor, it is
probably still under warranty. You've got 2 years on the engine. On the
off chance that it's less than 30 days old, you won't be charged anything
for the service call. If it's 30 days to 2 years you will probably be
charged something like 40 bucks. Tracking down relays can be a pain in the
rear end. I hope this helps.

"Eric Tonks" wrote in message
i.com...
Sounds like your battery died, with just enough juice to power your lights
and hour meter but not enough to crank the starter. It could be a battery
failure or the generator may not be charging the battery and your one acre
of mowing was draining the life out of the battery. I would start with
replacing the battery first, it may be under warranty.

"DJS" wrote in message
om...
My son was mowing the lawn and the tractor just stopped.

When we try to start it, nothing happens. I mean nothing! No turn
over, no clicking or anything. The hour meter and lights still work
when the key is turned. I do have the owners manual with schematics. I
changed the 30amp fuse as a shot in the dark but that did not help.

One thing confusing to me is what part would fail that would stop the
mower when operating that also will not allow it to start.

May or may not be related but we had just put a new mandrel, blades,
mower/mover drive belts, oil filter, fuel filter, air filter getting
reading for the summer. He got about an acre cut before it died.

Its been a great tractor with just normal maintenance - only about 500
hours.

Any suggestions on where to start?

Thanks in advance,

David

In misc.rural DJS wrote:

One thing confusing to me is what part would fail that would stop the
mower when operating that also will not allow it to start.

Sounds like an interlock switch somewhere; if you get off the seat,
for instance, some tractors will kill the engine, and it also stops
you from starting it while not on it. It's consistant with the
problem you're describing, a frequent weak-spot, and logical, which
of course means it's not the problem on your tractor, but it's
something you should check first.

Dave Hinz

wrote in message
...
In misc.rural DJS wrote:

One thing confusing to me is what part would fail that would stop the
mower when operating that also will not allow it to start.

Sounds like an interlock switch somewhere; if you get off the seat,
for instance, some tractors will kill the engine, and it also stops
you from starting it while not on it. It's consistant with the
problem you're describing, a frequent weak-spot, and logical, which
of course means it's not the problem on your tractor, but it's
something you should check first.

Dave Hinz


It's a simple contact switch. But there is supposed to be a relay in-line
somewhere. Hey, it may be as simple as a broken wire or bad contact. Good
luck.

I have a kohler 20 hp with 48 inch deck and the same thing happened to
me. Mowing the lawn and the tractor just stopped dead in the track.
I had enough power to get lights, etc, but not turn over. I did the
same thing you did, but no luck.

My suggestion, check the wiring that runs from the solenoid to the key
or just behind the dash panel. The rocket scientist that assmebles
the tractors runs the wiring harness over the steering column and the
cover on the wire wears through and shorts the system out. I taped
the wire, replaced the fuse and it runs great.

This fixed my problem, may or may not help you.


"DJS" wrote in message
om...
My son was mowing the lawn and the tractor just stopped.

When we try to start it, nothing happens. I mean nothing! No turn
over, no clicking or anything. The hour meter and lights still work
when the key is turned. I do have the owners manual with schematics. I
changed the 30amp fuse as a shot in the dark but that did not help.

One thing confusing to me is what part would fail that would stop the
mower when operating that also will not allow it to start.

May or may not be related but we had just put a new mandrel, blades,
mower/mover drive belts, oil filter, fuel filter, air filter getting
reading for the summer. He got about an acre cut before it died.

Its been a great tractor with just normal maintenance - only about 500
hours.

Any suggestions on where to start?

Thanks in advance,

David

May or may not be related but we had just put a new mandrel, blades,
mower/mover drive belts, oil filter, fuel filter, air filter getting
reading for the summer. He got about an acre cut before it died.

Its been a great tractor with just normal maintenance - only about 500
hours.

Any suggestions on where to start?

Thanks in advance,

David

David,

It sounds like a bad ground connection. Check the cables from the
battery. The negtive lead may be loose where it conects to the frame
of the tractor or corroded. When this happens it can flow enough to
allow things to operate however the high current drain items like
starter will not. Also check for a ground strap (wire) to the engine
from the tractor frame. If this brakes it can cause the same thing.

Best of luck,

Eric D

Usually these tractors all have safety switches usually they have to be out
of gear, the clutch has to be all the way in, someone has to sit in the
seat, the switch has to be on, andt\ the mower out of gear. anyone of these
being bad will kill all ignition. Good luck

Norm

here is a silly point to make out, did you disengage the mower deck before
trying to start the unit? I done may call where the only thing wrong was the
unit ran out of gas they re fill it and it wont turn over (forgot to
disengage the blades) if that us not the case then look at the relays.

I had a very similar thing happen with my 20HP Garden Tractor.
It turned out to be a short in the safety relay for engaging the blades.
Cost about $25 to fix.

dB


"DJS" wrote in message
om...
My son was mowing the lawn and the tractor just stopped.

When we try to start it, nothing happens. I mean nothing! No turn
over, no clicking or anything. The hour meter and lights still work
when the key is turned. I do have the owners manual with schematics. I
changed the 30amp fuse as a shot in the dark but that did not help.

One thing confusing to me is what part would fail that would stop the
mower when operating that also will not allow it to start.

May or may not be related but we had just put a new mandrel, blades,
mower/mover drive belts, oil filter, fuel filter, air filter getting
reading for the summer. He got about an acre cut before it died.

Its been a great tractor with just normal maintenance - only about 500
hours.

Any suggestions on where to start?

Thanks in advance,

David

I had a very similar thing happen with my 20HP Garden Tractor.
It turned out to be a short in the safety relay for engaging the blades.
Cost about $25 to fix.

dB


"DJS" wrote in message
om...
My son was mowing the lawn and the tractor just stopped.

When we try to start it, nothing happens. I mean nothing! No turn
over, no clicking or anything. The hour meter and lights still work
when the key is turned. I do have the owners manual with schematics. I
changed the 30amp fuse as a shot in the dark but that did not help.

One thing confusing to me is what part would fail that would stop the
mower when operating that also will not allow it to start.

May or may not be related but we had just put a new mandrel, blades,
mower/mover drive belts, oil filter, fuel filter, air filter getting
reading for the summer. He got about an acre cut before it died.

Its been a great tractor with just normal maintenance - only about 500
hours.

Any suggestions on where to start?

Thanks in advance,

David

Any suggestions on where to start?

Thanks in advance,

David

I have a lawn tractor w/Kohler. Cut it off to gas up. It wouldn't
start. Turned out to be a faulty oil pressure switch. Since the switch
goes to ground when it operates, I just unplugged the unit at the
engine, very near the filter. Good luck.

Eric,

You nailed it (at least at first). I replaced the battery and it
cranks and runs. I would have not thought that would stop it running
while mowing, but hey I learn something every day!

Thanks a million!

David


"Eric Tonks" wrote in message si.com...
Sounds like your battery died, with just enough juice to power your lights
and hour meter but not enough to crank the starter. It could be a battery
failure or the generator may not be charging the battery and your one acre
of mowing was draining the life out of the battery. I would start with
replacing the battery first, it may be under warranty.

"DJS" wrote in message
om...
My son was mowing the lawn and the tractor just stopped.

When we try to start it, nothing happens. I mean nothing! No turn
over, no clicking or anything. The hour meter and lights still work
when the key is turned. I do have the owners manual with schematics. I
changed the 30amp fuse as a shot in the dark but that did not help.

One thing confusing to me is what part would fail that would stop the
mower when operating that also will not allow it to start.

May or may not be related but we had just put a new mandrel, blades,
mower/mover drive belts, oil filter, fuel filter, air filter getting
reading for the summer. He got about an acre cut before it died.

Its been a great tractor with just normal maintenance - only about 500
hours.

Any suggestions on where to start?

Thanks in advance,

David

This could be it.

I replaced the battery and it all works. I initially thought that it
was the battery however I did clean (brush) and tighten all the
connections while in the area.

Thanks for the ideas!

David

(Eric D) wrote in message . com...

May or may not be related but we had just put a new mandrel, blades,
mower/mover drive belts, oil filter, fuel filter, air filter getting
reading for the summer. He got about an acre cut before it died.

Its been a great tractor with just normal maintenance - only about 500
hours.

Any suggestions on where to start?

Thanks in advance,

David

David,

It sounds like a bad ground connection. Check the cables from the
battery. The negtive lead may be loose where it conects to the frame
of the tractor or corroded. When this happens it can flow enough to
allow things to operate however the high current drain items like
starter will not. Also check for a ground strap (wire) to the engine
from the tractor frame. If this brakes it can cause the same thing.

Best of luck,

Eric D