Craftsman Won't Start w/New Battery

15 years ago

Okay, so this is the same riding mower I posted about in another thread.

I am a lawn tractor novice and got this used mower that needs a little work.

Anyways, the mower would not start when I got it - it had to be jumped. So I just went and bought a NEW battery for it. It would not start again, so I figured the new battery may need a little trickle charge. I charged it and the battery shows to have plenty of juice (12.72) on my volt meter. However, the mower still will not start. It will start when I have the charger connected to it, but not when it is disconnected.

Any ideas????

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Comments (10)

texican
Original Author
15 years ago
By the way, it is model number 917.270711.
bill_kapaun
15 years ago
That should be a Briggs 311707-0132-E1, which is OHV.
IF the problem seems to be getting past the compression stroke, the valves probably need adjusting.
Too much lash, and the compression release doesn't work.
Intake .004"
Exhaust .006"
+/- .001"
Piston 1/4" past TDC.
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It is possible that you have 2 different issues. It is hard to tell from your description if you are saying that the wind down noise is the noise of the starter running and if it is, is it running w/o the key switch activated. Solenoids are the most likely cause for allowing the starter to run on- but not the only one. They are not typically a fuse blower- but could be. On a 4 post solenoid one of the 2 small wires supplies a ground and the other 12 volts when the key switch is activated. If I am assuming something I shouldn't, please elaborate on what you believe the noise is.
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Think Timing... For power to be developed, the ignition of the compressed air/fuel mixture must take place at exactly the correct instant - just before the piston reaches Top Dead Center (TDC) on the compression stroke. Timing is set on older mowers with point type ignition systems by adjusting the point gap and generally only changes due to wear. However, these changes are gradual and unless the points come loose for some reason, will not likely suddenly prevent the mower from starting. On newer electronic ignition systems, there is basically no adjustment as the position of the electronic ignition coil/module fully determines ignition timing and this is fixed. However, timing can be grossly messed up if the flywheel key gets sheared and the flywheel then rotates a fraction of a turn on its mount on the crankshaft. The result may be a mower that does not start, backfires or runs erratically, lacks power, won't run and/or start when hot, etc. This is very likely to happen should the blade strike a rigid object causing the mower to stop instantly. In this case one or both of the blade lock key and flywheel key have sheared to (hopefully) protect the very expensive internal parts from damage. There are likely not going to be any timing marks for that old timing light you have sitting gathering dust somewhere. The only test really is to inspect the flywheel keyway to determine if damage has occurred.
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It may be about time to pop the valve cover and look at the valve train for signs of unequal valve height (how far up the valve stem rises when the engine is turned by hand). If one of the valves does not rise as far as the other, a valve seat may have come out. Does the engine seem to spin faster than usual when cranking? Hear any kind of hissing or wheezing sound from the exhaust while cranking? Can you still "hear" the characteristic thump sound of the compression stroke while cranking or just the starter just seem to make a monotone, steady spinning sound like it isn't under any load?
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texican
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks for the reply.

Just curious...Any reason why it will start with the charger connected, but not when it is disconnected (even though the battery has a good charge)?

Does one affect the compression stroke differently?

Thanks
lkbum_gw
15 years ago
Since it starts with the charger attached....

1) It may be that there is corrosion on the connection from the battery to the cables attaching to the battery. Are the metal to metal contacts clean? Especially the connector surfaces of the cables that mate with the battery? The charger would by-pass this connection.

2) Is it a "starter/charger" that provides a lot more power than just your battery?? If so, Bill K may be correct.
texican
Original Author
15 years ago
Well I will have to check when I get home, I'm not sure if it is a starter/charger. I know it has a 10 amp at 12V or 5amp and 24V (or something like that).

BUT - I did jump it off of a car originally, and it worked fine. Does that mean anything?
lkbum_gw
15 years ago
Your car will provide a LOT of cranking power. If it's just a 10 amp or so charger, it is near the same power as the tractor battery. You may want to try this, while attempting to start the tractor, wiggle the cables attached to the battery and see if it kicks over. This can be difficult to do depending on how your mowers safety systems are set up and the location of the battery. I have also rotated the engine manually by "rotating or turning" the fan cover attached to the flywheel at the top of the engine. This portion of the fly wheel is accessable on my mowers. If you can't turn it by hand, try rocking it. If it moves then, try starting again and refer to Bill K's post.
johntommybob
15 years ago
It is apparent that your battery is not supplying enough power to start your tractor, why that is - is the question. I agree that first you should really clean the inside of the battery cable terminals that attach to the battery. That won't cost you anthing.

I remember on cars if the engine got out of time it can make it very hard to start. I don't know if that is possible on a small engine.
bill_kapaun
15 years ago
Your battery is probably about 200 CCA (The owners manual specifies 190 CCA minimum). 10 more Amps from the battery charger is only about 5% more "capacity". Possibly enough to make the difference, but somewhat doubtful?

Others have mentioned cleaning the battery cables where they attach to the battery.
That's only PART of the job! The other ends of the cables are just as important, since they carry the same amount of current! Clean the connections where the ground cable attaches to the frame, battery + where it attaches to the starter solenoid and the cable connections between the solenoid and starter motor. Other potential, but not obvious , places are the starter motor case to engine block and engine block to the frame.
One other potential place of high resistance is the internals of the starter solenoid itself.

I'd still suspect the valve adjustment though. Cleaning connections is free, except for your time, however.
njdpo
15 years ago
Check your battery connections and ground connections too.

pull the plug(s) and see if the motor will spin over - if it does your possibly looking at a valve adjustment (easy to do on an OHV motor - and Free)... i have witnessed huge improvements in starting - so don't discount this suggestion (if it applies in your case).

Or your solenoid is sick ...(about $15-$20) also easy to test/bypass with a set of jumper cables. you may want your choke on and ignition in the run position if you want to start your motor and exercise /test your running charging system as well...

or your Starter motor could be acting up ($75-$150)
texican
Original Author
15 years ago
Sorry I did not follow up sooner - things have been a little hectic around here with a newborn.

Well it looks like it was easy as just the cleaning connections. Now for the brake repair......

Craftsman Won't Start w/New Battery

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