Battery is good - nothing happens when turning key to start

Hi all and thank you for any assistance that may be provided.

I have a weed eater VIP riding lawn mower with a B & S 12.5 HP engine.

To begin with, for over a year now the mower will not shut off unless you stall the engine (none of the safety features stop the engine - you can even get off of the seat and it will still run). The switch has been replaced and it still will not turn off even with turning the key. Normally when I want to stop the engine I will turn down the throttle as low as I can and then set the blades to spin and the engine will not have enough power to do this and it will stall.

A little over a week ago I was preparing to mow (after not mowing for a month or longer) and I had to fix a couple of deflated tires. Once I had the tires ready, I tested the engine to see if it would run. It started fine (which is exciting because half of the time it doesn't and we have to buy or jump the battery to run it). I could not use my normal method to cut the engine off because the mower was on a slight incline and I didn't want to spin the blades into gravel; instead I did as instructed by my mechanic who replaced the switch which was to disconnect the spark plug wire to turn off the engine. When I did this, I received a small shock (not very intense but bigger than a static shock). When it came time to start mowing, the mower no longer would start.

I took the battery into an auto parts store and they tested it before having me buy a new one. It tested fine and they recommended checking the fuse when I told them what had happened. They said the shock from the spark plug wire could have blown a fuse.

Today I finally located the fuse and pulled it out. To me it looks fine (the little u shape connector between the two metal bars is not broken).

Any clues on to what else could have stopped the mower from starting when it had just started and run fine 20 minutes before?

Upon turning the key there is no response. No click, no turning of the starter, just silence (as if the battery had absolutely no juice).

you have alot of problems it sounds like....and they may all be caused by the same thing.....you need to get a wiring diagram to start....then well go from there......... weed eater manuals - Google Search

Thank you for your response. I will do some serious research in hopes I can find a manual online. Because this lawn mower is pretty old (15 years or so) I have had no luck in the past when finding the manual. I did notice today that there was a parts number on the B & S engine for a manual (272697) but I had no success when searching those numbers in google. Following your link with out delving too deep it did not look very promising, but I will give it a better try when I get a chance.

I will let you know if I have any luck.

Also, for future reference, the model number is HD2G4E8 and weed eater is owned by Poulan as far as I know (I may be wrong).

here is alink for parts manual that includes a wiring diagram about 1/2 way thru

http://www.outdoordistributors.com/pdf/AYP/AYP-MODEL-HD2G4E8A-PARTS-LIST.pdf

Sounds like mice damage

in general.....all your problems could be the ignition switch......switches of that era are usually cheap....$8-14....might be a start in the right direction for you

Thank you very much for posting the manual.

My mechanic replaced the switch this spring in an attempt to fix the problem with the mower not shutting off when the switch is turned off. He said it made no difference, and after some hours going over it he was unable to figure out why it was happening.

I believe it is very possible that there is mice damage, as this has been a problem a few times in the past. Isnt it strange that it ran fine and then it wouldn't start 20 minutes later? Is it possible the shock from the spark plug is to blame? Generally in the past mice damage wouldn't let the mower run at all.

I could buy and install a new switch if it is advisable to do so, but because the mechanic has tried that I am somewhat reluctant to do so.

the motor turns off by grounding the magneto..there by shutting off the ignition....trace your wires from your engine back....and see if any are disconnected

If anyone knows?

Hi there,

In case anyone is curious, I was able to get the mower started after fiddling with the wiring to the starter that was installed last year. I don't know what I connected or did, but I finally managed to get it started.

Now, I have a new issue that I would like to ask anyone who is willing to answer about. I was mowing some tall grass last month, and accidently mowed over a branch that was cut the year before and laying in the field. The branch got caught in one of the blades and stopped the blade from turning. Within seconds the engine shut off. Since then, if I turn the key to start nothing happens at all.

Is there some kind of safety feature that would shut down the mower like this, or does it mean that something might be broken and needs fixing? I have read that in cases like this, the key attached to the flywheel needs to be replaced. I have yet to take the cover off of the flywheel to look for a broken key, mainly because I would assume the starter would at least spin a little if it was just the broken key. Am I wrong in making this assumption? Will it react as if there is no power going to the starter if the key is broken?

Thank you to anyone who reads and/or responds to this message for your time.

with a belt driven deck...i doubt a crank key was sheared...with all the electrical gremlins you've had....id look there again...