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Today I was mowing grass that was too tall and the mower shut down, as it has before. Usually it will re-start in about a minute or so, but his time, it won't, even after putting it on the charger and it shows it is fully charged.

I understand there is a breaker that trips in this situation, but usually will un-trip if that is the right term and allow the mower to start again. How would I fix this situation? Is there a reset button of some sort?

Tony

xrt14 said:

Today I was mowing grass that was too tall and the mower shut down, as it has before. Usually it will re-start in about a minute or so, but his time, it won't, even after putting it on the charger and it shows it is fully charged.

I understand there is a breaker that trips in this situation, but usually will un-trip if that is the right term and allow the mower to start again. How would I fix this situation? Is there a reset button of some sort?

Tony

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I'm not familiar with this model so I am of limited assistance. I can suggest a check.

If you are handy you could disassemble sufficiently to get inside and check with a voltmeter to see if there is voltage at the motor when switched on. If there is no power at the motor, then probe with the voltmeter to locate where the circuit is open. This could be at a breaker in series with the motor. And if this part is the cause of the problem, a new one could be ordered. Or maybe it is just stuck and an impact of some sort might reset it.

For all we know it could also be as simple as a bad connection that failed when the motor was under high load (the current was highest). In this case, just an inspection inside could reveal the problem.

Did you ever figure out what the problem was?

Phil

floating ground said:

Did you ever figure out what the problem was?

Phil

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I called Black & Decker and they directed me to a local warranty dealer. They told me they had no idea without me bringing it in, but that the most it would cost would be $189, could be less. But they were an hour away, one way and it wasn't worth it to me to pay that much, plus drive that far two different times and wait a week to get it fixed, minimum, and possibly have it cost almost $200. The grass was getting tall and needed to be cut. I bought a gas-powered Troy-Bilt that got great reviews for $199. So far it has worked great.

For someone like me who puts off mowing until the grass is too tall, a gas mower is better. I really liked the electric, not having to have gas around, etc., however. I am hoping to sell it to a local repair shop or someone else who could fix it themselves and then have a little-used mower to either use or sell.

Ah, replacing the breaker would have been the thing to try.

Sounds like the gas mower is working out though.

Mark

I'm experiencing the same thing and I ordered a new breaker. I'm not too handy, so we'll see how it goes!

JohnEQuest said:

I'm experiencing the same thing and I ordered a new breaker. I'm not too handy, so we'll see how it goes!

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Good luck with that. FYI, I discussed the breaker on the CMM1200 with somebody on my blog a few months ago. When you are ready to connect the new breaker, the wiring scheme is:

(Best to verify that your mower is wired the same way -- suggest you take a good look at how the old breaker is wired before removing it.)

Mark

p.s. I'm not sure what would happen if you swapped the roles of the two breaker posts -- would probably work from an electronics standpoint but there might be chemistry or corrosion issues that arise if the breaker posts are wired up in reverse. Whatever the reason, assuming there is one, I wouldn't change how it is wired.

Well I installed the breaker, that went smoothly except the old one had just one bracket whereas my replacement had a bracket on either side. I do't think it'll be an issue though, it just looks a little sloppy.

While I was in there I noticed some magnetized chunks that appeared to have broken off of the center piece (the motor?) where all the copper wiring is. I took some close-up pics of this.

Any clues?

I'm letting the mower charge overnight and I'll give it a try tomorrow.

@JohnEQuest - It looks like some of the magnets in the motor's stator have broken off. It will be interesting to see if the motor runs properly after you charge the battery.

It would not run. Are broken magnets repairable, or is it time to start shopping for a new mower?

You need a new motor. It may be cheaper to buy a new mower. There is probably nothing wrong with the original circuit breaker. Your motor just died and created a permanent overload, so the breaker could not reset itself.

I guess I should've opened it up before ordering the breaker. But like i said, I'm not too handy, so i was a bit intimidated.

If I'm going to purchase a new mower, I'm thinking Lithium-Ion is the way to go. Agreed? Any opinions on the Greenworks 40v 19":

Amazon.com: Greenworks 25292 40-Volt 4 Amp-Hour Lithium Ion 19-Inch Lawn Mower: Patio, Lawn & Garden

JohnEQuest said:

I guess I should've opened it up before ordering the breaker. But like i said, I'm not too handy, so i was a bit intimidated.

If I'm going to purchase a new mower, I'm thinking Lithium-Ion is the way to go. Agreed? Any opinions on the Greenworks 40v 19":

Amazon.com: Greenworks 25292 40-Volt 4 Amp-Hour Lithium Ion 19-Inch Lawn Mower: Patio, Lawn & Garden

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I'd stay away from the Greenworks mowers, especially the lithium-ion ones. I have the Greenworks 16 inch lithium ion mower and it had a defective battery at the outset and Greenworks forced me to drive to a distant repair center to get it "repaired" rather than simply shipping me a replacement. Also, they don't sell replacement blades for the lithium-ion mowers and their general customer support is terrible. The 19-inch mower has a maximum cutting height of barely 3 inches and the motor and battery are too weak for a blade that size. Right now there are not a lot of choices in lithium-ion mowers with larger blades and they are extremely expensive. You could buy a 20" Recharge Mower, but it costs $679 and a replacement battery is $400 ! You might try a WORX WG781 19" mower with an 18" blade, which you can buy from worxgt on eBay for $289.99.

Buy Worx 19" Cordless 36 Volt Lawn Mower Model WG781 | eBay

I would not mess with trying to fix the magnets.

JohnEQuest said:

I guess I should've opened it up before ordering the breaker. But like i said, I'm not too handy, so i was a bit intimidated.

If I'm going to purchase a new mower, I'm thinking Lithium-Ion is the way to go. Agreed? Any opinions on the Greenworks 40v 19":

Amazon.com: Greenworks 25292 40-Volt 4 Amp-Hour Lithium Ion 19-Inch Lawn Mower: Patio, Lawn & Garden

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Try to find out the price of a new replacement battery for the day when you need one, and also how close are you to the nearest repair center? I'm worried that the Watt-hour rating of that mower (40V*4A-hr = 160 W-hr) is only 37% of the older B&D models (24V*18A-hr is about 430 W-hr). What is the run time, and coverage area per battery charge, on those mowers? I am skeptical of the model you posted at this point. It sounds like, to reduce the cost of the more expensive li-ion technology, they are skimping on the size (and thus energy storage, and mowing area per battery charge) of the battery.

MowerMike said:

I'd stay away from the Greenworks mowers, ... they don't sell replacement blades for the lithium-ion mowers ...

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That is outrageous.

Mark Widmer said:

I'm worried that the Watt-hour rating of that mower (40V*4A-hr = 160 W-hr) is only 37% of the older B&D models (24V*18A-hr is about 430 W-hr). What is the run time, and coverage area per battery charge, on those mowers? I am skeptical of the model you posted at this point. It sounds like, to reduce the cost of the more expensive li-ion technology, they are skimping on the size (and thus energy storage, and mowing area per battery charge) of the battery.

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It's actually only 146 Wh, since the 4 Ah rating was based on the 36 V version of the battery, which is used in European / Asian versions of their products. So, at 40 V they are only 146 / 40 = 3.65 Ah. I know this because I have two of these batteries and they are labelled as 40 V, 146 Wh. As to run time on the 19" mower its only 30 minutes on a full charge, but they do supply it with two batteries, so you can get 60 minutes total with a battery change. The problem is that the motor is too weak to handle that size blade and will stall easily. I have the 16" version and get about 45 minutes run time on a full charge with the same battery, and the motor is adequate for the smaller (15.5") blade. Another problem is that the maximum cutting height is only 3" on the 19" mower, so you really cannot cut grass that gets over 4" high.

I appreciate your recommendations, but I ordered the Greenworks mower. It got really great reviews from Amazon users.

I'll let you know how it works for me. The first mow should be a real test as my grass is about 6" high now and I won't get the mower until Monday.

Wouldn't this work as a replacement blade? Buy.com - Universal Lawn Mower Blade Replacement - Size: 19"

What's the best way to dispose of my B&D mower? Can I scrap it for $$?

JohnEQuest said:

I appreciate your recommendations, but I ordered the Greenworks mower. It got really great reviews from Amazon users.

I'll let you know how it works for me. The first mow should be a real test as my grass is about 6" high now and I won't get the mower until Monday.

Wouldn't this work as a replacement blade? Buy.com - Universal Lawn Mower Blade Replacement - Size: 19"

What's the best way to dispose of my B&D mower? Can I scrap it for $$?

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I hope it works out for you, but be forwarned that if you have any warranty issues that dealing with Greenworks is a pain in the rear. I don't know if that blade will work, since the blade and carrier on that mower are non-standard and probably not 19". I have the 16" Greenworks Li-Ion mower, and the blade is 15.5" long. If you are careful, you should get years of service from the original blade if you keep sharpening it. I sharpen all my blades on the mower, using a Dremel tool with a mower blade sharpening attachment. I dispose of stuff like that by leaving it at the curb, and it always simply disappears overnight.

Well I used it for the first time today. Got 40 minutes of cutting time from one battery and then I was finished, so who knows how long it would've actually run.

So far so good. I also bought the 40V chainsaw which shares the same batteries, so thats another bonus of going with the Greenworks line.

JohnEQuest said:

Well I used it for the first time today. Got 40 minutes of cutting time from one battery and then I was finished, so who knows how long it would've actually run.

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I am surprised, but that's good news.

So far so good. I also bought the 40V chainsaw which shares the same batteries, so thats another bonus of going with the Greenworks line.

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This one? Nice!

Re: CMM 1200 factory troubleshooting guide

Great factory repair guide attached.