Hour meter

[G-Rex]

I bought an Ariens Ikon 52” last year and it Arrived with a cracked cup holder. I registered the mower as soon as I got it. I called Ariens customer service and the nice lady looked up my mower and said, “no problem, we’ll send a new one”.
Did you register the mower when you bought it?

I did register it the day I got home. Found the problem is a diode that is in before the hour meter. The schematics for my machine and serial number doesn't even show this as being there but here it is. So ariens tells me to drive it an hour each way to take it to a repair shop. Then an hour again each way to pick it up. Was hoping to find the issue before having to was my time and fuel.

 

[grumpyunk]

B&S commonly put a diode right in their harness leading from the engine. It was wrapped in heat shrink and very near the plastic connector.
You would need a diode to prevent battery discharge when the engine is off. The other need for a diode is to prevent damage by the 'back EMF' that occurs when an electric coil is disconnected or power is turned off.
I have no idea what your schematic looks like, so won't offer an opinion. I would check the diode resistance in both directions, or look at the schematic to see its purpose. I do not understand how it would be used in relation to an hour meter except to protect the meter or to provide choppy DC to the meter acting as a rectifier.
If it is worth 2 round trips, take the drive. I think I would consider making it one round trip by having the repair parts and the technician ready to fix it when you arrive. IOW, get the dealer to set up an appointment so you can wait for the service rather than driving twice. It certainly could not take 2 hours to replace a wiring harness or replace a diode(remove a diode?).
tom

 

[NARROWACRES]

toro time cutter solved the problem... theirs comes without an hour meter