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I’ve got an old Dixon ZTR mower with a Vanguard 15.5 Briggs and Stratton motor. There is a small black wire that connects to the ignition coil and when it is unplugged the mower will start but not shut off; when it is plugged in the mower will not start. It seems to be that this is the kill switch signal. I have replaced the ignition coil (because I broke the cable to the spark plug) and the ignition switch. Also I chased down the wire to ensure there are no shorts. Does anyone know what could be causing this and how to fix it? I know that I could just add an in line switch but I would rather fix it right if I can.

That is the kill wire, and something is either shorting the kill wire that you missed, or a safety switch is causing the kill wire to become grounded. Disconnect the wire from the ignition module and use a meter set on ohms to connect to the kill wire and with the key on see if you have continuity. then start going through the wiring until you find what is causing the grounding issues with the key on.

You were exactly right. I hadn’t chased the whole wire down because it was wedged behind the starter. I pulled the starter and found that whoever put the starter on last had smashed the wire between it and the mounting point. I removed the smashed wire, spliced it back together and it now works as intended.

Bradleykdyer said:

You were exactly right. I hadn’t chased the whole wire down because it was wedged behind the starter. I pulled the starter and found that whoever put the starter on last had smashed the wire between it and the mounting point. I removed the smashed wire, spliced it back together and it now works as intended.

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That will do it, and that is not the first time that has happened.