Ride On Lawnmower blowing Circuit Board 6.3Amp Fuse

islanderre

Evening All,

Have a ride on lawnmower which has operated fine all summer. New battery fitted too @ the start of the summer. Its a B&S engine
Was cutting the lawn last week and just when I stopped the engine died... no lights on the dash either.
Changed out the 6.3Amp circuit board fuse today and yes got the dash lights back but as soon as I turned the key to crank the engine; the fuse blew again.

So I'm back to square one....
Where would I go now; the starter solenoid?

Any help appreciated.

islanderre

Yep.... checked them today before I changed out the fuse.... all tight.
Connections @ the starter solenoid tight too

islanderre

I had the blades disengaged and had just got to were I had to dump the grass so hit the brake and the engine just stopped and no dash lights.
Rolled it back to the shed and parked it up until today when I found the circuit board fuse blown. Changed that for a new one; dash lights back on. Turned the key to start; dash lights off and fuse blown again.

islanderre

Had a look at that area today too; all seems in good order and remember I did get the dash lights on initially with the new fuse.... fuse only blew once I turned the key to crank the engine which is why I am thinking starter solenoid area

islanderre

Yep; brake pushed in.....

islanderre

Good few years now... dont actually know to be honest; 2nd hand we only started using this summer....
Great machine other than this issue

islanderre

So an update.

Got a few spare fuses so said I'd try a few things.
Put a block on the seat to keep the seat switch closed and left the mower outside.

Fuse fitted; ignition on and dash lights on, Turned the key to start and fuse blew immediately

Fuse fitted; ignition on and dash lights on; crossed the terminals on the starter solenoid and the mower started and ran for over an hour. During this time I pressed the brake in and out multiple times and no problem.
Mower then cut out and fuse found blown.
Fitted new fuse, started again by crossing the starter solenoid terminals... immediately cut out and fuse blown.
Parked it up for the day.

Next day; new fuse fitted and again started by crossing the terminals on the starter solenoid.
Started fine and ran for 10 min and then cut out and fuse blown again.

So; I'm thinking it must be something on the ignition circuit thats getting warm / goes into fault when warm or when current flows through it when the key is turned to start it.

Anyone have any ideas before I pack it off to a repair guy..... would like a final cut on the lawn this weekend if I could only get it to run long enough!!!

matt68

I realise this is an old thread but my castelgarden does exactly the same thing. Did you find a solution?

Thanks

blackbox

I'd say it's most likely that the insulation has worn through on a wire somewhere and is making electrical contact from time to time.

Based on info given I'd start by looking in the area of the braking mechanism, but it could be anywhere.

islanderre

Morning...

No never solved the issue myself but I had a repair guy sort it.

I don't recall what he done but it's working fine since.