Inherited this mower about 6 years ago. Generally runs well with little trouble. As of late it has started not starting. About 3 weeks ago, it started then stalled immediately twice, then completely dead- no lights, no sounds, nothing. Battery tester said my battery was shot. Towed it into the garage where it would be easier to work on. Put in a new battery and a similar thing happened, except this time no start. Turned key to run, relay clicked, dash lights lit up, and when I turned the key to start, it went dead. Lights went out and nothing (starter did not spin). Tried again and same thing. Third time, no signs of life- again no lights or clicks. Nothing. Started walking through the troubleshooting guide, checking voltages in different locations, etc. Eventually I noticed that the voltage across the battery terminals was dropping to about 5.5 volts when I turned the key to run, so I abandoned the troubleshooting guide and just started disconnecting things to see if I could isolate what was putting enough load on the battery to make the voltage drop so low.
After removing the neutral start relay and the time delay control module and visually inspecting them, I noticed two of the contacts on the neutral start relay were discolored. Cleaned up the contacts and put things back together and then everything worked. Put it all back together. Ordered a replacement neutral start relay to have on hand. Mowed about 6 acres over the course of a couple days. Figured problem was solved. Started right up this morning and pulled it into the garage so I could put new blades on. After putting the new blades on, I'm back to not starting again - lights on and relay clicks (run) then dead (start). Happened twice, and then completely dead. Took things apart again enough to replace the neutral start relay. After replacing the relay it was the same thing with the lights and relay click when turning the key to run and then dead when turning key to start. Happened twice then nothing.
Seems to always go through the cycle twice. Looking for any insights or advice. Is it possible to bypass the time delay control module to isolate that as the problem? Hoping to not need to replace the module if at all possible.
After removing the neutral start relay and the time delay control module and visually inspecting them, I noticed two of the contacts on the neutral start relay were discolored. Cleaned up the contacts and put things back together and then everything worked. Put it all back together. Ordered a replacement neutral start relay to have on hand. Mowed about 6 acres over the course of a couple days. Figured problem was solved. Started right up this morning and pulled it into the garage so I could put new blades on. After putting the new blades on, I'm back to not starting again - lights on and relay clicks (run) then dead (start). Happened twice, and then completely dead. Took things apart again enough to replace the neutral start relay. After replacing the relay it was the same thing with the lights and relay click when turning the key to run and then dead when turning key to start. Happened twice then nothing.
Seems to always go through the cycle twice. Looking for any insights or advice. Is it possible to bypass the time delay control module to isolate that as the problem? Hoping to not need to replace the module if at all possible.
