# Riding Mower noobg, need help and have questions.



## Metalmech (Aug 25, 2013)

*Riding Mower noob, need help and have questions.*

Ok so I am posting it in here since I didn't see a Ariens specific forum.

So the wife bought me a brand new Ariens 46" 22hp V-Twin mower. I have used it all of 1hr and mowed my yard once, yet have totally screwed a few things up on it already. 

First off, my mower didn't come with an hour meter. So I invested the money to get one. This model had the hole for it with a dummy plug, and was already wired up for it. So it was a simple plug and play fix. Installed it, turned key on to make sure it worked and was right side up. Turned off the mower and pushed it back into the garage. At some point in time I either accidently turned the key back into the on position, or my 2 year old got ahold of it and turned it on. The key is now kept in a hidden spot. Either way it was left on for 50 hrs and drained the battery. Today I recharged the battery. Tried to start it up, it spins over but won't fire up. I am wondering if there is something that may have gotten fried from the ignition being on for that long. Any advice on this?

Second, the short version, at the end of my first time mowing my lawn I burnt out my drive belt. After removing the belt, which was pretty easy after removing the deck(also an easy job), I found out that the replacement belt the local dealer sold me was the wrong size. I left the belt off the mower so I could take it to the dealer to get the correct one. Now the mower I have doesn't have a gear selector. Its one of those with a forward and reverse pedal. It goes faster the more you push. To put this mower into neutral you have to pull the rod at the rear of the mower. Well it worked just fine earlier in the day before I had the belt off. After taking the belt off I couldn't get the rod to pull out into neutral. Is this normal when you remove the belt? Or did I possibly mess up/break something when I removed the belt?


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## wjjones (May 28, 2010)

It might have blown the ignition fuse it should be somewhere between the bottom of the ignition, and the starter just check the wiring for a little black fuse holder/ box? The freewheel lever spring might have come loose when you removed the belt.


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## Country Boy (Mar 18, 2010)

Does the neutral lever (also called a "Dump Valve") still pull out like normal, or does the rod either not pull our or pull out too far? If it doesn't pull out, something could be jamming it, and if it pulls out too far, it may have come unhooked. You can remove the battery on that unit (if its under the seat) and pull the battery box to get much easier access to the transmission assembly. Also, make sure you don't have the parking brake set. You may have done that to loosen the belt when you took it off (I'm assuming by drive belt, you mean transmission belt?).

For the starting issue, I don't think anything should have gotten fried by leaving the key on because the same amount of current is running through the system when you are mowing. The battery may have been damaged by running it completely empty because SLI batteries aren't designed to be drawn down like that. First, I'd check to be sure your afterfire solenoid is still working. When you lock the parking brake on and turn the key to the "RUN" position, do you hear a click from the engine, specifically the carburetor area? If you don't then you aren't getting power to the solenoid and it won't get gas. You'll need to trace the line and be sure the connections are good. If you do hear a click, then the solenoid should be fine. I'd also check to see if you have spark when you crank the engine over. A spark tester can be had from a auto parts store, or you can pull a plug and pop it back into the wire and hold it against the engine block to see if a spark jumps the gap. Just be sure to only hang onto the rubber insulated area, preferably with gloves to keep from getting a shock.

If you have spark and fuel, then its possible the engine simply isn't cranking fast enough to start. You can try jump starting it with a vehicle and jumper cables, but just be sure you keep the connections in the right order so you don't fry anything.


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## Metalmech (Aug 25, 2013)

Ok guys, haven't gotten to go out and work on the mower yet today. Wife is at work and my 2yr old is fighting sleep at nap time. Can't really work on it with the 2yr old awake and running around.

I will check the fuse, can't hurt.

I know I didn't kill the battery 100%. It still had juice when I found the key on. It just spun the engine really slow so I stopped as I realized there was no point. After charging the battery yesterday(I know its good as I have a charger that won't charge if its bad), I tried to start it. It spins fairly quick, and its getting fuel because I flooded it after trying to start it three times. I can check the spark plugs, but I wouldn't think there would be a problem with them. This mower only has 1hr+ run time on it, and I have never heard of spark plugs going bad from leaving the ignition on. I will also listen for the click noise you describe.

As for the belt. When I say drive belt I mean the one that runs from the engine to the transmission. Is it called the transmission belt? I have a total of three belts that I can see. One from engine to trans, on for the mower deck, and one on the trans that is short and has teeth.

When I say it won't go into neutral, I cannot pull out the rod at all. It doesn't move. It worked fine before and after I removed the deck. It just didn't work after I removed the belt. Had to lift the mower from the rear to get it back into the garage. Didn't really get to look at it last night as it was dark and figured best to wait till the morning. 

Ok sound like the boy is asleep. I will go out and see what I can find out and report back.


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## Metalmech (Aug 25, 2013)

Ok, so far no update on the getting the transmission into neutral. Everything looks ok as far as I can tell. I will look into it more as I am trying to get the thing running at the moment.

On that note, I looked for a fuse between the switch and engine and didn't see one. The only fuse I can find is back behind the right rear tire, under the battery tray. There is also what looks like a solenoid bolted to the frame. 

I tried to listen for a click when turning the key on. I think I hear one near the front of the engine were the carb is, but its hard to hear. The click of the key turning in the switch is louder. Right now I am the only one home and someone has to be on the seat for it to work.

I did pull out one plug just to look at it. It was clean, but covered in gas(flooded). I wiped it off and put it back it. After trying one more time, the engine tried to start but sputtered and blew out a puff of white smoke. So I took out both plugs, the second one actually looked dirty so I cleaned them off. Figured I would let them sit for a bit and put them back and try again.

On a completely different note. while looking at the mower and tracing the wiring harness, I noticed that most of the harness is covered in wire loom. Except for one small section, right where a mount/pivot point for my deck is located. That just seems like a bad idea. Unprotected wire right where metal moves and rubs. It wouldn't hurt for me to pick up some look and cover the wire there would it?

EDIT/UPDATE: Put plugs back in still nothing. Going to buy a spark tester in a few just to be sure. Neighbor came over and sat on mower and turned on ignition for me. Still could barely hear any kind of click. I can see a metal "tube/cylinder" on the carb that has a plug in it. Is this the solenoid? And is there a way to test it/check it is working?


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## Metalmech (Aug 25, 2013)

Ok so final update. I am sitting outside going though my manuals trying to figure this out. I am getting ready to head over to autozone. Wife comes out and asks me what exactly is wrong with it. I go to show her how its not starting, and damn if the thing doesn't start right up and run perfect.

Still couldn't figure out the neutral rod. So for the hell of it I put the old belt back on. Problem solved, just not sure why..


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## jhon (May 9, 2011)

Getting a riding mower as a gift from the wife is supposed to be a great experience. Sorry yours is so poor. By the way, if the rod that you pull out to roll the tractor is the same as the one on my John Deere, you best make sure that thing is pushed in when your done. They say it can damage the transmission if you use the tractor with that thing pulled out.

Hope your luck gets better.


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