On Sat, 21 May 2016 09:58:23 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

When I`m using the riding mower and put it in reverse with the blades engaged the engine stop. It`s a real pain to disengage the blades and then back up. There are not any kids or pets in the area so everything is clear. How can I correct this problem? Thanks for any advice Herb

I don't have a riding mower, but I'm sure they do that electrically,
with a switch that either closes or opens when you put it in reverse.

1) Check out the gear shift lever and the transmission until you find
the switch. Any electric wire around them is probably there for this
purpose. The way push mower engines were stopped in the ones I've
seen is to short the primary or secondary of the magneto, so I'd guess
that the switch closes in order to stop the engine, so just pull one
of the wires off the switch, and that won't happen anymore.

If after you do that, the engine won't start at all, that implies that
the switch opens to stop the engine, so if so, bypass the switch**.
Cut a short piece of stranded wire or thin solid wire, strip each end,
and you should be able to pull off each wire on the switch and then
push it back on with some of that short wire stuck between the two
parts of the connector. It only takes a couple strands.

**But the better way, once you find the switch, if paragraph 1 doesn't
work, esp. if the engine won't start at all, is to use an ohmmeter (or
I suppose a testlight if it's one with a battery inside that lights
when its two leads are touched to each other) to see whether the
switch really opens or closes when you're in reverse. A big
opportunity to get mixed up, so maybe take notes.


On my push mower there was a switch that stopped the engine if I let
go of the handlebar, so I wrapped a wire-tie around the handlebar and
the bail, the lever that had to be closed. And on the convertible
there was a more complicated circuit to keep me from raising or
lowering the top when the car was going more than 3mph. That used a
relay that was hidden behind a cover in the far corner of the trunk,
but I cut the wire and now it works fine.

Just don't forget about this when your friend brings his grandchild
over.