Doug Miller wrote:
In article , E Gregory wrote:

Here's what I've tried so far. Checked all wiring, don't find any loose
or broken wires or connetions. Fuse is good. Battery is new and fully
charged. My friend tried connecting jumper cables from the battery
straight to the starter motor, he said that this would bypass all
electrical connections, (in case there was a bad wire that I didn't
find). This should have caused the mower to start, it still didn't
start, so he thinks the starter motor is bad.


Probably, but not necessarily. Same symptom would occur if the negative
battery cable is not connected to the frame. If the mower has headlights (most
do), an easy way to test this is to turn on the lights. If they light up, the
battery-to-frame connection is good; if they don't, it's not.


I have taken the starter
motor off and thought I'd get a new one. These things cost around $100
bucks, so I thought I'd get a second opinion before doing this, what do
you all think? My friend said that he was 85% sure this was it.


Now that you have the starter off, test it before you buy a replacement.
Connect the jumper cables from the battery directly to the starter, like so:
1) red cable to the post on the starter where the electrical cable connects.
2) other end of red cable to (+) battery terminal
3) black cable to (-) battery terminal
4) other end of black cable to the frame of the starter

If the starter spins, it's good. If it doesn't spin, either it's bad, or you
don't have the jumper cables hooked up right. :-)

If, after doing this test, it appears that the starter is indeed bad, it still
wouldn't hurt to take it along with you when you go to buy a replacement, and
ask to have it tested first.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt.
And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?


Thanks Doug. I'll recheck the battery ground to make sure it's solid.
The starter motor didn't spin when we tried connecting the battery
directly to it, but the battery ground was not hooked to the starter
motor frame. The mower does have headlights and they do not light at
present. Will try your suggestions this weekend. Grass is knee high
now! Will soon be tick city!
Eileen